I was wondering if my computers specs were good enough to run some MODs i am not very computer savvy so if you guys and gals could help me out and tell me if this would be good?

Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.06GHz
Memory: 1014MB RAM
Hard Drive: 79 GB
Video Card: Intel® 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Sound Card: SigmaTel Audio
Keyboard: USB Root Hub
Mouse: USB Root Hub
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.091208-2036)

I would suggest maybe more hard drive space, some mods take up a lot of space, and atm my fallout 3 folder is 15gb, so you know.. and maybe some more ram. Not sure on your video card though, if it can run fallout 3 right now on bare minimum, hold off don't get any mods that do HD or add to much in right now.

Won't run at all. No way an Intel GMA 900 (the 82915 chipset) will play Fallout 3.

That motherboard may have a PCI-e slot; what model Dell is it?

Dimension E310

I just posted in a similar thread. I would give it a try. I run quite a few mods w/ a low end machine. Worst thing that can occur is stutter or crash. I found the changes and new stuff you can get from mods outweighed the annoyance of the occasional crash. :shrug:

I would suggest copying your data folder (program files/bethesda software/fallout3/data) and saving it someplace you can easy find. Then load mods that sound interesting. If you find your computer is having issues playing it, un-select it in FOMM, or paste back in your working data folder. I don't know much either, but enjoyed the challenge of getting mods to work. The community on this forum was/is very helpful.

Thank you all. Do you think this computer is worth upgrading or should i just get a whole new one? i am going to collage soon so i have to decide.

Bummer. That one has only a PCI-e x1 slot (and two PCI slots). Most modern graphics cards are right out, because they're PCI-e x16.

There are some ATI 4530 cards in PCI-e x1 format; they're pretty expensive at about $100, but they would probably work best in that system.

There are some nVidia cards, the 8400 GS, 9400 GT, and 9500 GT, that are available in PCI format. They are less expensive, but the PCI bus is slow.



Your computer has a decent graphics card. The OP's immediate problem is that his computer doesn't even have a slot for one. Because of that, I wouldn't advise upgrading; I'd advise saluaging and building from scratch. Reusing the memory, hard disk, and DVD drive might save about $200. Nothing else in an E310 would be even remotely reusable.

I am thinking about just getting a whole new computer and not having to worry about upgrading my video card.

I would definitely recommend it. 90% of current games are more graphics intensive rather than CPU intensive; so it's best to use a little extra $$ for a kick-ass GPU. Note that on-board graphics solutions are NOT a good idea if you're into games; so stay away from those pre-built systems that have onboard graphics

Build yourself a desktop. You can find plenty of guides around the internet, and for 500$ you can get a PC that can run anything.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115059 $145 (I have a Pentium D 940)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130252 $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231136 $115 (Always good to get matched memory sets like this)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021 $100 - I have the 1200 which is $90 more and love it, unless they change form factors this will probably be the last case you ever buy. Your Dell case has it's own special form factor for the motherboard so you cant buy a standard ATX and drop it in.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006 $110 - I have this one and even at full load I don't have voltage drops. Plus, with the 60amp 12v rail, you are set when you upgrade in the future.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150369 - $105. I have the sapphire version. It's not a blow it out of the water video card but it is a decent card. I play Fallout 3 at 1920x1080 with 2xAA and 2xAF, shadows off, everything else maxed and it runs fine.

Total cost. $655 or so.

You could also check out this build http://www.hardware-revolution.com/400-gaming-pc/

I fully endorse this post. :foodndrink:

And if you're not keen on putting together the (really quite simple) jigsaw puzzle, so to speak, you can get a friend or family member to do that, or - for maybe $50 or less (?) - the techies at the shop you're buying the components from should be willing to.

A dual core is all you need for gaming, and they're dirt cheap. And so on...


edit: And hey, as far as that $400 system goes, I'd take some of their upgrade suggestions to heart, personally, like so -- HD5770 (+$82), 500GB HDD (+$11), Athlon II x2 250 (+$6) = $509 (instead of $410). But whatever works should be the guiding principle.

wait.. my computer was 1700 dollars ( really high end gaming pc as a gift ), my graphics card was almost $500.00 how can you make a comp that can run almost anything for that price?

By reading some text.

No, seriously, it's not too hard to make a beast of a gaming machine for cheap. Particular other (professional, niche) applications can be significantly more demanding, and so things like high-end workstation graphics cards, 12GB or more of very fast RAM and so on might be in order. Oh, and if you're into Eyefinity in a BIG way, you might want to fork out for, say, the HD5970, if not multiples of it. Plus the power supply to handle that, and so on.

I mean no offence by stating any of this, by the way. I'm sure your $1700 PC is quite the build, for what it's worth. At the same time, gaming PCs can be both remarkably cheap and surprisingly effective, if you do it right.

edit: But also, please don't take my word for it! Benchmarks tell the story, better than I possibly could.

The computer im using now cost me 400 bucks but i got it back in like 2002 or around that so it is pretty old. Really need to upgrade.

hmm yeah well it was also built for a semi proff build of cgi and 3d modeling in mind, along with gaming... so it's pretty sweet, anyway if you have the money i suggest building your own, or if you don't think you can at least get somebody at the store to tell you what you could prob run with it.

You know....you could get a Phenom II X2 555 BE for around $100 and with the right motherboard you may be able to unlock the extra two cores and turn it into a Quad Core.

http://www.pureoverclock.com/article905.html

That's buying a 3.2ghz Dual core and turning it into a 3.2ghz Quad core. They don't guarantee it but plenty of people have been successful.