Cheap PC build to max play Med II? (2 Q's)

[Quercia]

Greetings,

According to this topic: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=52737 you can play on max with some of the 'outdated' hardware material.

Now I want to play Med II and Empire either on max or medium, but I can't seem to find the hardware anymore! Anywhere I look, I just get thrown the most expensive, newest stuff in my face while I generally don't need that (I'm on the decline of playing video games, only Med II and Empire left to play...)

For example, I can only seem to find the intel E7400 or 8400... while that topic mentions E4300 is good enough. That was released a year or two ago, and already off the market.

I haven't got a huge budget to spend on a pc: I just don't want to spend much on two games.

Specs of my current pc:

Intel pentium processor 3.0 Ghz :hmmm:
Ati Radeon 700X Pro (hopelessly outdated)
Asus P5GD1-VM motherboard
Corsair 2 GB DDR 2 800 Mhz FSB (I think...)

Coolers, memory, power supply and hard disk should be fine.

Questions:
- Where can I find the older stuff for processors, motherboards and video cards? Or do I have to find my way into ebay?

- My friend says that my motherboard only supports pentium processors. Is this true? I can't put intel core duo on the motherboard? (it is socket 775...)

Thanks for any help. I'm pretty lost at this (pc hardware update too fast nowadays).

Cheers,
-Q

[Elrond]

Thread closed - The original thread has been moved to the basement: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?p=4521380

Technical help is meant for technical problems - the Basement is more suitable for threads asking about what to buy etc.