Hey Trav, what standard does your 5200 use, PCI or AGP? Is the AGP x8? If you're PCI... plan on building/buying another puter. Even if it's AGP x8, you're cpu is still going to be the choke point for a good video card. The gameplay experience you have with HL2, at what resolution is this?
A 6800GT would be overkill for your rig, but it would be a stepping stone if you wanted to upgrade the system cheaply at a later date. With a little foresight, you can carryover some components as standards evolve. Or bite the bullet and build a new system based off current technology.
Don't forget the power supply. A lot of these pre-builts have low watt power supplies. If you do upgrade this, think about getting one you can use for a future system as well.
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