Dell PC upgrading, advice please !

[cmill0422]

I have a DELL E521 pc im wanting to upgrade the video card on it. Dell put a very low power supply (305W), and gave very little room for a bigger video card. Also any other advice on upgrades for the ram/psupply would be great.

specs:
Athlon 64x2 4000+ cpu

305w psupply: http://www.pacificgeek.com/product.asp?id=95183&c=216&s=1979 ( for details )

supports: PCI-EXPRESS X16

two gigs of ddr2 300.6 mhz

motherboard model: 0uw457 (dell)

 

[WR2]

How much are you willing to spend and what level of video card power do you need?

 

[cmill0422]

I am upgrading to be able to play css on good quality with 100fps (hopefully), not really a budget just can't do much of an upgrade with keeping my psupply. need to get a good videocard that my system can support, and faster ram... when I went to crucial.com it siad that my system supports ddr2 pc2-5300 ram.

 

[xcess]

i have the same pc let me know how the psu upgrade goes if u do one, as for video card i would say a 9500gt or 4670 would fit i know lol and u won't need a new power supply i assume well let me know how it goes,im thinking on getting the 4670 ....

 

[foolycooly]

I was in the exact same situation as you guys...I have an optiplex gx620 with a 305w power supply. I did a bit of research and came to the conclusion that the radeon 4670 was the best card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127383

It does not require any additional power connections and runs like a champ. I am getting 60+ FPS on bioshock with all options maxed...I assume you will be able to push high on cs:s with it. It was a great upgrade for the money for me since I'm planning on building a whole new rig in the spring.

The card had a MIR for a while, but $80 is an outstanding price point for this card considering our power supply limitations.

 

[joefriday]

To say your factory Dell PSU is wimpy b/c it's only 305 watts is really not true. For starters, you'd be lucky if the system configuration of your Dell even uses 100 watts of power at max load. That Dell PSU provides ample room for a midrange graphics card to be added. BTW, that 305 watt rating is for MAXIMUM CONTINUOUS power. That's the power output level that the PSU could theoretically run day in day out 24/7 and not have any problems. Virtually all your aftermarket power supplies are rated for MAXIMUM PEAK power, meaning that they're maximum continuous power is a lot lower. You could also think of your Dell 305 watt PSU as being more in line with a 400 watt aftermarket PSU.

 

[foolycooly]

To say your factory Dell PSU is wimpy b/c it's only 305 watts is really not true. For starters, you'd be lucky if the system configuration of your Dell even uses 100 watts of power at max load. That Dell PSU provides ample room for a midrange graphics card to be added. BTW, that 305 watt rating is for MAXIMUM CONTINUOUS power. That's the power output level that the PSU could theoretically run day in day out 24/7 and not have any problems. Virtually all your aftermarket power supplies are rated for MAXIMUM PEAK power, meaning that they're maximum continuous power is a lot lower. You could also think of your Dell 305 watt PSU as being more in line with a 400 watt aftermarket PSU.

The wattage isn't really the problem...it's the lack of additional power supply connections....there are non on most low ps dells