I have no clue about computers. What to upgrade too for latest games?

I enjoy playing computer games but the problem is I have no clue about anything computer related on the hardware side. I have no clue about video cards, cooling systems, fans, etc etc. All I know is my current computer is getting old, had it over 2 years 4 months. I am interested in some new games, Bioshock, Crysis, Orange Box, Gears of War,Oblivion, but the problem is according to http://www.systemrequirementslab.com my computer can't handle any of these games. I am somewhat weary to go to bestbuy or circuit city and talk to the sales reps because when I talked to them they tried to convince me to get some really expensive items. I am sure those speakers from Bose for 200 $ will really improve my game.... I already have a pretty good monitor. What computers should I be looking at to play these games? It would be helpful if you could link them. I know people say go to newegg and custom build but the problem is I have no clue about computers, and have no experiance building anything remotely complicated.

EDIT - Here is my computer information

System tab

- System Manufacturer: Emachines
- System Model: T6520
- Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3400+ , MMX, 3DNow, ~2.4GHZ
- Memory: 1022MB Ram

Graphics Card

Name: ATI Radeon X1050
Memory: 256.0MB
Current Display Mode: 1152 x 864 (32bit) (60Hz)

If this is the case go I would suggest you go to a local computer store and custom build a computer. It will cost you a little more than a custom machine build from parts you order and assemble but has the potential to be much better than any off the shelf or mail order system. If you go this route it will make it easier for you to update your system down the road with new technology as it becomes "required". An added benifit is you don't have to deal with all the ****ware that comes prebundled on a computer.

Rule of thumb go with the best video card/s, fastest cpu and most (and fastest) RAM you can afford, though the RAM is easy to swap out at a latter date... For the most part the sound on a good quality motherboard should be sufficient to do the job.

Still the best option is to build it yourself... Good Luck!

props for trying to help, but lol, did you not read this part:

or this:

do you have a price range?

go for an allien ware or a dell XPS those comps arent half bad.

If you have it done at your local computer shop/store by their qualified technicians a Custom Build is a great way to go. Without knowing what you have for a computer now it's hard to really say what you need. You may be able to upgrade a couple items and play those games rather than spending allot of $$$ on a brand new machine.
If money is not much of an issue, you could go with a semi custom computer (built to order within specifications) from a reputable company online. I recommend www.alienware.com & www.cyberpowerpc.com, or the XPS from Dell. - - - Get a dual core processor (the largest number you can afford), a DEDICATED Graphics Card with 256mb of VRAM or more(a big variety of video cards out there, so do some research), 2 GB of RAM or more, (but don't get over 3 unless you have a 64bit Operating System), and a backlit screen (trueview, briteview etc) capable of handling a decent resolution (I like a 1400x900 widescreen or higher).
That's the most important stuff, and with those basics you should have a PC that's capable of playing the latest games at high settings. Hope that helps.

How do I know what I have on my computer? The stickers on it have faded and fallen off.

Put a price range in your post please. Help us to help you.

Lol. Here's an idea of what kind of graphics processing power it takes to run Crysis.



They may improve your gaming experience, not the game itself.

Go Start > Run, type in dxdiag and press enter.

Under the System tab, tell us your:

- System Manufacturer
- System Model
- Processor
- Memory

And under the Display tab, tell us the name of your graphics card, the amount of memory it has, and your current display mode (resolution).

Alienware is high prices for brand name stuff. Even a Dell, Acer, or Gateway PC can give you all you need for a more affordable price.

No, just... no.

EVEREST Free gives you all the information need you and much more under the Summary section.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

Why use everest?
it can't tell me the correct OS i'm using, what version of DX i'm running....and to top if off, it tells me my multiplier is set to x7 lol.

the dxdiag report was good enough to get a few of us into the beta for conan, it should be good enough for a simple post as well. no need to run crap like that(everest).

/re-roll here is a screenie of the proggies back to back. (I added the arrows of course lol)

I'm very curious why its so necessary that the OP download and run third-party crap just to tell us what processor, RAM, and video card they're running.. basic OS components can give us the same info.

Enlighten me?

Precisely. The only thing I see that is wrong with using dxdiag is that many people post an entire log of mostly irrelevant stuff. Cpu, vid card, ram, and possibly motherboard info is already in dxdiag anyways.

@all replies:
Look at it this way. You can either get a very limited amount of information from dxdiag (which techs don't really make use of unless they're diagnosing DirectX) or you can use a utility like EVEREST, SIW, AIDA32, msinfo32.exe etc etc which can provide a comprehensive and detailed summary of system information about a system.

I'd easily pick the EVEREST(Free/Ultimate)/SIW/AIDA32 report over the dxdiag because you will get much more useful information.


@flubber: then try the EVEREST Ultimate trial which is up-to-date. I know it works because I use it often on the job site.
http://www.lavalys.com/products/down...?ps=UE&lang=en

no thanks, dxdiag works just fine.

Yes I did see it but I guess I wasn't clear. I meant to suggest they go to a local computer store and have one custom built (for them) that will run the apps (games) they are looking at playing. This will then give them a place to go for upgrades on down the road when and if they need them.

inho Alienware is over priced and not as high end as they used to be and Dell - well even their "high end" boxes, the XPS aren't great gaming platforms. If I had to mail order a computer I suppose I would go with a Vigor...

If you really want a computer suited to your needs, you will need to do more than just ask here. There are tech sites and deal sites that can help you out.
Tech sites will tell you to buy the latest and greatest so as not to have to upgrade later. Deal sites will explain that the midrange systems are good enough and with the money you save now, you can fully upgrade to something better in a few years. Both can show you how to build your own rig and overclock and tweak it for better performance for your dollar. Anandtech is good for that and for finding deals on parts.

I recommend going to fatwallet or slickdeals and looking for a deal on a dell pentium based dual core and then upgrading your video card and ram using one of their deals. Dell has unadvertised deals for basic systems starting at $300 and systems with lcd monitors for just over $500. It just takes some time to research and some times you have to wait for the deals to pop up. Usually theres some sweet deals every couple of months. All deal threads in the forums now have ratings and the ratings are pretty accurate. A 5 star deal is what you want.

Fixed that for you

(note: not a recommendation - just pointing out that Alienware got swallowed by Dell )

Here is my computer information.

System tab

- System Manufacturer: Emachines
- System Model: T6520
- Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3400+ , MMX, 3DNow, ~2.4GHZ
- Memory: 1022MB Ram

Graphics Card

Name: ATI Radeon X1050
Memory: 256.0MB
Current Display Mode: 1152 x 864 (32bit) (60Hz)

Upgrade your RAM to 3GB and you should be fine.

This doesn't seem very accurate.

Systemreq syas I need to upgrade my video card, ram, cpu, and I need to get a dvd-rom.