Upgrading a Dell Optiplex 760

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Dom_79

Dom_79

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Hello all! I have some technical questions regarding upgrades I'd like to do to a Dell I just picked up

System specs:
Dell OptiPlex 760 MT (mini-tower)
Intel Core2 Duo -E8400 3.0GHZ
Asus EN8400GS 1GB/Silent
2 GB Ram (soon to be 4 GB)
300 W stock PSU (Have a Corsair CX500 ready to install if needed)
Win 7 64 Premium (if that matters)

I am looking at switching the Asus to one of these two video cards:

Galaxy GeForce GT 630 GC 63TGS8HX3XXZ

EVGA GeForce GT 640 02G-P4-2643-KR

The Galaxy is a safe bet because I've checked all the specs and the card will drop in without touching anything... but it's not a big upgrade for 50$ plus tax

The EVGA is 100$+tax (but can get for 75$ flat for next two days).
I'm comfortable with modifying the card's slot profile- It's a two slot and that won't go on this Dell.
I'm also ok with modifying the fan shroud on the card (and worst case scenario, slightly on the CPU shroud(ridiculously oversized))
So, physical modifications aside I can't seem to find specs if my Mobo will offer enough watts/amps to the card, even if I replace the PSU
I ask because I've heard that certain Dells and other Prefabs(don't know if that's the correct term but it's what I call 'em) have limited Watts/Amps to the PCI and PCI-E slots

Thanks for any help or insight you guys might have!

P.S.: Let me know if there's any more info that might be needed



Don't...

Bump posts


http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/283384-33-read-first
 
Solution
rolandzhang3
Ah right then that wouldn't be a problem :D

The 640 is on par with the 9800 GT which should handle those slightly older games you mentioned pretty well.
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Dom_79

Dom_79

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Thanks rolandzhang3... I'm not a fan of ATI and won't buy a card with their chipsets.

I trust videocardbenchmark.net (my go to)

6670 is rated at 1047 and costs 90$+tax and shipping (suppliers I can get here in southern Ontario)

GT 640 is rated 1288 and costs (two day deal for me) 75$ (no tax/shipping)

P.S>: Sorry for breaking the no bump rule Mousemonkey. Won't happen again



 
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Dom_79

Dom_79

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Cool. I just hope I can find out if the Mobo will meet the requirements that I mentioned. Because I have to mod the card to get it in, if the Mobo doesn't send enough juice I've got a heavily moded 75$ paper weight (BOO!)
 
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Dom_79

Dom_79

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That's understandable. But I can get this card EVGA 02G-P4-2645-KR for about the same, and have to pay shipping and it will fit, but I still won't be sure the Mobo will supply enough power.
I guess what I'm getting at is, I've decided what Chip manufacturer I wan to go with (Nvidia, NOT ATI) I've decided what performance range I want/need. No what I need to know is if the Mobo is going to deliver the juice.

Maybe I should ask in the Mobo forum? Since that's really what my question is about?
 
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rolandzhang3

rolandzhang3

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It's more about the power supply that powers the whole thing, the motherboard PCI-E slot is enough to power cards up to 75W. That said, the 630 would probably be your safest bet. If you're only gonna use this as a HTPC or something, that should do the job fine
 
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Dom_79

Dom_79

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Nah, The Asus does the HTPC thing just fine. Monitor is 21.5" 1920x1080 (Philips) and I couldn't ask for better in the videos department. This is going to be for gaming. Specifically older games like Civ4, Bioshock, Spore, Fallout3+NewVegas(can't get it to play decently on my PS3, which is kinda' what started this) maybe even the next edition of some of those, CPU permitting

EVGA and the site I want to get this card from both mention to be sure the PCI-E slot can deliver 12V at 20 Amps. After doing some research I found the reason for that is that Prefab's like Dells and HPs sometimes limit the amperage to the PCI-E slot.

The wattage of the stock PSU is no concern since if that's the bottle neck I'll install the Corsair CX500.
 
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Dom_79

Dom_79

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9800 GT cards are WAAAAY too big! Card can't be longer than 7.5" (8" if I mod the CPU HS shroud)
P.S.: Can't even find one for sale new. E-bay and kijiji used only

P.P.S.; Thanks for all the feedback and advice though! I appreciate having at least one other person to bounce this dilemma off of :)
 
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Dom_79

Dom_79

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This feels kind of dumb but I found the answer to my own question (partly by asking in the Motherboard forum)

The manufacturer and seller, when mentioning the 20 Amp requirement, were referring to the 12v rail that supplies the Mobo, not the PCI-E slot
 
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Dom_79

Dom_79

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Thanks for the link! I think you mean 9800 GTX not GT (gt isn't even on the list) And the word on the line is that, when you could get the 9800 GTX new it started around 135-140$, compared to 75$ that I can pick this GT 640

Thanks again for the link to tom's list!
 
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Dom_79

Dom_79

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My bad (D'oh) But I was right about the price and availability. Also I'm reading their review of the actual card they based the place on this list. That card wasn't clocked on the same amount of memory as the card I'm talking about (1GB 891 MHz vs 2GB at 1782) I guess that wouldn't change their rating much though.

I'm taking a look now at cards on that list in the same tier as the GT 640 and the next tier up to see what the prices and availability are. Thanks again!
 
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