Graphics cards

[rick30062001]

hello i have a dell inspiron 530 its runnining vista it has 750 gb harddrive and 6 gigs of ram but im confused what type of graphics card will fit in my pc is it a pci or a pci e can someome please help im looking for a 512 mb card without spending a fortune thank you rick hill

 

[treefrog07]

According to your owner's manual you have one PCI Express x16 connector slot. If your PSU is the 350W version, it has one 2x6 power lead for a PCI-e video card.

Here are some HD4XXX series GPUs at newegg - if you find one you like, check its power requirements - it should require only 1 2x6 pin power connector and work with a 350W PSU.

 

[rick30062001]

According to your owner's manual you have one PCI Express x16 connector slot. If your PSU is the 350W version, it has one 2x6 power lead for a PCI-e video card.

Here are some HD4XXX series GPUs at newegg - if you find one you like, check its power requirements - it should require only 1 2x6 pin power connector and work with a 350W PSU.

hello thanks but my pc only has a 300 waw power supply does that make a difference ive never put a vidio card in before do they snap in just like ram does tthanks again rick hill

 

[shubham1401]

For a 350W PSU there aren't many options.

What do you use your PC for?

If you like to game then mention your monitor's native resolution.

The best card i can suggest is HD5750.

If you want a HTPC card then do look for HD 5570.

Both are awesome cards for their respective uses.

Also mention your budget.

 

[treefrog07]

hello thanks but my pc only has a 300 waw power supply does that make a difference ive never put a vidio card in before do they snap in just like ram does tthanks again rick hill

Yes, they do "snap-in" like the RAM. Please check the power leads coming out of your PSU - if they are all plugged-into a component, you will not be able to power a new GPU. If you have two unconnected MOLEX (flat 4-pin) connectors, you may be able to use the pigtail (the 2x6 power lead that attaches to one or two MOLEX power leads) that ships with the GPUs.

Please be very careful in selecting a GPU, make sure that the card's specs. indicate it will run on your 300W PSU.

 

[rick30062001]

thanks alot treefrog but im just giving up on the graphics card to complecated for me being jut a beginner but could you help me with this my pc already has a dvd/cd combo in it but i want to add a second one so i can copy cds and not have to download everything then put it on a cd or dvd does this make since to you or is it worth the money to do it being im on a fixed income thank you your advice is inportant to me RICK HILL

 

[treefrog07]

If your combo drive can record DVDs, you do not need another. If it does not, there are many reasonably-priced DVD burners available at newegg. You have a SATA connection, and you will need a SATA data cable and an open SATA power lead on the PSU. You can check the connectors that are already attached to your combo drive.

 

[rick30062001]

thanks treefrog yes i checked i do have a open sata lead coming from my psu would you happen to know about what just a basic dvd/cd combo drive and the sata cable would cost oh better yet do you know if they even make a plain cd rom drive in sata thank you rick hill

 

[treefrog07]

You're welcome. Here are newegg's CD/DVD burners that come with SATA data cables and software to burn discs.

Plain CD/DVDROMs are here, but it looks like they are all OEM, which means they don't have a SATA data cable.

SATA data cables are here (there are more than 400 listed, and you do not need an expensive one (<$5) and no more than 24 inch length.

I would not recommend buying a CD/DVDROM because the burners are only a little more expensive.

 

[rick30062001]

According to your owner's manual you have one PCI Express x16 connector slot. If your PSU is the 350W version, it has one 2x6 power lead for a PCI-e video card.

Here are some HD4XXX series GPUs at newegg - if you find one you like, check its power requirements - it should require only 1 2x6 pin power connector and work with a 350W PSU.

thanks alot for the advice

 

[treefrog07]

You're welcome. Good luck.