Video Card Upgrade (Is This A Good Idea?)

[Akuma]

I remember my first computer, which I am still using today, came on May 4, 2006 because it was the day before my 16th birthday.  Expect this thing to look pretty much like total crap, but the best I can afford at the moment is a simple video card upgrade so that I can play COD4 with a little better quality graphics and FPS.

Original System:  

Dell Dimension E510

picture of the motherboard, approximately:
http://www.redplanettrading.com/ebay/motherboards/rd203/top800.jpg

processor: Intel Pentium 4 HT 650 (hyper threading)
random access memory:  1GB DDR2 RAM
motherboard chip set:  i945G chip set, I believe
video card:  Radeon x600 series 256 MB

Upgrades So Far:
+2 GB RAM (for a total of 3 GB DDR2 now)

Upgrade Thoughts:
As you can see from the image, there is only one x16 expansion slot because my motherboard is total crap.  This means that I can only have one video card, so the dual link (DVI) feature is not possible.  I originally thought of putting a couple of 512 MB video cards in and linking them, such as this (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4353968&CatId=1826), but that turned out to not be possible unless I bought a brand new motherboard.  I wanted to have a card with 1 GB memory, but only if the system is going to take full advantage of that.  We must keep in mind the age of my system.  Further, I am limited in power supply as well as by the PCI express 1.0.  Many of the newer cards are using 2.0, but my system simply would not accommodate the full features of a card with 2.0.  That left me looking at only PCI 1.0 cards with a power supply wattage requirement roughly equivalent to my Radeon x600, or I would otherwise have to upgrade my power supply as well.  Since I do not wish to upgrade anything other than merely the video card, I picked this card here:  http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3433250&CatId=1826.  Does this look best or can someone else recommend a better idea, possibly?  Thanks!  Oh, before I forget, I should also mention that my monitor uses that blue VGA 15 pin plug, so the motherboard HAS TO have one of those as well.  I realize nowadays a lot of them only have the white plugs.  Cheers!

[BFM_saes]

DVI has nothing to do with Crossfire/SLi (what most "gamers" have two cards for).
DVI is just the kind of connection you have between your card and your monitor.
DVI is what you call "the white plugs"

For $60 from that store, that card looks like the best option (in terms of performance), and I doubt you'd be needing something much more powerful if your monitor is old enough not to support DVI.

What resolution do you have your desktop as?

[Akuma]

I think I mixed up a couple of acronyms in that whole blob, sorry.  It seems you do know what I meant at least, though.  =]  My desktop resolution for my PC is and has always been 1280x1024.  My usual resolution for games is 1024x768, but I would like to use 1280x1024 if performance is very good at that resolution.  I am just fine with using the 1024x768, though.

P.S. I wanted to probably order the video card TONIGHT.  I just needed some confirmation and tweaking to what I had already put a lot of thought into.  At least for me, that whole bit of spam up there took a lot of work to get a hold of.  What I am trying to say here is if anybody has an idea, do not keep it to yourself.  Bring things up and let me know what you think as soon as possible.  I really appreciate having my thoughts critiqued.  I know I cannot possibly be 100% right, so I wanted to consult the BFM clan.  =]

[Akuma]

I am buying the card at midnight EST (in an hour), so if there are no objections, I am going with the EVGA GeForce 8600 GT Video Card:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3433250&CatId=1826

Feel free to comment still!  =]

[Akuma]

Scratch that.  I have no card to buy it with until 7 AM tomorrow morning.  =(  Stupid bank!  I have hundreds in there and I put in the same wrong password one too many times.  *roars*

EDIT:  I used my parents' Paypal account and handed them the cash.  It will be here Friday!  =]  (or so they say.......)

[Akuma]

My card came and it is awesome.  I can run COD4 on my favorite resolution:  1024x768.  I am very pleased!  Before, I could only run on 600x480 but now with this card I can play at 1024x768 with zero lag.  I could not be having a better day.