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Need advice on new GPU for Dell 530s

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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Hello, I am upgrading my slimline desktop and have been researching and reading so much that my brain is hurting. :heink:  I want a better graphics card than the integrated G33/G31 that is now having trouble with the games that we want to play, and the computer is also working very hard (or at least loudly) even on regular web pages with images or video.

Here are my specs:
Dell Inspiron 530s
250w PSU - with I believe 17A
Intel Pentium Dual CPU E2200 @ 2.2Ghz
3 Gigs RAM
Mboard is G33M02
and I have a Pci e x16 slot - have no idea if it is 1.0 or 2.0 but probably the former
It also has 500g HD


I was thinking that I could get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
But I would really like to hold off as I also just had to buy a new replacement laptop. However, if a new GPU has the potential to fry the current PSU or anything else, I will reconsider my budget.

I'm not expecting to play on high settings and I'm happy with medium - they're playable now, but with low settings and restriction to avoid lag and glitches. So I want to find a GPU that will run well enough, (and run Sims 3+Expansions, games like Oblivion, and Kingdoms of Amalur specifically) on 250w, but won't need replacing when I can afford the PSU. I will be using the PC for regular web surfing, gaming, and possibly even hook it up to my tv to watch videos and gaming if possible - HDMI would be a +.

In searching some have said that I could run the 5570, 5670, 5770, and 6570 at 250w. Many of these posts are old or the product is hard to find now. I'm definitely leaning the Radeon direction, but any other recommendations would be great. I'm not planning any overclocking or anything. Also, I've learned that these specific cards have been shown to run the above games and should run KOA but I'm confused about which would be better/will work/etc.

So what I want to know is, which is the best card that will run on a 250w and is low profile for my slimline and will fit in the pcie x16 - Do I need to worry about the 2.0/2.1 classification?

And how hard would this be on my system without the PSU upgrade to 300w (on the CPU as well)

I would like to keep a budget of around $40, but I realize that I may have to pay more like $60 (hence wanting to hold off on the PSU) and I have no real preference for stores other than it be online.

Hopefully this wasn't too long, trying to be thorough. Really any recommendations/advice and discussion are greatly welcome :sweat: 

More about : advice gpu dell 530s

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Graphics card Expert

Hmm how would I say this. I honestly recommend you to build a new rig. That CPU is very low end and so are some other components. Even if you buy a better GPU, that CPU is going to bottleneck. Spare money and get better results :) 

- Fastreaction

Yeah, this is out of the question. I actually just bought this one not too long ago, but at the time I had a gaming console so I wasn't thinking about even having to upgrade it at all. (Plus I know more now then I did then)
If/when I can afford to really build one up is a thought for a later time with more money. I do have an old rig I could possibly salvage and.....anyway I honestly don't want to go there yet, lol
I know that would be the best scenario, right now I really just want a better rig that will play games in the meantime! Are you saying though that the CPU will get bottlenecked with any option? I was wondering about how it would hold up...
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Graphics card Expert

Not sure about that. His CPU is extremely low end. No you can't add a new CPU to an old motherboard, the sockets are not the same (they are imcompatible).
True, a total rebuild is like buy a new pc.

- Fastreaction

GreenDutchAlien said:
I based the 5570/7750 on this ; http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/361270-15-bottlenec... and some other i can't find so quickly.


Interesting...the poster makes this sound like they could still play on that CPU at lower settings though, right? I would probably only play at 1024x768 res, and playing on the tv is probably wishful thinking. I haven't seen anything about the 7750 yet, but I've read that the 5570 will run on a 250w PSU. In that post the OP says he had over 500w!

Does anyone know how the 5570 would run on my 250w with my old CPU?

GreenDutchAlien said:
Look here : http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/366596-15-acer-aspi...


Very helpful posts. So the 5570 will run on 250w even though it asks for 400w. Sounds like the 7750 would have trouble with the amperage even on the 300w I was looking at. I'm almost positive I have 17A right now (the one thing I didn't write down while I had it open) - but I remember seeing 17 and I don't think it would have meant anything else.
So next question, is that the best one out of the ones I mentioned that will run on that wattage? What about overclocking on a E2200? I've never done it but I'm sure I could learn...is it bad for your system?

If there's nothing better I'm just going to go with the 5570, I seem to keep coming back around to it anyways, and its on my gamers made list of sims3/pets compatible cards (but so are the others). Pets is like a horror show for me right now lol, mutants everywhere!

Much difference between that and the 5770, 5670 and 6570? Are these better cards, or too powerful for my 250w anyways? I've seen others say that the 6570 would run on 250w, but no one ever mentioned the cpu with it...

Also, what's this about a 16$ corsair sale on PSUs??? That would solve everything!

