Vista - Need New Video Card

Hi,
I just want to run a particular game but my video card does not meet the minimum requirements and I would like to purchase a new one.

Here are the requirements I need:
512 MB memory or more
3D Acceleration
Video HW Transform and Lighting
Vertex Shader 3.0
Pixel Shader 3.0

I have a Dell Inspiron 518 Desktop.

Hi DevourOfDarknes......


ok......

do you game extensively, if so are they modern games..??

what is your budget..??

what is your preference (ATI / Nvidia)..??

have you checked you have a free PCIE slot..??

your PSU may also need upgrading depending on the card you purchase, what is the current PSU in the Dell, does it have a dedicated 6pin for a GFX card..??

Ok well,
I don't game that much but games I play are modern.
My budget is under $200 - Not including PSU upgrade if needed.
I don't have a particular preference.
Would it be right that you could just replace the current video card? (Same slot)
Not sure about your last 2 questions sorry.

well...according to your specs your running an integrated GFX chipset or ''on-board GFX'' as its known, so there shouldn't be a card in there currently

i believe the motherboard you have is a G33 based board (correct me if im wrong) but that should have an empty PCIE slot....

but your generic PSU is only 300w (again correct me if wrong) & will not have a dedicated 12v line for a 3rd party card....

if you dont game intensively & not too fussed about pushing max settings on all games you could grab on of these...

HD4850

you may be able to run this off of your current PSU with molex adapters, there is also the 4670 & 4770, but for 1680x1050 you'll want at least a 4850 or above IMO..

if you were going to upgrade your PSU though you could push the boat out for its bigger brother & grab this...

HD4870

still within your budget this card is a super performer, but it will need a fair bit of power...

i have to say this to anyone who's looking to upgrade a Dell..... you'd be better off building a whole new rig, b/c the new GPU will just move the bottleneck to another area of the machine.