Some Advice When Selecting a New Video Card

[Aggie]

I was wondering if people here would be able to tell me if I'm about to make a huge mistake or not. I need to update my video card so that I can safely install any other EPs that are released if I want them (as I have been playing all the way up to Open for Business with an unsupported card) and have one in mind, and I was hoping that some of you more knowledgeable people could tell me if the one I'm looking at would be optimal or wouldn't work with my system.

This is the card I'm considering:
Link

And here are some of my computer specs:

OS: Windows XP Home Edition (Service Pack 2)
Display adapter: VIA S3G UniChrome IGP
Processor: AMD Sempron(tm) 2800+, 1.99 GHz, 448 Mb RAM

(If I could remember how to get the list of all the hardware up properly, I'd post that, but I can't. >=( ).

I'm also going to be installing an additional 512 MB of RAM if that will affect anything regarding this new (potential) video card. I
d really appreciate any input that could be provided. Thank you all very much.

ETA: If this information is helpful, I don't use any other graphics-intensive games on my computer other than TS2, so if this card would be sufficient for that game alone, I'm fine with that.

[jsalemi]

That card is fine -- maybe overkill considering the rest of your system.  But that's a decent price. You really should add more ram to the system -- 1Gb is the minimum you should have, but 2Gb would be even better.

[KatEnigma]

It's a good card, but I think it's a waste of money because although the card will make it look all pretty, you're never going to get GOOD performance out of that processor.  Semprons just aren't meant to run games, they were designed for email and office applications. I'd hate for you to spend the money expecting the game to run without a lot of lag, when you're not going to be able to achieve that on a Sempron.

[J. M. Pescado]

That is not a computer. My toaster is more powerful than that. I do not see a single part I recognize as being fit to play anything on. You MIGHT be able to play old telnet games on it. MAYBE.

[Aggie]

Well, my funds are rather limited (as is my technical knowledge about computer technology, natch). Please excuse me if this is an incredibly stupid question, but can the processor itself be replaced in the computer or do I have to purchase an entirely new CPU to upgrade that?

And jsalemi, if that card I'm considering would be overkill, do you think I could get away with adding the same card one level down (i.e. one that only provides 256 Mb of RAM) for better usage?

[J. M. Pescado]

Most likely such an upgrade would involve a new motherboard, and since there isn't anything in your computer that doesn't suck, you'd end up buying an essentially new computer, perhaps minus drives and accessories.

[jsalemi]

And jsalemi, if that card I'm considering would be overkill, do you think I could get away with adding the same card one level down (i.e. one that only provides 256 Mb of RAM) for better usage?

It's not a question of the amount of memory in the video card -- it's the fact that the card would be more powerful than the computer (and I disagree with katenigma about that card -- it's essentially a third-party version of the ATI X1600, which is a decent card). You'd be better off putting the money into a new computer, as Pescado suggests. Baring that, you're better off increasing the ram in the system first.  The more the game can load into memory, the less it'll lag while it hits the disk.

So better computer is the first choice. More memory (and keep a limit on your custom content) is the alternative. A better video card wouldn't help as much as the first two.

[Gwill]

It's not a question of the amount of memory in the video card -- it's the fact that the card would be more powerful than the computer.

In other words, it's a lot like putting a F1 engine in a go-cart.