>>Not a good Idea at all. Throw money away on old technology so>to speak. Spend $170 bucks on an ATI 9500Pro while you still>can and it will easily outperform a Ti4600/4800. Paul, don't>freak out on me..Lol you know it's true :)Hey, I gotta freakout on ya Bobby, its my Job! LOL! :)But yeah, if your going to spend anywhere near $200 it is pretty obvious that the 9500P is the way to go as long as you can find them. Even 9700Ps are getting closer to $200, you can even check your local BestBuy. >Dell is trying to rip you off insanely...Go to WWW.NEWEGG.COM>and pick up a 3.06 P4 for $364. A 9500Pro can be had for $175.>Wow !! Look at that, just over $500 and your machine will>really show an improvement. You'll thank yourself for it. :)>>BobbyThat is excellent advice Bobby, the same as for Bigs comments as well. Take care.

>But then as you said, FS2k2 uses an old terrain engine>compared to some of the newer games out today and a poor sim>to be using when comparing this type thing. True, thats why I try to be carefull to speak of quality issues only as it applies to sims like FS2k2.When it's time for>me to upgrade again, which will be a while, I'll be looking at>both Nvidia and ATI to see who's got what. ATI is most>certainly the better buy today. IMHO! I certainly would agree with you on that.But then, I haven't seen>nor heard many comments about the 5900 Ultra yet? That one has>to come down in price if Nvidia wants to go anywhere with it.Yes they are still having some production issues with the silicon, once production becomes mass we will see more reasonable priceing.Take Care.

Thanks everybody, I keep finding out more info on my board. Now it seams I have a 850 chip set, not a 850E. So the set can only run a 400mhz FSB. And the Dell guy told me a 533 FSB?!?! I researched the Intel website and it said my 850 can not run the 533 FSB. It happens that if I waited another month, my 2.0 would have came with a 850E chip set. But since I got it last March, they shipped it with a 850. Thanks "BIGSHOT" for leading me to the Dell forums. I did a seach and that is where I got my info. So it looks like I am now stuck at having to go for a 2.6 P4 @ 400mhz FSB, and I found some for $205. Now as for the video cards, I must do more research.MarcBoomer Sooner

That new processor will have plenty of muscle. Don't worry about it. As far as video cards go, the 9700 Pro is the best bang for the buck. Just confirm which Power Supply you have. I've heard of Dell folks running it on a Dell 220 Watt without any problems; but that'd be pushing it. IMHO. A 250 Watt Dell PS will have no problems. FS2004 will use all of that video card too. You'll want to see those clouds in all their glory. You really only need 512mb of ram which I see you have. Just remember if you decide to add to that, the RD Ram have to be used in pairs. If you decide to upgrade that ram, you need to confirm that your motherboard will accept faster ram.

Couple of things:1. Powerleap sells a socket adapter to allow older machines to run hyper threading chips. They know a lot about Dells over there as well. 2. I am running a Radeon 9700 in my old Dell Dimension 8100, which also has a CPU fan running (not original spec - Dell uses the passive heat sinks with the duct and case fan) and two two hard drives and no problems with the power supply. 3. Dell has a vested interest in not helping you upgrade. Their business model is based on selling you a new box every couple of years, even though you probably only really need a new CPU. Buy your CPU from Nuegg.com (as noted above) - great retailer, good prices, very quick and free shipping. I got a p4 2.6 400 fsb for my box for $209 out the door. The install is simple. Just make sure you have some thermal paste. Colin