Can anyone tell me what's wrong with my computer?

You have a 32-bit operating system which is why it is only using 3.43GB. You need a 64-bit operating system to use all 16GB of your ram.

What graphics card do you have?

16GB of RAM with a 32-bit OS... No, no, no, no! That's where you're doing it wrong. :P

What is your GPU? We need to know since the GPU is the biggest factor in delivering performance in games.

I have an ATI Radeon HD 3400 Series apparently. I don't know what that means. Here's some other stuff: Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x95C5) DAC Type: Internal DAC(400MHz) That's all I know about the Graphics card side of things, I suppose that's what you wanted. I'll try to upgrade my operating system to 64-bit, thanks on that part. *Edit* The system model of the desktop is a Dell OptiPlex 980.PixelDuh

That ATI Radeon HD 3400 is just enough to show your desktop and Aero.  It's a (very) low-end video card and that's why you play hefty games slideshow-wise...

You should upgrade to a 64-bits operating system, check what power supply you have to see if that supply can handle a beefier GPU which needs one or two PCIe power plugs...

The i7 860 is a first generation socket 1156 CPU.  I had one and it's not bad at all.  Sandy- and Ivy Bridge CPUs perform better,  but a system with an i7 860 coupled to a sturdy video card like an NVidia GTX670/760 or AMD 7870/7950 will make yer jaw drop when you'd play games on it.

So I upgrade my OS to 64 bit, I go to Best Buy or Tiger Direct and get a "Beefier", high-end Graphics Card, then what? Am I done? Can I just download and play and record Bioshock Infinite on Ultra settings with high FPS? Or is there another step I need to follow? Also, the Local Disk Space. Is that the same thing as the Hard Drive, and if so should I buy a bigger internal or external Hard Drive if I plan on downloading and recording a lot of games? I want to do let's plays, and right now I'm doing it all on my laptop. I'm trying to do low-end games like Half-Life and Minecraft until I can get my desktop "fixed". I plan on going into Deus Ex, Battlefield 4, and Tomb Raider when I do. So, if I 1. Upgrade to 64-bit 2. Get a better Graphics card 3. ??? 4. Get a bigger HDD Will I be able to play those games?PixelDuh

Yep.  Local Disk Space is the totality of what you have in hard drives.

Don't forget to check what power supply you have (brand and wattage) since a card like the ones I mentioned would need a supply with at least 500 watt, preferably around 600 to stay on the safe side (in case you want to add other stuff).

Once you've got those (and a bigger hard drive --look at 2TB drives, they're cheaper when looking at bang per megabyte) you're indeed all set to go...

So I upgrade my OS to 64 bit, I go to Best Buy or Tiger Direct and get a "Beefier", high-end Graphics Card, then what? Am I done? Can I just download and play and record Bioshock Infinite on Ultra settings with high FPS? Or is there another step I need to follow? Also, the Local Disk Space. Is that the same thing as the Hard Drive, and if so should I buy a bigger internal or external Hard Drive if I plan on downloading and recording a lot of games? I want to do let's plays, and right now I'm doing it all on my laptop. I'm trying to do low-end games like Half-Life and Minecraft until I can get my desktop "fixed". I plan on going into Deus Ex, Battlefield 4, and Tomb Raider when I do. So, if I 1. Upgrade to 64-bit 2. Get a better Graphics card 3. ??? 4. Get a bigger HDD Will I be able to play those games?PixelDuh

Ultra?

1920x1080 resolution i presume?

Grab yourself this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121775

If British, this.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-asus-gtx-760-directcu-ii-oc-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-1006mhz-boost-1072mhz-cores-115

Power supply.

American?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119

British?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/450w-seasonic-g-450-modular-80-plus-gold-eps-12v-12cm-silnt-fan-atx-psu

American?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119

AMD655

Also, should I get an internal HDD, like this: http://goo.gl/X8WI58 Or an external one: http://goo.gl/Flp5OU

Upgrading will be no where near the cost of any Alienware PC, you will also gain 10000x more performance than what you currently have for gaming.

That HDD is not recommended for your intended uses, if you want Western Digital, go for the Cavier Black series, the linked one is a NAS optimized drive.

