So after a breakup I lost my gaming PC and now have an older Celeron 2.6ghz with 4 gig ram and 500 watt with Intel Graphics (doesn't say which version so I'd guess 1?). Other than Witcher 3 I mainly play older games anyway but will the system I have with a card run Witcher 3 or will the CPU/Ram bottleneck the card?

I found this video but they have a faster CPU than me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQZAmCeknmw

I'm wondering how much difference this will make. Would upgrading the RAM make any difference?

So with cards I've narrowed down my search to the ones in the video and these are the best prices I found but if anyone knows of a better deal I'd love to hear about it:

https://www.ebuyer.com/856068-msi-geforce-gt-1030-oc-2gb-ddr4-graphics-card-gt-1030-2ghd4-lp-oc

and

https://www.ebuyer.com/761965-gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1050-d5-2gb-graphics-card-gv-n1050d5-2gd

and

https://www.ebuyer.com/796995-zotac-gtx-1050-ti-4gb-low-profile-graphics-card-zt-p10510e-10l

Also I know prices are supposed to drop. So is it better to future proof for now or just buy another card down the line? The 4gb doesn't seem to make that much difference in Witcher 3 but will it in the future? Money is tight at the moment but I would like to play Witcher 3.

Errr...That is a really low end system. So, it would be better to wait and fix your gaming PC, especially if you intend to play Witcher 3.

The Witcher 3 system requirements are way above that Celeron. A graphic card wouldn't help you, as both the CPU and the RAM are really old and not quite upgradeable. Even if you upgrade the RAM, the CPU won't be able to deal with Witcher 3.

If you intend to buy a graphic card, go for the 1050Ti. While not a great card, it's decent and the upgrade to a better card won't be that painful.

1030 is a low end card, not really recommended for games. A 2Gb VRAM videocard like the standard 1050 is already obsolete, if you intend to play newer games.

Do yourself a favor and save up money for something better. You'll be glad if the game even starts with that hardware, let alone play in any semblance of smooth.

CPU is insufficient, RAM is insufficient and even if you go for the 1050ti, that will be insufficient too. The bare minimum these days should be a 1060, 8GB RAM and at least a 3-3,4 GHz CPU.

https://www.gog.com/game/the_witcher_3_wild_hunt

Minimum system requirement for the CPU (Intel side) : Intel CPU Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz
You're not going anywhere with a celeron at 2.9 GHz...

If you have $650 you can buy great parts:
Asus rx 580 8 GB
Crucial 2x4 GB DDR4 2400 mHz RAM
Asus A320M-K
Ryzen 5 1600, 3.2 GHz
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler

I am assuming you already have enough storage and a good case. Your 500W PSU should be enough.
In case you want to buy it, here is a link:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9dCXMZ

If all you want to do is Witcher 3, you may be better off getting a used console and calling it a day.

RAM won't be the problem - even though min req says 6GB, people play with 4GB no problem but the CPU is very weak and will bottleneck for sure.

Best advice i could give you is to save as much money as you can and shop for Black Friday (2 months from now). If you need help with pc parts or pc in general, feel free to ask.

GPU memory only affects how much detail it can render, may I recommend this article:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-myths,3694-5.html

I can't give a recommendation on the card selection because I cannot say for certain if there are any games that interest you in the future. That 4GB will be useless if you never use it in most games or if most games you play never use it.

Also a few notes:

A) There's no such thing as 'future proofing', new technologies emerge quite rapidly in the Computer Industry and tomorrow's GPU will make your heavy investment useless in a few years. The general rule to making a 'relevant' system is looking at computer demographics (steam surveys and Console hardware) or build for a particular game in mind if that's all you are going to play (Flight Sims like D.C.S.).

B) Developers build games upon hardware that:

1) Is accessible in the Market.
2) Represents the largest portion of the systems out there (which is why console development is easier), and why PC games are always closer to console.

Take a few games for example:

1) Shadow of the Tomb Raider:

MINIMUM:
OS: Windows 7 64 bit
Processor: i3-3220 INTEL or AMD Equivalent
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 660/GTX 1050 or AMD Radeon HD 7770
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 40 GB available space

2) Dragon Quest XI:

MINIMUM:
OS: Windows 7 SP1/ Windows 8.1 / Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i3-2105 / AMD A10-5800K
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750Ti / AMD Radeon RX 470
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 32 GB available space
Additional Notes: 720p 30fps

3) Monster Hunter World:

MINIMUM:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: WINDOWS® 7, 8, 8.1, 10 (64-bit required)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-4460, 3.20GHz or AMD FX™-6300
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 760 or AMD Radeon™ R7 260x (VRAM 2GB)
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 20 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectSound (DirectX® 9.0c)
Additional Notes: 1080p/30fps when graphics settings are set to "Low"

Take note of the common minimum requirements. If you're not in a hurry, wait for the next console cycle and specify closer to their systems (only two years away I guess?)

Hope this helps.

Thanks guys, I guess I won't be revisiting Witcher 3 for a few months.

The thing is even games like Witcher 1 and Risen 1 are laggy and slow. So a basic card would open up more of my games library to me.

I'm thinking a cheap card like the 1030 now will at least make them more playable for the time being. As I'm not sure when I'll be able to buy a whole new system and building one kind of scares me. Or would buying a 1050 and shifting it to a new PC when I get one be better? I know it was suggesting I build one but I don't think I have the skills to do that.

Building a PC is not a "skill" - all you need is information/knowledge... and in worst case scenario: spare parts. And there are many (online or not) stores that'll build it for you - sometimes even for free! (provided that you buy all your parts there obviously)

And don't get the DDR4 version of the 1030!

Why's that? EDIT just noticed theres a DDR5 version, nevermind. And thanks for that tip, I didn't notice they were different

I don't have the cash for building a PC at the moment. But if I did how much do you think is the minimum I could get away with spending.

GDDR5, it's not the same as DDR5 (which doesn't exist atm). ;-)

If your PSU has 2x 6-pin connectors, you could get a used GTX770 for 80 euro or less.

Well after spending the last 30 minutes looking for one I've realise it only has the one, I think I'd need a PSU aswell as it states it requires a 100 watts more but thanks for the tip

The Watt requirement given by the manufacturer is for cheap ass PSUs. So it depends on what kind (brand/model) you have...

To get a second 6 pin connector ...if your PSU is good enough:
http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?tpl=product/cpu.product.tpl&no=181&type=Cables&type_sub=Power%20Cable%20Adapters&model=AK-CBPW20-15
or
http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?tpl=product/cpu.product.tpl&no=181&type=Cables&type_sub=Power%20Cable%20Adapters&model=AK-CBPW19-15