I'd like to be able to join in with the Hardline players here in at BK... but I have a few things stopping me.

First problem: my history with EA
Years ago - I "blew up" 2 separate PCs over a period of 3 years by playing games from EA. The first time was by playing on a machine that was not ready to handle Battlefield 2 (my bad!). The video card went - and, lo, when I tried to fix it - I got in over my head and realized that it was time to get a new PC anyway...sooo... New Machine Bought. Another couple of years go by and  I completely fried that one after 3 days of playing the new Medal of Honor. I took it to a guy I know and he laughed and said it was the motherboard, video card... basically blew the whole thing. I vowed to never play another EA shooter again - given that I keep destoying machines. I am NOT a PC person (I work on Macs) - so I am not a tinkerer or enthusiast - I just want to turn it on and play a game.

Here's what I have now:
Dell Studio XPS 8100
ATI Radeon HD 5700 series
Intel Core i7 870@2.93Ghz
ACPI x64 based PC
Realtek HD Audio
1Tb of space (754GB free)
Windows 7 (still haven't been able to update to SP2 because Windows 7 wants to torture me.... I've spent hours trying to find the solution to fixing an error on the upgrade and all I hear from forums is "upgrade to 8". )
8GB memory
350w power supply

Second problem: Cash flow
If I want to play Hardline without blowing up my machine - is the above enough to avoid catastrophe? I assume to upgrade, make changes, etc - it will require some money. What should I replace and how much do you think it will cost?

Third problem: I'm an idiot with installing stuff
I know I hate listening to people who don't know how to use their Mac, iPad or iPhone whine - "why on earth do you have something and not know how to use it??" Well - I am guilty of never really becoming proficient with doing my own PC upgrades. Any suggestions for how to make any changes one might recommend in the most idiot-proof way possible?

thanks in advance for any advice. Hopefully it will be instructive for those others equally left behind in the upgrade department. I love WaW and BlackOps - but they wont last forever    Need to get with the BF kids!

You might ask Johnny or myself to build you one, The build will be dictated by the amount you want to spend and the games you play.Or some other member close to you, I'm in Canada so shipping cost would be a factor. My self I'd go with custom build over store bought,easier to upgrade. As far as upgrading your unit you are limited by the Dell components.
Good Luck.

The minimum requirements can be found here.  http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/battlefield-hardline/12479/?p=r
This site also can test your pc to see if you can run certain games.  Hope this helps.

From what I can see, the only thing that's probably going to limit you is power supply (350w is very low for any gaming PC, I recommend at least 750w).

Your CPU is fine but you will need a new psu and video card. Go on eBay and buy used.  I would get a 650 and for card I can hook you up with a R9 280x maybe. A member has the card and I'll talk with him.
You'll be looking at a 200-250 upgrade.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=291528703103&alt=web

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=151771155623&alt=web

Thanks, guys! Let me talk to the spouse about the funds... this is really helpful!

Pm me Helen I have a few things