Updating old AGP computer; need advice

The bandwidth to the card on a 2x/4x card will be half that of a 4x/8x. I am pretty sure a 4650 will be bogged down in that system. However, if that is your only option it might be ok, not sure what Sims 3 requires to play. I would consider looking at replacing that system to be honest.

But yes it should still work.

Thanks; we're looking at cheap dells right now; I mean really cheap, but good enough (think 4350  ). Still, between $100 for an obsolete system, and $300 for a cheap Dell, I think the Dell wins.

True, but don't get a system that you can't upgrade later and will end up kicking yourself over. If you intend to play some games, please make sure it is NOT a slimline. Also I would recommend something a little more peppy then a 4350.

^^ I know; for her, a Athlon X2/4350 should be plenty. Worse case, we'll stick with the onboard and just order a 4650/4670 later instead. Money is a bit tight right now, hence the problem [plus, Dell badly overcharges, and she INSISTS on a Dell  ]

I figure she'll inheret most of my down-level equipment over time anyways, so its just the initial config that needs to be built.

So talk her out of it. Come on, I can talk my sister into letting me build her one. :-P The selling point of it is easier for me to work on it later was a good selling point. I hold her if the Dell breaks she has to call a foreign land for support. She got on board with my idea pretty quick.

If you're on a strict budget, another option is to look for a used machine. TH's classifieds and the ones on Anandtech are good places to look. You can often spend less than $300 for a pretty good machine. I recently sold a machine for $300 with an 8800GTX in it. And I made money on that deal if you can believe it. Oh, you have an active craigslist in your area, that's a good source too. you just have to know what you're looking at.

You could probably get mobo/ram/cpu/hardrive and shove it in the current case. I did this for my brothers old emachine p4 2.8 computer and it worked out to about $250.
We got a mAtx mobo w/hd4200, athlon 2 x2 240 cpu, 500gb hardrive, and 2x1gb ddr3 1333 ram. He already had a antec 350w psu that he bought to replace the one in the case but you can get a 400w for less than $50.
So, for about $300 you could update your current computer better than buying a $300 dell/hp/etc. Another $75 could get you a cheap case and dvd drive.

If you're comfortable building it yourself, you can put together an OK triple core or even a quad core for the $300-$400 price range, which is going to beat the hell out of anything Dell offers for that price.

I really would recommend against trying to run Sims 3 on any machine with an AGP 4x slot. I'm guessing that means it's also a single-core P4 machine at best. Even if you can technically get it to work, playing it is going to suck. I have an old P4 machine with a 4650 in its AGP 8x slot, and I tried installing Sims 3 on it (my main system is usually getting hogged by other family members) ... it was pretty much unplayable, and the machine hung up before long. I tried Sims 2, and even that caused problems. I'm resigned to the fact that the old machine is just no good for most games that come out today.

^^ Trust me, the current case isn't being used  

The issue is cost, period. Lets just say, being in the finance industry isn't the most secure field in the world right now, so money is really tight for her. And I just spend $800 on our parents PC, so I can't simply buy her one myself.

For her, an Athlon X2 @ 2.8, a 4350, and 4GB DDR2 will last a decade; it sure beats her 1.2GHz Pentium III, ATI Rage 128, and 512MB DDR 133   [Told you its really old  ]

Might check a few sites for refurbish deals also - Tiger direct usually has several at pretty decent pricing which might fill your needs.