I have a three year old Dell 3847 Inspiron (i3-4150) with HD Graphics 4400 (dedicated 128 VRAM). I want to add a very inexpensive graphic card to play basic games. I don't want to make any additional upgrades. I want something that will function with my current standard power supply which I am guessing is 300W. I have been looking at GeForce GTX cards, but am not sure which would run the best. GeForce GTX 550 Ti or a GeForce GT 730? Does the brand matter - PNY vs ASUS vs EVGA? Will it be hard to install? I have never done this before and I saw blogs saying you might have to go into the BIOS, disable secure boot, and enable CSM? I am running Windows 8.1.
Wanting to add graphic card to i3-4150 CPU (Dell 3847 Inspiron)
- Thread starter jlvolker
- Start date
Solution
dontlistentome
Glorious
- Sep 5, 2016
- 5,979
- 19
- 43,415
The GT 1030 is the one to get. It uses very little power, yet it will handle basic esports games at 1080p. You can get it in a very small form factor so it fits in just about any case. It's a lot better than a GT 730. A GT 730 DDR5 model videocard would be what to get if you can't afford the 1030. The problem with the older cards, like a 550 Ti, is the ones even halfways capable of gaming use more power.
It's not hard to do. The slot is empty if you are using HD graphics now, so there's nothing to remove. Open the case, with the computer off and unplugged. Then follow the instructions to open the computer up. The documentation is on Dell's site. The card requires no power cable, so there's nothing to connect. Then when you put it all back together make sure to connect the monitor to the videocard and not back to the motherboard. By the way, the 1030 only outputs digital, which means no VGA. Check to see what your monitor uses.
I'd boot up normally first. The computer may automatically switch over to the new card and maybe you won't have to tinker with the bios at all.
It's not hard to do. The slot is empty if you are using HD graphics now, so there's nothing to remove. Open the case, with the computer off and unplugged. Then follow the instructions to open the computer up. The documentation is on Dell's site. The card requires no power cable, so there's nothing to connect. Then when you put it all back together make sure to connect the monitor to the videocard and not back to the motherboard. By the way, the 1030 only outputs digital, which means no VGA. Check to see what your monitor uses.
I'd boot up normally first. The computer may automatically switch over to the new card and maybe you won't have to tinker with the bios at all.
Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. I never would have picked the 1030 because I didn't think the power supply could run it. That is great! As for the monitor, it is a HP 2009m which say it has 1 DVI-D connector and 1 VGA connector for input so assuming I should be good. Appreciate the help.
dontlistentome
Glorious
- Sep 5, 2016
- 5,979
- 19
- 43,415
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram