Need Computer Buying Advice for Playing Runescape & Warcraft?

My son has a Windows ME Desktop computer that freezes playing strategy games. Current is P3 933mhz, 256 Ram, 32 mb ATI Radeon graphics and 60g hard drive. I'm computer literate & can configure computers for business, but gaming is different. It isn't for hard core gaming & would be nice if it was Vista ready, but don't want to break the bank....he is only 14 and who knows what he'll be downloading, etc. I'm currently looking at a Dell E521, Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800 processor, MCE, 2 gig Ram, 256 mb ATI Radeon X1300 Pro graphics card, 250 gig hard drive. About 785 after tax. This is for what I THINK I need, but am hoping someone can shed light on exactly how much mem & graphics I need and lead me to something for less. From the limited amount I know about gaming, Runescape isn't 3-D so do I need this much??? Would love to be closer to $500. Have also looked at HP Media Center systems? But many are integrated graphics. So confusing! Oh - don't need a monitor. Thanks!

I think you might need to go talk to the people at Fry's Electronic. Their staff is very helpful and the price is reasonable. go check out their website to find their locations.

First of all Runescape IS a 3d application. That cpu, ram, and HD, and O/S are MORE than enough....the video card should be enough, it's comparable to a Vanilla Nvidia 6600. I would shoot for an Nvidia 7600GT, or a Nvidia x800GTO.

Other than that, the pc will ROCK!

Yes, Windows ME is useless. (If you want to keep using that computer, switch to Windows NT 4 or Windows 2000, ME is notoriously unstable.) Runescape is nothing, It's like a psuedo-3d java game, (I dont play it), but to fully appreciate World of Warcraft you will need a good 3D graphics card. The computer you mentioned will definitely handle it.

You could get by with less, but I don't think there is any sense, at this point, buying a computer that doesn't have a 64 bit processor. When buying a computer, particularly for gaming, you should be looking forward. Your son might want to play with the new expansion pack for warcraft, or the big Star Trek MMORPG that's coming out next year...or whatever. Spending a couple hundred more dollars right now means the computer will be usable for longer.