Member Avatar for sneekypete

yes i have an emachines intel celeron 1.8GHz PC with 2 sticks of 128MB PC2100 133MHz RAM. Running on XP PRO. Is this enough to play games such as Battlefield 2, World of Warcraft, City of Heroes. also what kind of graphic card can i get away with using. Im not trying to spend alot of money. I was thinking about using an XFX GeForce FX 5500 (256MB)(AGP) also what is the difference between using an AGP card and a PCI card I dont quite understand. and what is the difference between a PCI video card and a PCI Express video card.

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Useful, practical steps to turn this into a real upgrade plan. asked the right questions and the replies from and point in the right direction: whether you can upgrade cheaply depends on what the motherboard and PSU actually support. The fastest way to a working answer is to inspect the system and prioritize the changes that give the biggest gameplay improvement for the least money.

Start here — quick checklist to identify your path:

  • Find the motherboard model (look for the print on the board, check the BIOS splash or use Windows System Information). That tells you which expansion slot type and which CPUs/RAM it supports.
  • Physically inspect the expansion area: note whether there is a modern PCI Express x16 slot, an older AGP slot, or only standard PCI slots. Each requires matching graphics cards; adapters are not a practical solution.
  • Read the PSU label for total wattage and available power connectors (modern GPUs often need an extra 6/8-pin feed). Also check clearance inside the case and whether the chassis airflow is adequate.
  • Check how many RAM slots are free and what module types the board accepts — adding memory is often the cheapest performance win.

How to spend your budget and avoid wasted purchases: prioritize RAM first if it is very low, then a graphics card that fits the slot type you have. On older branded machines be prepared for proprietary connectors or low-output PSUs; sometimes replacing the whole motherboard/CPU/PSU is the most cost-effective long-term move. When installing a new card, update vendor drivers cleanly, disable onboard video if needed, confirm the power connectors, and monitor temperatures.

These steps expand on the thread advice and give a repeatable workflow to decide whether a modest upgrade will work or if a platform replacement is the better route.

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Member Avatar for mocap

Hmmm I am not that well endowed <giggle> in knowledge of this. As far as i know, AGP is a serial port, and correct me if i am wrong, PCI is parralell, which means it can transport data to and from the rest of the PC faster... BUT PCI has to share its bandwidth with other periphrals, so is slower... erm.. this is going off very old knowledge... AGP will be faster.

This isnt making much sense i'm afriad... It is early in the morning, and i havent even had my coffee ;)

Difference between PCI-E and AGP is that, PCI-E is faster, but AGP is sufficient for the time being, so i'd reccomend if you are replacing your mobo, get a PCI-E compatable.

Bah, i am still making no sense (If you can gain anything from the above, I'll give you a cookie...)

AGP is faster than PCI. PCI-E is faster than AGP, but because of the speeds of todays games, there isnt much performance difference between PCI-E and AGP. But if you are making a new system, or replacing your mobo, go for PCI-E for the simple reason: It will be cheaper (hopefully) to upgrade in the future.

Lets hope someone with a little more knowledge can make sense of that ;)

Apologies if i got anything wrong.

Member Avatar for Coconut Monkey

AGP is faster than PCI. PCI-E is faster than AGP, but because of the speeds of todays games, there isnt much performance difference between PCI-E and AGP. But if you are making a new system, or replacing your mobo, go for PCI-E for the simple reason: It will be cheaper (hopefully) to upgrade in the future.

Let's just stick with that eh? ;)

Pete, you haven't mentioned your motherboard or emachines model. You may not have an AGP slot at all, so we need to know a little more about your system.

Unfortunately, the rest of your specs are none too flashy. For a game like Battlefield 2, I would recommend a 2Ghz+ machine with 1Gb of RAM and at least a 9800 Pro/6600GT/X700 Pro/X800GT (phoawr, what a mouthful) graphics card (I would not buy an FX5500). You might be able to get away with your Celeron, but the rest of your box is still lacking.

I can't say much about your other gaming choices, but needless to say, take minimum requirements with a grain of salt. I'd throw on 300 more megahertz, double the RAM and another video card generation on top of any game requirements these days (if you want decent gameplay!).

Member Avatar for goldeagle2005

What he said!

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