Improving my PC Gaming Experience :D

 Hey guys, I don't know much about PCs. I had mine built cheap to be able to handle games, but it just isn't cutting it with the release of games like The Witcher 2.

My specs:

 AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5200+
 2.7 GHz CPU
3.0 GB RAM
 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition Service Pack 2 (build 6002), 32-bit
 GeForce 9500 GT

What aspects of my computer suck (aside from Vista :P), what aspects are good and what do I really need to improve?

If for example, I need a new graphics card, what ones should I buy at a reasonable price (I'm not looking to build a monster rig, just get some affordable upgrades)? Thanks for the help!

What would your budget be? What resolution are you gaming at? What PSU do you have? 

Although you could do with a better graphics card (I don't know your budget), it would be a good idea to overclock your processor or get a new one. Problem with getting a new processor though is that you'll probably need a new motherboard, and therefore also a new set of RAM. 

What would your budget be? What resolution are you gaming at? What PSU do you have? 

Depending on how cheap you want to be, you could spend around $150-$200 on a new Geforce 460 1GB, or put a couple hundred with it and future proof yourself and buy one in the 500 series. Double check, but I think it's the 580 or 590 that everyone likes. You should also look into grabbing an extra GB of RAM. 

@PopUp: Not sure what that converts to in dollars, but if your budget is around $200 I would go pick up an EVGA GTX 460 1 GB. Look around for prices, but newegg.ca has them on for around $200-$220 + $10 shipping. If you can find it cheap, I would try to throw in that extra 1 GB of RAM also. Just make sure it's compatible.

@PopUp: If he is referring to the RAM he means whether the MoBo takes DDR2 or DDR3 RAM. If it's the GPU then I think whether the MoBo has a 16x PCIE-slot. The resolution means you won't need as powerful GPU to handle the graphics.

@ZoomyRamen said:

@PopUp: If he is referring to the RAM he means whether the MoBo takes DDR2 or DDR3 RAM. If it's the GPU then I think whether the MoBo has a 16x PCIE-slot. The resolution means you won't need as powerful GPU to handle the graphics.

Thanks for all the help. One last question - is systemrequirementslab a reliable source of information? It says I can run the Witcher 2 at a good level, but this seems doubtful.

RAM and processor is sort of fine, I guess. Get yourself a GeForce 460, should be in your budget. Also check what brand your power supply is and how strong it is before buying it - get back to us with that. You should be fine though.

Hmm. To make any worthwhile upgrades, like SammydesinasNL says, you'll likely need to replace your mobo.

Now I feel old.  People are recommending GeForce 460s.  I remember when I had a GE Force MX440 and when I finally passed it along to my daughter for her first hand-me-down parts computer.  Apparently looking it up, we're currently in the 11th gen of GeForce models.  That MX440 was 4th gen.

I would actually recommend a gtx 460 768mb or 450, rather than a 460 1gb, especially at the resolution. Both of those cards can be found much cheaper.

@ZoomyRamen: Didn't notice the OS. Save up to upgrade to windows 7 64 bit asap.

@crusader8463 said:

@ZoomyRamen: Didn't notice the OS. Save up to upgrade to windows 7 64 bit asap.

What are the advantages? (aside from improved UI etc).

Your cpu is too bottlenecked to even run the witcher or a better videocard with a dual core. I would at least go to quad core first. See if your mobo is am3, then you can upgrade it. Once you done that, then upgrade the videocard, or you will not be able to play the witcher 2.

See if your motherboard has a bios update for new cpus. Upgrade to a faster Phenom II chip and upgrade your videocard.

try and get maybe gtx 250 or something like that, its better than that one and not too much more expensive

@PopUp said:

@crusader8463 said:

@ZoomyRamen: Didn't notice the OS. Save up to upgrade to windows 7 64 bit asap.

What are the advantages? (aside from improved UI etc).

A much better performance. Vista is known as a system hog that takes up a lot of memory. For someone trying to get every bit of power from an older system that can make a big difference. Other then that, as you said, there are a ton of little UI things that make using the system a lot nicer. The big one being the search bar. I'm also a huge fan of being able to set your wall papers to rotate automatically at a set time. I have about 30 different wallpapers cycling every 5 min. For someone like me who gets tired of looking at the same thing this is amazing and almost worth the upgrade in and of it self.
Not sure how often of a problem it will be, but the other thing is game compatibility. Games are designed for Windows 7 now, so you may run into some problems running some games. Not sure how big of a problem it is since vista is just one iteration old, but it's something to look into.

You must find out what your motherboard is, so better advice can be given. Personally, I would save up for an entirely new PC, but due to your budget this obviously isn't possible. What I'm about to recommend is entirely dependent on your motherboard and power supply. Please run this and take a screenshot of all your hardware details. Then take the side off your PC case and find out what power supply you have.