Video card upgrade for Dell Dimension 8400

[sommerday]

Is a GeForce 9400 GT 512mb good upgrade for a Dell Dimension 8400?
(old card is ATI Radeon X300 128mb)?

 

[gkay09]

Well u can get the ATI 4670 if u are willing to spend a little more...they dont need any addtional power input and are very powerful...
U can also check out ATI4650...better than the 9400GT...

 

[delluser1]

A 9600 GT would give you better performance and you've got the extra power input for it.
A 9800 GT or a 4830 should work as well , they use about the same power as the old 7900 GTO that I ran in my D8400.
Performance with either of those would be better but won't match what you see others getting due to the P4 in your machine.

 

[megamanx00]

I'd say get a Radeon 4670. Unless the resolution on your monitor is higher than 1440x900 you won't really notice too much of a difference going with a more powerful card simply because your CPU will be holding you back. The Radeon 4670 is much faster than the 9400GT. If you feel the 4670 is just a we bit too much then consider at least getting a 4650 which will still be a pretty powerful card for your system.

 

[sommerday]

Thanks for the response.
The Dell Dimension 8400 has a 350w 18amp power supply.
I checked the Radeon 4600 series needs a 450w
and the 9600GT needs a 400w & 26amp PS.

The 9400GT requires at least a 300w & 18amp PS.

I should have added that restriction - I just want to upgrade enough to hold me over until Window 7 has been out for a bit.

So is there anything within the confines of a 350w & 18amp PS that is better than the 9400GT? Cost-effective?
The 9400GT has 16 cores going (the Radeon 4600 series has 320 cores!).

 

[delluser1]

The Dell Dimension 8400 has a 350w 18amp power supply.
I checked the Radeon 4600 series needs a 450w
and the 9600GT needs a 400w & 26amp PS.

The 350 watt power supply in the D8400 has dual +12v rails with a max combined output of 28 amps, that number is more important than the reccomended wattage.

 

[Durkis]

Hello,

This thread was from some time ago.

I also have a Dell 8400. The graphics slot on this machine is a PCI Express 2.0 x16 ???

Thanks In Advance !!

-Durkis