GTX 260 vs Radeon HD 4870

personally i would go with the 4870, but the cards are virtually equal

the rest of your upgrades are unecessary, u will never use all the power given to you by a q9300, u'ld do better to stick with something like the e8400

u'll never use more than 4 gb ram

i'ld suggest at least a 600 watt power supply

really, if you're planning on upgrading a dell inspiron 550 to that extent you're insane, the chipset is going to seriously affect your performance, u might as well build a new computer or at least replace the mobo w/ something like the asus p5e deluxe

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703016

Thats the psu I am going to get.

P.s when you say my chipset will effect my performance how so? But anyway I am gonna get a new mobo and stuff later on. This will only last for like 3 months top.

"resolution @ 1680 x 1050"

I am reasonably sure the 260 will not fit...the interior of the Dell 530 case is just too short, front to back. This is unfortunate because it would run cooler in your case if it did fit. The 4870 may fit, but you would need to measure the distance from the interior rear of the case to the front hard drive cage. If it will fit, expect the interior case temperatures to increase, even though the card uses an exterior exhaust. I know the following 4850s will fit and work off most name brand power supplies in the 500 watt range.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814261027

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102770

Roughly between the 4850 and the 4870, depending on the resolution, there is one nvidia card that may fit (auxilary PCIe plug is on top of card rather than at the rear), isn't all that power hungry and runs cool.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130416

Good luck and let us know what you decide on.

I don't think the extra boost in performance is worth spending the extra $40 on the HIS card. Just stick with the sapphire card for $189. The only downside to the sapphire is the fan, which blows air both out, and back into the case. but if you have an exhaust fan somewhere near the card, then it shouldn't make too much of a difference. If you don't, then just make sure when u get your new case/mobo make sure you have a couple 120mm exhaust/intake fans.

Good luck!

I am fairly sure the dell mobo will not allow the Q9300 upgrade unless it already has a Q 9 series on board.

That Dell specific bios does not allow the changes you need to upgrade the cpu. Graphics card, yes, as long as it has a 500 watt psu. The dell psu's are generally very conservantly rated.

I have 2 260's SLI'd and like them very much.

Careful with a non rear exhaust gpu, as the 530 has very little way to remove heat from inside the case, as the cpu and nb have a ducted air flow on the 2 running at the office.

for the time being i think it'll be fine, up to u really, but w/ the new i7 cpus the core 2 will go down in price soon

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] 9-2180%20P

I am loving this mother board

I know I am gonna get the intel i7

yeah I am gonna get a higher psu. Looking at a few. not sure how much is 650 good enough.

lol. What were you expecting. Also I found a real nice case. You guys like
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] =A406-1101

and I found a other one too.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] =TC3J-2383

lol cool. I decided that I am not gonna bother to but my card in my dell. Ill buy it now and wait. I waited this long, and I can wait for a extra month. Im gonna add some ddr3 mem 4gb. But it is a lot of money. lol.

lol. Well the ram is the last thing I am getting. hopefully the price drops a bit. Its just with the new mobo and i7 ddr3 is needed lol

oo lol.But I feel safer with the 650 since I am gonna upgrade stuff in the future. Like more hard drives and so on. Also I will crossfire.

Not sure if a 4870 will fit its very long. But if you make sure it will fit its a great card.

Its confirmed just bought the card this second. Now waiting for it. But now I need the rest of the computer... XD

Personally, I am absolutely sick of Blue LEDs. I recommend you get something more exotic, like green or red. Anything but blue.

4870 > 260

Hey son_ganon... I was wondering which card you ended up getting, and if it fit. I also have an Inspiron 530, and when I plopped in a 8800GTS, it barely fit due to wire connections that stick out where the hard drive and CD-DVD-ROM plug into the motherboard. This card is 9 inches long, and it seems that it only fits because to its shape and that a block-ended card (not rounded near the end around the fan) of the same length would not fit.,. Nor would a similar card that is half an inch (4870) or an inch and a half (gtx 260) longer? Does anyone know of a solution to getting a larger card to fit over where connections are made to the motherboard without having to replace the motherboard? Other than that, there seems to be plenty of room, lengthwise. The older GTX 260 is a Frys weekly special for about 150 dollars after rebate, and I'm really want to get one if I can get some help getting it to fit...

Thanks