this is my Dell that i bought, obviously there can be improvements, so, let me know what items i should be upgrading...

Dimension 9150
Pentium(r) 4 Processor 540 w/HT Technology (3.2GHz, 800FSB),
Processor:
Pentium(r) 4 Processor 540 w/HT Technology (3.2GHz, 800FSB)
Memory:
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
Video Cards:
128MB PCI ExpressTM x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X300 SE HyperMemory
Hard Drives:
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst CacheTM
160S

Of course the video card isn't that great. actually, i have no idea, it could be terrible, the whole system could be terrible.

what potential upgrades should i consider if i want to play games like

elder scrolls 4
FEAR
etc?

there are some cheap vid cards floating around, specifically
X850XT PCIe Radeon video cards by Sapphire

is that good enough to make my system good?

thanks

edit: is the vid card i have worse than a geforce 4?

Ooh, in terms of technology and enhancements, your X300 wins, but in terms of speed, somehow, the GeForce4 takes the medal.

You might really want to consider upgrading your gfx card. GeForce 7900GT is the best bang for buck now. It's very much faster than the X850 but consumes less power. I got a X850XT PE on my Dell, and it's really getting outdated now (Lack of PS 3.0) especially when playing Fear. You might also want to get the Western Digital Raptor. Games load much faster on it. Other than that, you have a great system dude.




_____________________
Dell Dimension 8400
Pentium 4 3.4GHz 2M
925XE motherboard
1GB DDR2 RAM 533MHz
36GB WD Raptor
160GB Maxtor DiamondMax 9
X850XT PE 575MHz/630MHz
Sound Blaster Audigy 2

you bought a pc with those parts?? hm...was it a while ago? to be honest i think buying ps'c is just a waste of $$(thats just my opinion), its much beter/less expensive/and beter quality wise to build a system urselfe.
lol and i c u are a gamer lol....the radeon 850 series is ok the clocking is ok, but to be honest i would get a system, or atleast some components that would last a while, ....so you wouldnt have to get a new gfx card just for a new game, and then in what half a year/year when a new game comes out you would be running to the store for a new card(its a waste of money) ...have you thought maby of geting a atis 1800 or 1900 series cards?...if you are looking at it budget wise, sometimes its beter to spend a bit more for a beter product, than be skimpy, and then go spend more for a new product later on. im also planning to build myselfe a new rig, but with the prices now and vista being postponed i ll wait till atleast summer, or nex tyear...maby.