Optimizing For Gaming, Should I upgrade my computer or just buy a new one?

[zogyark]

So with some great looking games coming out soon, and a some I currently play, I realize my computer doesn't push for more details, colors and graphics. Often I play a game and I need to lower the graphics and details to the lowest to avoid lag.  A great looking game is coming out next year and I want to play it to its full potential, So I wonder what do I need for my computer to make it work great or do I just need to get a new one, my computer is not that bad or old, i believe it's just the video card and processor that might be outdated, which I don't know much about. I also want to know if making the switch from Vista to Windows 7 makes that much of a difference. Let me know what you think and the price for parts to upgrade and see whether it's worth the upgrade or to just buy a new one.

My Computer Specs:

Windows Vista 64bit Edition
CPU - Intel Pentium Processor E6300
Ram - 8GB
Hard Drive - 750GB
Graphics - Intel GMA 3100 Integrated

This is all I know from the box, if you need more let me know where to find it since I'm not so good with computers. Thanks in advance

[Mulreay]

Could you supply the title of the game you intend to play with minimum and recommended requirements please. It gives us a bench mark.

[zogyark]

These are the recommended System Specifications for guild wars 2, which is the game im planning to play

-Microsoft Windows Vista / 7
-Dual Core CPU 2.0GHz or equivalent
-2GB RAM
-NVIDIA GeForce 8800 / ATI Radeon HD 3850
-5GB Hard Disk space
-CD-ROM drive
-16-bit Sound Card
-Broadband Internet Connection

These are the Recommended Specifications for a game i have, which i lag mainly in crowded places and with low settings, the game is Allods online.

OS: Windows XP / Vista
CPU: 2 GHz Pentium 4
RAM: 1024 MB (1GB)
HDD: 3 GB Free
Graphics Card: Nvidia 6600 VGA Card

Ty for any replies.

[patio]

It looks like you will need to invest in a video card to suit your needs...
Unless this is a laptop which wasn't specified in your Post.

[zogyark]

it's a desktop yeah, okay a video card, doesnt sound that bad, any recommendations or should i just ask the best buy guy?=)

[patio]

Never ever ask the Best Buy guy...

[zogyark]

oh okay, ill search around, thanks.

[patio]

Best way to determine this is start with a budget...determine what the PC will take (power becomes a consideration in this]   and then check the Games minimum requirements for optimal performance...
Otherwise you may spend alot of cabbage and wind up dissapointed...

[zogyark]

well 100 bucks at most maybe more but not too much, not sure what my pc will take really so i gotta figure that out, dont really know much about video cards so ill do a little research on them.

[quaxo]

If you get confused about how two cards compare to each other (same brand or not) here's a nice chart to compare them:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,3018-7.html

The model numbers can be confusing if you don't know what's what, so this helps put it into perspective a bit. You'll be interested in the "Discrete" (desktop-type card) ones. "Go" and "Mobility" are laptop chipsets and don't apply to what you're doing. Neither does anything that's listed only as "Integrated".

You'll notice your current chipset, Intel 3100, is about halfway down the list. They recommend for any real noticeable change to go at the very least 3 tiers above your current, which won't be difficult when upgrading from an Intel chipset. I'd recommend checking out the ones in the top 6 or 8 tiers at most, I wouldn't bother going below that. I think it'd be a waste of money.

If you have more questions about your choices, feel free to ask.

[Transfusion]

You can use this webpage to compare the specs and performance of just about any desktop graphics card in the world: http://www.hwcompare.com