Dell Dimension E520 Graphics Card Upgrade - Non gaming

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Optical24

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May 26, 2015
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I have been browsing through many forums in Tomshardware, but I could not locate a video card that meets my requirement. So I have a Dell dimension E520 with 4gb of DDR2 ram and I will be upgrading the CPU to a INTEL Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66GHz.

Basically, the E520 will be used by my parents (as I already have a gaming PC) to surf the web (youtube mainly) and netflix. I want a video card that will allow my parents to watch youtube videos in 720p or even 1080p (720p would be fine). Thanks.
 
Solution
k1114
No, the psu is too small and the case only allows single slot or single slot with a short dual slot cooler. A 6450 should be as cheap and is better than a 610. You can usually find them for $30. I have a 6570 in my parent's e520 and newer cards have had no issues.
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maxalge

maxalge

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if all you need is light tasks like that, then just drop in a gt 610
 
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Optical24

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So I found a used GT 610 for $50 CAD, but I also found a Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6850 1GB GDDR5 that someone is also selling, but it is compatible with the E520?
 
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k1114

k1114

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May 2, 2010
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No, the psu is too small and the case only allows single slot or single slot with a short dual slot cooler. A 6450 should be as cheap and is better than a 610. You can usually find them for $30. I have a 6570 in my parent's e520 and newer cards have had no issues.
 
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Solution
k1114

k1114

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May 2, 2010
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But when going with a cheapest card possible, amd can't be beat. Most bottom end cards are in the 20w range so similar power usage and although less performance, it costs less and the performance isn't needed anyways. Most e520 users have been putting 6670 and 7750 as they were the best until kepler and maxwell came along to take up the low power crown along with uefi only vbios ruining compatibility.
 
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Optical24

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May 26, 2015
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Thank you everyone for providing solutions. The E520 is used 99% of the time surfing the web, like youtube by my parents. I just need a video card that allows them to watch videos in 720p or 1080p if capable.
 
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william p

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I've run several cards in my E520 over the years up to GTX750ti O/C. HD5550,HD4670,HD6770. Single slot cards that are either long and thin, or short and wide can work. Some new cards require EUFI BIOS and won't work due to that so check system requirements, other than that just look and measure a little and you can run just about any single slot that doesn't need a PSU plug (or upgrade PSU works too). If you get high GPU temps an expansion slot blower clears hot air out from behind GPU. For that Quad you might want to get cooler D9729. They're cheap and bolt right in. But I've run it with the stock copper based cooler also. BTW max. ram is 8GB @800, and it will support 64bit OS. A lot of wrong info out there about this.
 
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william p

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GTX750,750TI,750Ti O/C all run with no power connector, and no PSU upgrade. The Dell PSU is very conservatively rated for full power continuous use. 350-375W equivalent. If you put in a QX6700, or much better a QX6800SLACP you can overclock it later to extend the useful life of the computer. My PSU upgrade was for the HD6770, Which required a 6 pin power cable, not the GTX750. . Look in my sig. and click the link there You'll see what I mean. A Dell PSU from a Dimension 9200 is 375W and has a 6 pin power cable. Aftermarket parts work OK too.
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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Not all 750's are the same. Some require a 6 pin pcie, some don't. Depends on brand and specific model. Also, most of those asus/msi/Gigabyte boards used in the dell's, HP, Compaq, NEC, etc are not overclockable, that legacy bios simply doesn't have available options.
 
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