[QUOTE="PixelDuh"]So I upgrade my OS to 64 bit, I go to Best Buy or Tiger Direct and get a "Beefier", high-end Graphics Card, then what? Am I done? Can I just download and play and record Bioshock Infinite on Ultra settings with high FPS? Or is there another step I need to follow? Also, the Local Disk Space. Is that the same thing as the Hard Drive, and if so should I buy a bigger internal or external Hard Drive if I plan on downloading and recording a lot of games? I want to do let's plays, and right now I'm doing it all on my laptop. I'm trying to do low-end games like Half-Life and Minecraft until I can get my desktop "fixed". I plan on going into Deus Ex, Battlefield 4, and Tomb Raider when I do. So, if I 1. Upgrade to 64-bit 2. Get a better Graphics card 3. ??? 4. Get a bigger HDD Will I be able to play those games?AMD655

Ultra?

1920x1080 resolution i presume?

Grab yourself this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121775

If British, this.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-asus-gtx-760-directcu-ii-oc-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-1006mhz-boost-1072mhz-cores-115

GPU^

That HDD is not recommended for your intended uses, if you want Western Digital, go for the Cavier Black series, the linked one is a NAS optimized drive.

AMD655

[QUOTE="AMD655"]

That HDD is not recommended for your intended uses, if you want Western Digital, go for the Cavier Black series, the linked one is a NAS optimized drive.

PixelDuh

External drives are no where near the speed of a internal drive, they are also extremely not recommended for holding your installed OS either.

External drives are no where near the speed of a internal drive, they are also extremely not recommended for holding your installed OS either.

PixelDuh

External drives are no where near the speed of a internal drive, they are also extremely not recommended for holding your installed OS either.

Samsung Spinpoint F3's are solid reliable, and very fast low temperature HDD's.

WD Cavier Blacks are also good, but tend to cost more.

Seagate Barracuda are also a worthy mention.

I guess I'll go for this one: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8 It's 1TB, it's cheap, it's pretty much everything I'm looking for. So, a recap of the things I should do: 1. Get a new, 1TB HDD (SPF3) - $75 2. Buy a 550 watt power supply (SSR-550RM) - $80 3. Get a better graphics card (ASUS GTX760) - $260 4. Update my OS to 64-bit Free? Is there anything else I would need to finally get my Desktop ready for action?PixelDuh

Windows 7.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

That is all you will need, anything else is a luxury, unless you have money for better perhephirals?

I guess I'll go for this one: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8 It's 1TB, it's cheap, it's pretty much everything I'm looking for. So, a recap of the things I should do: 1. Get a new, 1TB HDD (SPF3) - $75 2. Buy a 550 watt power supply (SSR-550RM) - $80 3. Get a better graphics card (ASUS GTX760) - $260 4. Update my OS to 64-bit Free? Is there anything else I would need to finally get my Desktop ready for action?PixelDuh

Just make sure you are sitting down when you first start playing games on that system, because you will probably be blown away by how awesome they look. That is going to be a massive upgrade over what you currently have.

Have a look at this Seagate hard drive at NewEgg...

i actually wouldn't spend too much $$ upgrading that computer since its a dell.  You have no option to overclock that cpu without buying a new motherboard as well.  If you're ok with that then go ahead and buy a new gpu,hdd,OS.  I would get a radeon 7850/7870 since anything higher will be bottlenecked by your cpu at its low speed.  The HDD you should get is a 1TB seagate drive, you will save a bit of $$.  The OS is good as windows 7 64 bit.

[QUOTE="PixelDuh"]So I upgrade my OS to 64 bit, I go to Best Buy or Tiger Direct and get a "Beefier", high-end Graphics Card, then what? Am I done? Can I just download and play and record Bioshock Infinite on Ultra settings with high FPS? Or is there another step I need to follow? Also, the Local Disk Space. Is that the same thing as the Hard Drive, and if so should I buy a bigger internal or external Hard Drive if I plan on downloading and recording a lot of games? I want to do let's plays, and right now I'm doing it all on my laptop. I'm trying to do low-end games like Half-Life and Minecraft until I can get my desktop "fixed". I plan on going into Deus Ex, Battlefield 4, and Tomb Raider when I do. So, if I 1. Upgrade to 64-bit 2. Get a better Graphics card 3. ??? 4. Get a bigger HDD Will I be able to play those games?AMD655

Ultra?

1920x1080 resolution i presume?

Grab yourself this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121775

If British, this.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-asus-gtx-760-directcu-ii-oc-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-1006mhz-boost-1072mhz-cores-115

Why not this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745

Not being a jerk, I've been on the lookout for one and this card caught my eye