Dell overheating?

[gman_42]

Hello there! I currently have a Dell Inspiron 560 with stock everything for now (CPU is an E5800 Pentium Dual), but was looking into an XFX 7770 with a 450-500W PSU. The case has little ventilation, so I have to ask, would this overheat playing BF3, Skyrim, etc? Also, would the PCI-e 2.0 limit the 7770?

 

[tsnor]

You currently have a 300 W PSU.

Your CPU, E5800, has TDP of 65W
The 7770 has a TDP of 80W

You should be able to run the 7770 on your existing power supply without an overheating problem in your case. If you upgrade power supplies make sure your new one is actually better than the current one. OEM PSUs tend to be strong and have tight ripple, etc. to avoid warranty problems. Here are some options, but you really don't need a PSU http://www.anandtech.com/show/6013/350450w-roundup-11-cheap-psus/23. This is the one i'd choose http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-VP450-Power-Supply-Review/1487 = Antec-VP450 $45.

edit: re PCIe slots. No one has found a single video card that really benefits from PCIe 3. The PCI 2.0 (2.1?) slot will not limit your gaming. "But we already know that, in today’s games, doubling the data rate of a bus that isn’t currently saturated doesn’t impact performance very much. " http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-680-review-benchmark,3161-5.html

 

[gman_42]

Best answer selected by gman_42.

 

[gman_42]

This is awesome stuff to know! I was a tad concerned since AMD recommends 450W, and venting was also a concern because of Dell's crappy design (why I chose the 7770 over the 6850). The Antec one was my #1 choice, too. I'm just a little concerned about straining my current PSU with BF3. No FurMark, though! Thank you very much.