What a Bargain!

So, a couple of weeks ago, the hard drive on my four-year-old computer died.  I had been wanting to buy a new computer, anyway, and though I usually buy my computers online from Dell, I thought I would just go to the stores and see what was out there.

And there it was, a Dell Inspiron 531 at Sam's Club with a 24" monitor, for less than I had spent on my last computer, though it was (of course) faster, had an awesome monitor, and had everything else I wanted... or at least I thought.

One of the reasons I wanted a new computer was that I wanted to play newer games.  Even games that don't take a whole lot in the way of memory and speed were too much for my old computer, and I like playing the occasional roleplaying game with cool graphics.  So, the first thing I did after setting up the new computer was I went out and bought Neverwinter Nights 2.

But while installing the game, the installation wizard said, "Your video card has less than 128 Megs of memory, which may affect performance."  Sure enough, the graphics skip so bad, I couldn't play it.  I checked.  My brand new computer had a video card with only 64 Megs of memory.

So, I ordered a new video card, this time with 512 Megs of memory, twice as much as is recommended for the game.  Last night I installed it, and turned the computer back on to hear an awful, high-pitched solid tone emanate from the inside the case, although the computer started up fine.  I knew that sound; I had a friend whose power supply went bad once, and it made the same sound.

I powered down, opened the computer, looked at my power supply, then looked at the specs for my new video card.  The video card requires a power supply capable of delivering 400 watts.  Mine delivers 300.  My new power supply, the one I just ordered, will be here next Friday.

Gosh, I'm so glad I bought a computer off the shelf at a discount store!  Look at all the money I saved!