Upgrading Video with Old Power Supply

I didn't see this specifically addressed in the forums so I apologize if this is a retread.

I have a Dell XPS Generation 3 desktop and need to replace the video card. I'd like to use the best card available ($250 max). The Dell support staff tells me that an 8800gts is out of the question given my 460w power supply.

Is this true? My computer currently has 2 optical drives (cd/DVD), X800XT video card, and a WD RaptorX HD.

Thanks for any help.

Is that X800XT PCI-e or AGP?
Down load GPUZ.
It will tell you which interface you have.

It's most likely PCI-E x16 according to this:
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/d [...] 74719.html

But good point. If it is AGP after all then I suggest scrapping the box and building a new PC.

It's PCI-E x16. Sorry that I failed to mention it.
The computer is getting quite old (almost 4 yrs), but since I stopped playing FPS competitively, I'm in no hurry to start over. That being said, it might be time. The processor is a 3.4G P4 Northwood Extreme Edition with 4gb ram if that helps.

I had hoped to slot in a nice graphic card and continue gaming to some extent but it's starting to sound as if I'd need to swap out the ps as well if I want to upgrade.

I don't know, although by the language of jtt283's I should , about the PSU pinouts.

Are there good cards out there that would be a simple swap? If I'm going to spend money upgrading yet not get any better, I may as well start shopping for a new rig altogether.

Thanks again for all the help

I'm sure many/most cards are a step up from a 256mb X800XT, but the only card I've seen mentioned is the 8800gts and the consensus seems to be that it would require a PS upgrade. What I'm wondering is if there's a graphics card that will run on my system with only a 460w PS.

Thanks again.

What kind of resolution will you be using ? and what games are you hoping to play ?
Even some thing that is considered low spec like a HD3650 will be like night and day compared to a X800XT.
However I would feel confident you could run a HD 3850 on that power supply Dells are generally quite beefy and you wouldnt need any thing above a 3850 provided you dont want to use resolutions much above 1280X1024, get a 512mb card though as the games these days need it. Im not that up on the power requirements of the Nvidia camp but would guess a 9600GT would be a good bet.
Mactronix

I knew they were solid but that is really very good.
From what i could find the machine shipped with a 17 inch screen and if the op is still using that a GTS will be big overkill all round.
Mactronix

I would probably get the cheapest 8800GT you can find. Dont worry about CPU limitations. I ran my first 8800GT on my 3500+ rig with 1GB ram. It ran current games fine! Of course those same games ran better on current rig but not much more than 20% better I would say.

Good deal... I would have done the same thing. Get a AKIMBO cooled one though! If you want to of course. Asus has a nice cooler on them too.