Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > Best video card upgrade for Dell Inspiron

Best video card upgrade for Dell Inspiron

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Best video card upgrade for Dell Inspiron

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!

Ask the community Add a reply

Bottom Search this thread

Hello,

Just purchased a new Dell Inspirion, and would like to know whats the best/fastest video card that I can install. I know the power supply is limited to 300w and the bus is PCI express x16. Can anyone help?

Add a reply

Check the amperage on the 12V rail. Assuming there is no PCI-E connector, you can probably get an 8600GT for it without too much trouble. If you prefer ATI, an HD2600 ought to work. The XT is faster than the Pro, but I'm not sure of power requirements.

I'm assuming the mobo has a PCI-E slot on it...

------------------------------ There is ALWAYS a drone. Exactly where, or how many drones you will encounter may vary, but that there will be at least one will not.
Reply to jtt283

Thanks for the help. The 12v rail amperage is 18amps. There is a PCI-e connector. Is the 8600GT or the HD2600 the best I can do?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to gavenalex

Dell under rate their psu's by alot...

You can put a 9600gt/HD3870 in that pc no problem..

I had a Dell Vostro 200 with same psu as you and I had a 7950gt and later HD3850 and it worked perfectly

You will need this adapter

As your dell doesnt have a molex power connector...

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cat [...] s_id=20580

http://www.dellcommunity.com/suppo [...] 05#M171498

http://www.dellcommunity.com/suppo [...] 57#M122077

Message edited by dos1986 on 04-01-2008 at 02:24:00 AM

Reply to dos1986

I just did a similar thing... I have a dell demension with a power supply similar to yours. I chose the 8600gt and it works great. The reason I chose this card is simple. You should be able to install it without upgrading your psu (power supply unit). Unlike more powerful cards such as the 8600 gts or the 8800 series you don't need an extra power cable to power the card. It draws power directly from the pci-e slot. (the 8800 series is probably overkill unless your doing a MAJOR upgrade to your system) The 8600gt definitely improved my performance. (the former card i had was an ATI x600 256mb hypermemory.... avoid this card like the plague!)

Reply to jednx01

gavenalex wrote :

Thanks for the help. The 12v rail amperage is 18amps. There is a PCI-e connector. Is the 8600GT or the HD2600 the best I can do?

You have 22amps
You could go with a 8600GTS or 7950GT or 9600GT.
If you have a spare molex you can use this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6812201004

Message edited by kpo6969 on 04-02-2008 at 12:01:10 AM

------------------------------ P35-DS3L Rev 2 bios F9C l E8400 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.232v l OCZ Vendetta 2 /LGA775 Bolt-Thru l 4GB G.Skill 8800PI@1000mhz 4:5 @ 1.87v l WD3200AAKS 320GB l Evga 8800GTS 512 l X-Fi Xtreme Music l Corsair HX520 l Antec Sonata III 500 l Vista32 SP2 l Win7 X64 7600
Reply to kpo6969

Ask the community Add a reply

Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > Best video card upgrade for Dell Inspiron

Go to:

Help |
Forum rules

There are 1303 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Page generated in 0.627 seconds

Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel

Focus On

Best video card upgrade for Dell Inspiron

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Best video card upgrade for Dell Inspiron

Please mind