Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > What video card can I install
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Djlast   06-15-2009 at 11:21:45 PM

Hi everyone, i need your help figuring out what card I can fit in my crappy Dell without having to upgrade the PSU or mobo. Below are the PC's stats from a dell site scan, and the PSU is a 300 watt unit from the factory. I'm am new at this so I don't know if this PSU has the right connectors for a modern graphics card (everything is SATA, in case that makes a difference, not sure if I need adaptors or something). I was hoping to use a Radeon 4770 or 4870 but the more I read, the less like it seems that anything that advanced will work on my PC. Any suggestions? I appreciate any tips, thanks!

Inspiron 530
General
Windows VersionMicrosoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Processor
ModelIntel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6550 @ 2.33GHz
Hard Drive
DriveSizeFree SpaceUtilized
C:455.71 Gb219.4 Gb52 %

D:10 Gb5.9 Gb41 %

E:455.72 Gb172.06 Gb62 %

F:10 Gb3.09 Gb69 %


Video Adapters
ModelMemory
NVIDIA GeForce 8300 GS128 Mb

Memory
Total3072 Mb
Available63 %

SlotSizeSpeedType
Slot 11024 Mb667 Mhzundefined
Slot 2512 Mb667 Mhzundefined
Slot 31024 Mb667 Mhzundefined
Slot 4512 Mb667 Mhzundefined

Available Slots0

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edeawillrule   06-15-2009 at 11:53:04 PM
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A Radeon HD 4670 would be perfect for your pc.
My mother had an equally configured Vostro 400 which is just the business version of your pc and this card worked flawlessly.

512mb HIS IceQ Radeon HD 4670 Turbo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161252

------------------------------ Core 2 Quad Q9400 (2.66Ghz, 6mb L2, 1333MT/S) | 6Gb DDR2-800 SDRAM | 512mb HIS IceQ Radeon HD 4670 Turbo | 640Gb 7200 Rpm HDD | 350w psu | Dell 0M0171G G43/G45
 Reply to edeawillrule
ct1615   06-16-2009 at 12:09:24 AM
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you can run a 4770 (if you can find one) with your PSU. Just get a molex adapter

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Ahslan   06-16-2009 at 05:24:02 PM
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the most difficult part of the 4770 is simply finding one in stock...

Reply to Ahslan
Djlast   06-16-2009 at 11:25:43 PM
- 0 +

Thanks guys. I take it the molex adaptor converts the SATA power hookup from my PSU to a PATA type, in order to then convert that to the 6-pin male? If that's all I need, then I should be good to go. But yeah, that 4770 has been impossible to find, like they're pulling them off the shelves or something. How much better is the 4770 than the 4670? Is it even noticable; I'm used to just playing games at 1024x768, so will these two perform similarly at that resolution? Anything else I need to lookout for? I think I might need to stop using a HDD or the DVD drive to have enough power hookups available.

Thanks again.

edit: I should mention that I do watch movies in 1080P from my PC so I would like this card to handle that video well but I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem since my regurlar card seems to handle this faily easily.


Message edited by Djlast on 06-16-2009 at 11:43:57 PM
Reply to Djlast
ct1615   06-17-2009 at 12:10:07 AM
- 0 +

yes, the adapter takes a free molex 4 pin connection and lets you connect it to your card's 6-pin. Any of the cards will let you watch movies.

The 4770 is several steps above the 4670. You can look into the 3870 or 4830 if you want to look at other ATI cards at better performance then a 4670.

Reply to ct1615
Djlast   06-17-2009 at 12:47:55 AM
- 0 +

I actually found a 4870 (with some deals) for a lower price than a 4770 but that card would be too much for my PSU to handle right? There's a 4770 in-stock at newegg but it's for $120. with taxes and shipping it's like $135. That seems like a lot.

For some reason I thought I needed 2 free 4 pin connectors to hook up to the card. thanks for clarifying.

Reply to Djlast
ct1615   06-17-2009 at 12:52:48 AM
- 0 +

1. yes the 4870 is too much for your current PSU
2. $120 is too much for a 4770 when a 4850 can be had for the same price
3. depends on the card and how much power it draws, I would recommend a dual adapter for anything that draws more power then a 4770/4830.

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Djlast   06-17-2009 at 01:02:27 AM
- 0 +

Cool, thanks for the info. I'm guessing the 4850 is also too much for my PSU. I guess I'll just wait for the 4770 prices to drop a little. Have you ever tried using an external PSU to power up only the card(s)? That seems interesting cause you can always use that with a new PC instead of having to upgrade or transfer the internal PSU but i haven't really seen much info on it.


Message edited by Djlast on 06-17-2009 at 01:03:11 AM
Reply to Djlast
ct1615   06-17-2009 at 01:08:50 AM
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if you dont want to remove the PSU yourself, you can always take it to a PC shop. Its actually not a difficult process in itself. There are plenty of youtube videos and internet articles for reference. An easy way of knowing what connectors go where is to use those little multi-colored dot stickers. Place on on the motherboard connection and a similar color on the power connection. Just remember to remove them all.

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Reply to ct1615
Djlast   06-17-2009 at 02:58:13 AM
- 0 +


Thanks CT, I think I think I'm good, I just need to find the card for a better price and pick up a few adapters. I need a sata-to-4pin power adapter and then a 4pin to 6pin pci-e adapter. I looked for a sata-to-4pin pci-e adapter but no luck on that one.


Thanks everyone for your time.

Reply to Djlast
inspiron09   09-25-2009 at 04:42:04 PM
- 0 +

ct1615 wrote :

if you dont want to remove the PSU yourself, you can always take it to a PC shop. Its actually not a difficult process in itself. There are plenty of youtube videos and internet articles for reference. An easy way of knowing what connectors go where is to use those little multi-colored dot stickers. Place on on the motherboard connection and a similar color on the power connection. Just remember to remove them all.



Hello ct1615
recently bought Inspiron 545 with as it looks psu of 300W, as the readeon 4350 is a bit weak i would like to upgrade to 4870, except upgrading psu to over 500W is there any other limitation on upgrading form 4350 to 4780


thank you in advance

Regards

Reply to inspiron09
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