Best graphics card under $50 for Dell Optiplex 745

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
G

Gurgalofia

Reputable
Jun 30, 2014
35
0
4,530
I was wondering if any one knows a good graphics card for a late 2006 Dell Optiplex 745.
The Optiplex currently has a 256mb ATI Radeon X1300 Pro for a graphics card. All i want is it to play 1080p HD smoothly and an hdmi port. I don't want to have to upgrade my power supply it is a 305W Dell l305p-01.
The rest of the specs are below.
CPU - 3.4 ghz Pentium D Presler 945
RAM - 2gb DDR2
Slot 1 - Hynix 1024mb ddr2 PC2-5300 (300 MHz)
Slot 2 - Hynix 512mb ddr2 PC2-4300 (266 MHz)
Slot 3 - Hynix 512mb ddr2 PC2-4300 (266 MHz)
Power Supply - 305W Dell l305p-01
Graphics - 256mb ATI Radeon X1300 Pro
Motherboard - Foxconn ls-36 rev a00
Harddrive - 80gb 7200rpm
Thanks for the help.




 
Sort by date Sort by votes
G

Gurgalofia

Reputable
Jun 30, 2014
35
0
4,530
would a new hdd, ram, or cpu let it run at full speed?
even if it wont help the gpu what would be the best cpu for my old pc be? if i get something good enough like a core 2 quad would the integrated graphics be better than mine now?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
digitaldoc

digitaldoc

Expert
Ambassador
Oct 31, 2003
5,213
0
36,960


If you are going for new CPU/RAM/HDD, than just get a new MB and get a new computer at that point. It does not pay to put that many parts, and have them all limited by the MB, when the money is better spent.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
fudoka711

fudoka711

Distinguished
Apr 2, 2012
1,308
0
19,960


Your computer is probably running as best as it'll ever run, save for upgrading your gpu (which you're doing right now). I wouldn't upgrade to a core 2 quad unless you really don't think you'll get a new computer anytime soon.

You should start saving money to invest in a new computer - yours is around 9-10 years old now and that's about the time things start breaking down. I would imagine that your psu and hard drive are what would fail the soonest. They've lasted this long, so its clear they were made well though.

A new, great budget system would cost around $500, depending on whether you need to buy windows or not (then it could cost $400).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
photonboy

photonboy

Titan
Jun 20, 2006
21,567
13
85,015


Please verify the interface because I googled that card and it came back as an "AGP" card. You need to physically look at the interface and compare to THIS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express#PCI_Express_.28standard.29

THIS is what AGP looks like:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerated_Graphics_Port#AGP_Pro

*If you aren't gaming then what's wrong with what you have now? If the CPU can't handle 1080p video then I suppose you would need a new graphics card in which case if you can find one you'd have to make sure to enable HARDWARE ACCELERATION so the card does most of the work.

(Your old graphics card doesn't have the ability to decode recent video so your CPU has to do all the work. I have no idea if your CPU can handle 1080p video or not. You can monitor CPU usage using Task Manager. If it's hitting 100% your CPU is the problem and a new graphics card will help.)

If you only support PCI then this might be your best option: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/zotac-video-card-zt6060410l

There's one AGP card mentioned at pcpartpicker but it's not as good as this one.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom