Not being the computer expert, I thought I'd turn here to the Café for some possible help and suggestions regarding replacing and updating the graphics card in my desktop computer. Hopefully some of the skilled computer people out there can help.

I currently have a Dell Dimension 8400 computer that I bought a few years ago. The specifications are:

Intel Pentium 4 CPU, 3.40 GHz
3.39 GHz, 2 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 graphics card

I know that NVIDIA has come out with several new graphics cards since the one that is installed in my computer. I'd like to upgrade my graphics card but don't know if this is a wise thing to do because my computer's other parts (i.e. the Intel Pentium 4 CPU, etc.) are older. Based on the specifications above, would the newest NVIDIA graphics card perform well on my computer if I replaced the old graphics card with it? What would you suggest or recommend? I certainly don't want to buy a new computer; when I customized my current computer on Dell's website before I bought it (back in the days when you could do that!), I chose pretty much all the high-end stuff (2 GB RAM, etc.). I am interested in obtaining a new graphics card to help play some of the newer PC video games such as Bioshock, Neverwinter Nights 2, etc. which have a lot of intense graphics that my current card has some trouble handling.

Thanks for you your help!

You're talking about graphically-cutting-edge games on an aging computer ... you might do best to ask your question on a gaming forum, maybe one specific to Bioshock.

PS - How does your 'puter stack up to the optimal specs set forth by the game manufacturer? (And the spex they give as "at least" is usually not really good enough, in my experience).

The optimal specifications for Bioshock, for example, are:

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (I have an Intel Pentium 4 -- older but hopefully still good enough)
2 GB RAM (my current system has this!)
NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT card or better (I currently have NVIDIA GeForce 6800 card)

I suppose I could buy the GeForce 7900 GT card and use that. At least it would be something of an upgrade -- not definitely the best upgrade out there, but better than the card I currently have.

NVIDIA! I put one in my Dell....it is in storage now but maybe it will work some day, but the graphic card went in no problem. Trivia! My old company was next door to NVIDIA, they tore down the old xerox building on...Xerox Drive...and built a brand new sexy building.

Oh, I got a rebate on my card and got it no problem.

I ended up buying and installing an NVIDIA 8400 GS graphics card into my computer last night. Total cost was around $115. The newer games with the higher-end graphics ("Bioshock" and "Neverwinter Nights 2") did run much better and are playable. The graphics still are not able to be on "full blast" with everything turned up to HIGH, but I'm able to have more graphical effects activated than before I replaced the card. And now the frame-rates are much smoother, too.