Folks, I've a Dell Dimension 4600, a few years old, that has served me well and faithfully.
It has a P4 2.4gig processor, and despite only 256MB memory and an el-cheapo NVidia GeForce MX440 video card, it has always been fast and reliable.
Time to upgrade, however - I installed Half-Life 2, and I can't get good graphics. It gets choppy if I get close.
I don't want to break the bank here, just get two more years out of this. I'd like to be able to play any game (I've heard Far Cry is good, but needs a high end setup, for instance) on decent settings.
What video cards are recommended these days - I want trouble free performance at a reasonable price, say $200 or under.
What type/brand of memory is recommended? I'm planning on at least 512, maybe more.