I don't want to be here but it's for the health of my computers!!! please help.

[dingoizdead]

please just bear with me because im just looking for some information. Oh, and please dont tell me to buy a new computer.


first up;
this computer that im currently using needs new ram and a new video card.
i have 2 ram slots that i can use and 1 agp slot.
this comp is a refurbished dell optiplex gx260 with a pentium 4
and im currently running windows xp
im pretty sure about what im getting as far as ram goes and where im getting it from.
im planning on getting 2 , 1 gig cards from crucial.com. are there any suggestions as to where i could get compatible cards other than online or if there are better companies than crucial to buy my ram from? preferrably not over the internet.

I'm having more of a problem finding an agp video card for this.
i'm just not really sure what my comp is capable of running.
in all reality i want this video card upgrade for one reason only.
the game spore is out and i want to play it.
so all i really want to know is if this comp can handle any cards that are capable of running that game. and if so then which ones ? and lastly any suggestions as to where i could find one. preferrably not over the internet.


next up;
my laptop, all it really needs is ram.
its a refurbished dell latitude
it has two ram slots
i figure that ill probably get these from crucial.com also. but if there are suggestions please do tell. id really much rather not buy anything over the internet.


lastly;
my dinosaur.
its an old ibm notebook from '93
it used to run windows 3.1 i think but now it doesnt run anything.
it has been f-disked.
it needs a new battery pack and a dos boot disk and then old software.
all i want to do with it is word processing.
it has an old dial-up modem and i would like to remove it and if possible replace it with memory.
im willing to do what it takes to make this old thing work.
it was given to me as a "gift" 
if there are any resources i could use to get old boot disks and software for free.
that would help more than anyone could possibly know.
i understand that replacing the modem with memory, more than likely, means replacing the whole motherboard.
and finding a new battery pack may be next to impossible. but i feel that i should at least try. instead of just junking it.

any help at all with any of these things would be greatly appreciated.
in all honesty i havent done too much researching on my own but if i know where the resources are i will use them.
and again please dont tell me to "just go buy a new computer".

[computeruler]

i think you pretty much need to buy it over the internet more selection ect ect ok well first your ram its ddr and you have 2 slots so you will have to take out whats in there 1st how much ram does it have currently? and whats the graphics card? does it have onboard? and yes that computer should be able to run spore as long as your graphics card is ok and what is the cpu speed? and your dell laptop same thing how much ram now? again youll get a better deal on the interner more selection ect ect and your old old old laptop whats wrong with it? why wont it work?

[Soviet_Genius]

I think the best AGP video card out right now is a GeForce 7600 and I think that it would run Spore pretty decently.

[computeruler]

no look here and choose the one you can afford http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/Best-Graphics-Card,2011-5.html

[dingoizdead]

i currently have only 256 mb of ram and i know that i can run 2 gigs
the graphics card is currently part of the motherboard but i have an open agp slot
my cpu runs at 1.8 mhz it is a pentium four

the laptop has the same ; 256 mb

like i said before im not so worried about the ram ive pretty much got that all figured out
but the graphics card is what im having the trouble with
mostly the problem is about knowing what card will fit in my agp slot or what card my cpu is capable of handling
and how to know if the card will support the pixel shader 2.0
ive gone to tomshardware.com before but when i look around there it seems that most cost more than $200 or so and thats about my spending limit
so how do i know what will work in my pc with my os?
what do i need to know in order to make an informed decision??

oh yeah the dinosaur;
the old ibm doesnt work mostly because of the battery
the battery doesnt charge and wont hold any charge long enough to save any data like clock settings or anything
but when it stays plugged in every piece of data stays up to date
it also doesnt have any software at this point
the hard drive has been wiped clean
it needs a dos boot disk and a new os
as long as i can use it to write i would be happy
but i would like to be able to take out of the house
if there are any more questions about this just ask and i will do the best to answer them

and thanks for your help so far.

[computeruler]

in the link it says agp cards those are the best bang for buck right now and yes replace all the ram ddr ram this should be some good ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231047 im a little worried about that cpu cause the minimum requiremnts a 2ghz p4 but i hope that the ram should make up for this just get any you can afford on that link up there for your card