Need some help

[noxarcana]

Hey guys, i was wondering if someone could help me out with a few things. First off, i want to say i had nothing to do with the computer that i am using and it is my dads. I do not think that he did a very good job with it. What it is is an old computer that about once a year got 100 dollars put in it to upgrade it. I am not that good with computers either but this is what is in it and all i know that is in it.

AMD Athlon processor
1.24 GHz
256 MB of RAM
microsoft windows XP
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200

I recently bought two new computer games. They are Titans Quest and Heroes of Might and Magic 5. I am using the computer about and do not even have minumum requirements. I was wondering if anyone could tell me a cheap way to get recommended requirements on newer games the cheapest way either buying a whole new computer, just upgrading mine piece by piece or custom building a whole new one. The games have a recommended requirements of :

3.0 GHz Intel Pentium IV or equivalent
1 GB RAM
128 MB NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or ATI Radeon X800 series Soundblaster XFi sound card

Someone on another forum already told me that my computer is scraping the bottom of compatability and may just barely play games , if at all. But about once a week, my dads friend comes over and we play computer games and the computer has been through many games so i did not know that it was that bad since recently. I know it probably will not happen but i need to spend as less money as possible.

 

[schulz269]

What amount would you be happy with spending on it? This well help us with getting the hardware and stuff and staying in a budget.

 

[noxarcana]

well, i have about 800-1000 dollars. I am only 16 though lol. I would hope that my dd would pitch in but i doubt it.

 

[Condraz23]

My computer is very similar to your dad's computer. But mine is running with a 1.2GHz Intel Celeron processor.

It would be difficult to upgrade such an old system. With the exception of the hard drive and the case, the motherboard and almost everything else attached to it are completely obsolete and unable to handle new components.

Also, the recommended system requirements for your new games are awfully high.

In terms of maximum affordability, try something along these lines...

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1741015&CatId=1920

And finally, building your own computer is much more cheaper than buying a completely new one. Plus, you could re-use some of the old parts from your existing computer.

 

[markkleb]

Where are you located?
Do you have any friends that have built comps before?
Whats the main purpose of the comp you want?