How much can my desktop handle?

[succulent95]

I’ve got a desktop from a couple of years ago that at the moment contains an Intel e5200 that runs at 1.90GHz. It has a Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L motherboard which apparently only supports up to 4gb, which has 2gb of DDR2 RAM currently installed. The system’s currently got a fully activated copy of Vista Home Premium 32-bit and a 32-bit copy of Windows 7 Home Premium that I’m taking for a ‘test drive’ in light of the end of Vista’s support.
I decided to extend it a bit last year and bought it a Nvidia GT520 graphics card with 1gb of its own memory. (The system has 1791MB of video memory in total with 767MB shared.) This of course led to the addition of a second screen.
However, I’m now at the point that I’m looking to upgrade the monitors to IPS screens. At the moment it’s got a Dell 1907fp (TN model) and a Hanns G HX191D, which each have a resolution of 1280 x 1024. I’ve been thinking about a combination of a Dell 2007wfp and a Dell U2211h. This would give me two resolutions of 1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1080. Would this be too much for my system? Would a better option be a Dell 2007wfp and a 2005fpw? They both have resolutions of 1680 x 1050.
I’m worried about the increased system lag that the higher resolutions may bring. Presumably the RAM’ll need upgrading, but to how much? I could of course do a clean install of 64 bit to take advantage of extra RAM, but I’d rather not if possible. I'd also prefer to use the aero theme, although I do realise that this'll take more resources.
The system’s primary uses are photography, image editing and a tiny bit of HD video editing.
Many thanks for reading and replying. (sorry for the essay )

 

[Dangman]

I decided to extend it a bit last year and bought it a Nvidia GT520 graphics card with 1gb of its own memory. (The system has 1791MB of video memory in total with 767MB shared.)

Disable the onboard graphics as well as disable the video card's shared memory feautres (if it has one). You have a limited amount of RAM and you don't want to share 767MB of that RAM for video purposes. Especially if your video card has 1GB of VRAM already.

I’ve been thinking about a combination of a Dell 2007wfp and a Dell U2211h. This would give me two resolutions of 1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1080. Would this be too much for my system?

No.

Would a better option be a Dell 2007wfp and a 2005fpw? They both have resolutions of 1680 x 1050.

Not really since you're not gaming.

I’m worried about the increased system lag that the higher resolutions may bring.

That would be a valid worry if you were using just the onboard video. But you're not. You have a legit dedicated video card. So you'll be fine.

Presumably the RAM’ll need upgrading, but to how much?

Max it out at 4GB. Find the cheapest 2GB of DDR2 800 RAM you can find and you'll be set. Try not to pay more than $20 for it.

I could of course do a clean install of 64 bit to take advantage of extra RAM, but I’d rather not if possible.

I'd recommend a clean install of 64bit. Considering your usage scenario, you're gonna need every bit of RAM possible.

I'd also prefer to use the aero theme, although I do realise that this'll take more resources. .

Still doable with just the VRAM on the GT 520 itself.

The system’s primary uses are photography, image editing and a tiny bit of HD video editing.

If you're using Adobe Photoshop CS5 or Premiere Pro CS5, after upgrading the core components in the future (CPU, mobo, and RAM), you should also upgrade the GPU to the GTX 550 1GB at least as that will speed up Adobe software a bit.