Looking to purchase a graphics card and power supply

[aduc8979]

Hello, I am looking to purchase a graphics card and power supply for my prebuilt computer from 2008 so I can play WoW and the upcoming SC2. I have a Pentium Dual-Core Processor E2160 1.8 GHz, 2048 MB DDR2 RAM, 250W power supply, and an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950.

Here is a link to my computer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883109008

My budget is fairly cheap, I would like to spend between 120-170 dollars total for both a graphics card and power supply. How can I be certain that the power supply and graphics card will be compatible with my computer, and what are some good suggestions for purchases within my price range? According to the above link, I have a PCI-E x16 slot available. To reiterate, I would like to know how I can make sure the power supply and graphics card will be compatible with my computer, and what sort of graphics card I should purchase to play WoW and SC2 fairly comfortably.

 

[skora]

Welcome to the forums!

What size monitor do you have?

That looks like an ATX case so any ATX power supply should work as long as the mobo connections aren't proprietary and from the pics, those look standard too. In you're budget, any GPU you can afford will work in the PCIe 1.0 x16 slot.

Compatibility isn't your issue for an upgrade. Its the 1.8ghz cpu. Its going to be a choke point for almost any game you try to run on it. Here's the min requirements for SCII:
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=26242&parentCategoryId&pageNumber=1&categoryId=3633

 

[Waiting4gtx400s]

i think his cpu is fine basically most these games require 2ghz or higher for a SINGLE cpu but any dualcore processor would be fine. i suggest a grabbing a 450-500watt psu and maybe gts 250 prolly be pretty close to ur buget =)

 

[aduc8979]

I have a 24" monitor. I played WoW last year on this computer and would get 5 FPS in the most crowded environments. I would like to make the game playable on my computer. I am not sure what sort of cpu would even be compatible with my computer.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01294339&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3644737

The above link says I have a Intel 945GC chipset.

 

[skora]

With a monitor for 1920x1080, you'll be able to play games at med settings with the 9800GT linked by ct1615.

Here's what I would do if you can scrape together a few more bucks because I dont have the faith that your cpu is enough:

E5300 and 4850 $148 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.346378
Gigabyte G41 and OCZ 600w PSU (overkill, but with combo, cheap) $90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.347059

All has free shipping, but total of $238. That's the cheapest I can see you getting that compaq to gaming quality with that monitor.

If you wanted to try using your CPU first and go with the two picks of CT1615, and it doesn't work, you could do something like this for a CPU/Mobo upgrade for $103: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.354434

 

[aduc8979]

Alright, thanks. I will purchase the video card and see how that goes. If I am still having trouble, I'll look at a CPU/Mobo upgrade.