i just bought The Sims 2 today and i am desperate to play it

my spec all fits in

i have amd sempron 2300+
256mb ram
40gb hdd

Video Adapter
Model : S3 Graphics ProSavageDDR
Chipset : S3 ProSavage DDR
RAMDAC : S3 SDAC
Video BIOS : 61.00.09
VGA Compatible : No
Total Memory : 32MB (31MB Video) (48MB AGP)

it continues to say that i need a directx 9.0c graphics card

my dxdiag says that i have directx 9.0c

can someone help me

what card should i get

i need it urgently

i can't have anything in the excess of £30inc vat and delivery

The min requirements for sims2 is much higher than Sims1, did you check the min requirements before buying it?

The S3 graphics card is too old and slow to play Sims 2.

Try using the -w (window) option with Sims2 by adding option in the game program shortcut

e.g.
"c:\Program Files\Sims2\Sims2.exe" -w (or whatever)

The system requirements for The Sims 2 are as follows:

800 MHz processor
256 MB RAM
Windows(R) XP, Windows ME, Windows 98 or Windows 2000 Operating System.
At least 3.5 GB of hard drive space
A T&L-capable video card with at least 32 MB of video RAM.
Supported video cards:

ATI Radeon(TM) series (7000 or better)

VE series (see note below)
7000, 7200, 7500
8500, All-In-Wonder 8500
9000, 9200, 9500, 9600, 9700, 9800
X300, X600, X800

NVIDIA(R) Quadro(TM) series

Quadro, Quadro2, Quadro4
NVIDIA GeForce series (GeForce2 and better)

GeForce 2
GeForce 3, 3 Ti
GeForce 4, 4 Ti, MX 420, 440
GeForce FX 5200, 5600, 5700, 5800, 5900, 5950
GeForce 6600, 6800
Intel(R) Extreme Graphics (see note below)

82845, 82865, 82915

NOTE: If you have a non-T&L capable video card, such as Intel Extreme Graphics or Radeon VE series, then you need at least a 2.0 GHz processor.
If you have an integrated video card, i suggest you get either an AGP video card at least 64MB or a PCI Express Video Card (for best performance). However, when you get the video card make sure to ask if the video card you're buying is thunder and lightning compatible