The max amount of RAM it can handle is 4GB, so I bought 2GB of the right kind (I took Malbert's advice and opened up my case and looked at the actual ram I had installed, which was different than the crucial recommendation) so that i'll have 2.5 gigs of RAM now.
I have one free PCI slot, (I have three total but one is for the network adapter (which I probably don't need since i just ordered a USB wireless network adapter) and one is for the sound card) and an AGP slot....Anybod y have any recommendation s for the graphics card? I doubt i'll be able to play battlefield 3 on this rig, but i'll take what I can get.
Your original RAM might not have been as good or as fast as what crucial recommended. What were the specs on each (original vs. crucial)? Either way, you will notice a big difference moving from .5 to 2.5 gigs of RAM. If it's still not where you want it to be, I'd definitely upgrade again to 4 gigs. Your current power supply should be fine, but if it's your original one, it might die soon - usually those and hard drives are the first things to go. I'd get the 500w, especially if you're getting a new card that might require more power, because it could overheat.
Loaded is correct about the PCI vs. AGP slot. PCI-e (express) is where the best cards and modern ones fit, but obviously you don't have one. You can get next to nothing trying to upgrade to a regular PCI slot. So that leaves AGP. A search for one on Newegg will only leave you 10 results. Of those 10, 6 of them are "low profile" cards, which means they're good for video but not games. That leaves 4, and 2 are out of stock...which leaves 2, but neither one had good reviews for playing games. Compare the specs and read the reviews
here.
Search for some on eBay, Amazon, or other websites. Let us know some of the options you're looking at before you actually buy one. Here are some results I've found on
Amazon. Just make sure when you go through them that it is AGP because some are PCI. Here are some results I've found on
TigerDirect. That first card, the Radeon 4670, is probably the best one currently available. If you scroll down to the specs, notice it requires a 400w power supply. I think you should buy this card, but some of the others aren't bad either.
How long do you plan on keeping this computer until you get a new one? It might make more sense to just save the money you're spending on RAM, video card, power supply, and possibly a new hard drive, and investing in a new computer. And no, you will not be able to run BF3 because you need Windows 7, and whatever AGP card plus your processor are, it probably won't be enough to run BF3. However, I would suggest getting BF2 if you're not wanting to play BF1942 anymore. There are still some of us who play that.