I want to upgrade
my E521's graphics card
Amd Atlhon 64+ 3200 processor
Nvidia 7300gs graphics card
and 2.50 Gb or Ram
any suggestions on a better graphics card that wont need
extra power
not looking for anything fancy like the 9000's just something
tht works on my Comp
cuz the PSU on the E521's is a weak 305w
thnks
At $45 after rebate and free shipping, you can't go wrong with this one for a quick slip in upgrade for your 7300GS. Doesn't need additional power and should improve your gaming if you keep settings within reason. Cards above this in power require a 6 Pin PCI-E external connection.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130085
---------------------- Folding PCs -------------------------Thermaltake Tsunami Case --- Zalman 9500 Cooler.Conroe E6700 @ 3.15 GHz --- Asus P5N-E SLI M/B.2 Gigs Corsair XMS2 800 -- eVGA 8800GT 512MB Akimbo.OCZ Powerstream 600 Watt ADJ. SLI PSU.CoolerMaster Centurion Case -- A.C.Freezer Pro 7.Allendale E4400 @ 3 GHz -- Asus P5K-E P35 M/B.2 Gigs Corsair XMS2 675 --- eVGA 8800GT 512MB Akimbo.OCZ Modstream 520 Watt PSU.
im currently deciding on one of these 3
8500gt
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Graphics_Cards/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A1264709
8600gt(my fav so far)
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Games/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A1350998#Overview
and this one
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Graphics_Cards/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A1212515
2 of the cards say there built for Vista but can i still run them on Xp??
and 1 of the cards say there DDR3 ram but my comp uses DDR2 is that a problem??
Since i was in your position over a year ago, i'll give you my 2 cents...
Original: I bought a Dell E521 with AMD ATHLON x2 4200+, 7300LE graphics card, 305watt PSU, 1GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive.
Upgrades: Since then, i upgraded it a bit. 7300LE to EVGA 512mb 8800GT. 305watt PSU to a 500watt PSU, 1GB RAM to 2GB of RAM. I also bought a case fan and put it onto the back of the case as an exhaust fan for more airflow =). (My NEW 500watt power supply came with a 6pin power connector for my video card. Your 305 watt PSU will need a Y-connector.)
Here are the links to my upgrades:
Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171018
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134045
Fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835129027
8800GT graphics: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318
Some are fairly old parts, you can probably get more bang for your buck with a different power supply or video card.
Future plans: 500GB or 1TB hard drive to add to my 250GB. Athlon x2 4200+ to a 5000+ or better.
Many people have been able to upgrade their video card with a 8800GT using the original dell 305watt power supply, just don't forget the Y converter cable. Not sure if you want to go any higher than that. Its your choice though.
WARNING: I suggest you upgrade your Processor if your going to upgrade you video card. Your single core processor can cause a bottleneck to the video card causing decrease in performance. An 8800GT will bottleneck you big time. My processor with 2 cores even bottlenecks a little bit in certain games, thats why i am going to upgrade my processor. And if you do upgrade both, you may need to consider to upgrade your dell 300watt PSU as well. Not sure if it will hold out, my guess is that it will, but i am not 100% sure.
"2 of the cards say there built for Vista but can i still run them on Xp??"
-Yes, they will work on XP. They just want Vista users to feel comfortable. You will not beable to run the DX10 features on your games that support it though because XP uses DX9.
"and 1 of the cards say there DDR3 ram but my comp uses DDR2 is that a problem??"
- Not a problem. Your video RAM is different from your computer RAM. My 8800GT uses DDR3 RAM, and my Main Memory is DDR2 (Hence we got the same motherboard)
Nice rig there
but im not looking for something like the 8800gt
anything less like the 8500gt or 8600gt will do
In my opinion, the 8600GT is pretty stable/decent card (of course its a low end card because technology grows so fast). If your deciding between 2 companies, EVGA or XFX. I would recommend EVGA, i have the EVGA 8800GT. EVGA has excellent customer support. XFX isn't bad from what ive heard, but ive heard a lot of good things come from EVGA, thats what made my decision and i have not regretted it.
(I had to edit the last message because it submitted nothing for some reason, but yah, it just answered your 2 questions you had)
dannyglz, All your listed Video cards will work with either Vista or XP. Vista only make them DX10 capable instead of only DX9 with XP. I still use XP with my 8800 Cards.
Video Memory and System Memory are not the same thing and have nothing to do with each other. GDDR3 Video memory is much faster and higher MHz than DDR2 Video Memory and better for gaming. I would rather have 256MB of faster GDDR3 memory than 512MB of slower DDR2 in these lower priced cards for gaming.
thnks for the info
okay so will any of these 2 cards need an extra power than the slot itself??
The 9600gso is a great upgrade for the 521.Not as powerful as the 8800gt,but much better than
the 8600-for the same price.$54 after rebate.Asus GeForce 9600 GSO 384MB 192-bit GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121251
yea my PSU doesnt come with a 6pin connector
so im goin with the 8600gt
and any other ideas
to help improve my comp??
i was thinkin of a CPU upgrade
but idk if the Dual core processors are compatible with my Motherboard
and i know Dell doesnt support CPU upgrades
any ideas
thnks in advance
Yah, if your motherboard is the same as mine, then you can upgrade your proccessor for sure. My E521 came with a Athlon X2 4200+ (which is dual core). My motherboard (like hopefully yours as well) has a AM2 socket type for the proccessor, so first thing you need to do is make sure you know your Proccessor Socket type. Then you can go and look for a proccessor that matches and buy it.
Easy way to find out your socket type is to download CPU-Z (CPUID).
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
It will tell you your proccessor info, and more such as your RAM.