I'm just wondering, what would it take to run Oblivion on my PC? I've been playing on my 360 since it's release.
System info:
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System Information
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Time of this report: 4/19/2011, 21:46:13
Machine name:
Operating System: Windows Vista? Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.101014-0432)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Inspiron 537
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel® Celeron® CPU 450 @ 2.20GHz, ~2.2GHz
Memory: 2012MB RAM
Page File: 2678MB used, 1597MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 32bit Unicode
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Display Devices
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Card name: Intel® G41 Express Chipset
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Chip type: Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family
DAC type: Internal
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E32&SUBSYS_02E11028&REV_03
Display Memory: 782 MB
Dedicated Memory: 32 MB
Shared Memory: 750 MB
Current Mode: 1366 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Driver Name: igdumd64.dll,igd10umd64.dll,igdumdx32,igd10umd32
Driver Version: 8.15.0010.2202 (English)
DDI Version: 9Ex
BGRA Supported: Yes
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 8/25/2010 20:36:02, 6547968 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
Device Identifier: {D7B78E66-6D72-11CF-027B-EB22A3C2C535}
Vendor ID: 0x8086
Device ID: 0x2E32
SubSys ID: 0x02E11028
Revision ID: 0x0003
Revision ID: 0x0003
Video Accel:
Deinterlace Caps: n/a
DDraw Status: Not Available
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Not Available
So would I be able to play Oblivion on this?

While it will most likely start, I don't think it will play Oblivion very well because of the "Intel? G41 Express Chipset" which is a relatively weak graphic chip. You will need a proper graphic card for the computer, and fortunately, the Dell Inspiron 537 do have a PCIe x16 slot so it's easy to plug in a better graphic card.

I would recommend the recently released Radeon HD 6670 or the GeForce GTS 450. With any of those you should be able to run the game just fine, and be able to play the upcoming Skyrim as well. You could also go for an even faster card, of course, but I personally think the mid-range cards give the best bang for the buck.

Thanks. And really? That's it?

Yeah, I think that's it. The CPU isn't the best, only having a single core, but it should be enough.

And how much would that graphics chip cost?

The Radeon 6670 is about $100 on www.newegg.com.

The CPU is going to be a major choke point on that system. Being a Celeron.... it only has 512K of L2 Cache.... (on die ram, basically) An E6600 is less than a hundred bucks, and would be a MAJOR improvement..... verify that your system board will support it first though.

You can upgrade that system quite a bit. For one, get a better CPU for sure as the motherboard will support up to a Core 2 Duo E8500 and a up to a Core 2 Quad Q8400. Then a real video card and might need a new power supply to power it all.

How much you got to spend?