GreenDutchAlien said:
You can compare them here yourself, you can compare all sorts of gpu's here. http://www.hwcompare.com/10871/radeon-hd-5570-vs-radeon...

16 $ psu's ? Where ? Or is it 16 bucks off ?


From one of your links "Why don't you just buy a $16 Corsair CX430? They go on sale for that price once a month and that can power up to a 7870 or anything with similar power usage (like GTX 560 or lower)." Is that true? It's from this year...

That comparison website is great! What am I looking for though, I mean, how many watts can run safely? I'm confused about how much is actually used in regards to the PSU and the power of the CPU? For instance the 5770 uses 108 watts a difference of 65 watts compared to the 5570...well how much is left for the system - what range should I look for here?
Graphics card Master

lmm6877 said:
This whole "actual specs" vs recommended is frying my brain...how do I check the actual CPU specs when looking at GPUs? Can I just run any card that recommends 400w?? :pt1cable: 


Lol.

I don't know, i always google a lot, specially on Tom's and find the answer there. ( though some comments say exactly the opposite )

So, best thing is just to ask here :D 

The amperes on the +12v rail of your psu is most important anyway, knowing that is crucial and how much a card needs you can almost always find on the net.

I do know the official recommendations from the manufacturers are always overstated, so they are always safe even with a crappy psu which states it delivers 400W but does actually maybe 300 or less.

Yeah, that's pretty much what happened with me - I've been searching and reading tons of posts here and elsewhere but then it got to the point where I had lots of pieces of a puzzle to work with so I decided to ask outright with specifics all put together. This forum is great, it has really taught me a lot...however, like you said some things and contradictions are confusing me profusely. So how good do you think this stock 530s psu actually is?
Graphics card Master

Well, Dell is known for delivering good quality psu's. ( better than most pre builds anyway )

But then again ; there was this thread about 19A cutting it close for the 7750, so 17A would be really close. On the other hand the 5570 ain't as good as the 7750, so . . . Aaaargg. :pt1cable: 

Buying a new psu for this rig would be a waist of money imo, only if you buy a real good one and use that in a next built. A good psu is something like 60-80$.

That was my initial thought, until I saw the sff PSU link in an old post for $40...sent me off on a whole new kind of search lol
I'm thinking I should probably just go with the 5570, or a 5670 if I can find a cheaper low profile one, and worry about a better upgrade later. I want to be safe and use this set up as long as possible. You're probably right and it's tougher than I think, I'm just not the first owner so I don't really know. Plus it's so LOUD - but from what I could find this model just sounds like that...Do I need to worry about the 2.0/2.1 classification with the old slot?
Graphics card Master

"sent me off on a whole new kind of search lol" Yeah it's the hunt what makes it fun.


And indeed, maybe better safe than sorry, specially because it's not that young anymore.

2.0/2.1 ; I can't say it will work for sure, there are very,very few cases where there is a conflict with 2.1 on 1.0, but they are very rare.

Here's a good example of my conflict:
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3...
Quote:
If you upgraded your video card and/or power supply on a Dell PC, I need the following sent to me in a private message -
PC Model
Replacement video card

Inspiron
530s/531s LP PCIe x16, x1
Asus ATI Radeon 5570 HD 1GB DDR3 PCI-Express 2.1 x16 HDMI Low Profile
HIS H545H512 Radeon HD 5450 (Cedar) 512MB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready


And this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/312900-33-updated-gra...
Quote:
while some BIOS updates for 1.0 mobos can support 2.1 cards, DELL (as well as many other mass PC sellers) are notorious for not supporting that. you can't sell more PCs if people can update their old ones to hold out for another year or so


Researched a bit more and I definitely have this - PCIe x16, x1 -- I guess that means 1.0. The good news is that both posts confirm the 5570 route. Of course, the 2.0 versions I'm finding are $30 more :fou: 

I'm just going to go ahead and get the 5570 @ 2.1 and we'll settle this thing once and for all :lol:  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Okay, here goes. If this is a good website I will be getting this: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=HD5570-PCIE-102...

It happens to be a 2.0 - Have you bought from them before? Thanks for all the help btw!


I also wanted to post a few things that may help other people in the future..

Here is a thread that says that the 5670 will run on a 530s with 250w, E2160 1.8ghz: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=...

One poster breaks down the power use of a gpu and the strain on the psu/cpu.

Here is one with someone with my motherboard (G33M02) and a 1.0 pcie slot who has used 2.1 cards: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/347639-33-pcie-compat...
I like how he said "the only way to find out is to try it or find someone else who has tried it with that mobo." -- So true - and Thanks!

I also checked my BIOS and it was updated in 2009 so it should be fine.

And, for those braver than I, here is a thread discussing how it is possible to run both the 6570 and the 6670 on a 250w 530s: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/350563-33-graphics-ca...

The first website I linked also has the 6570 at a low price, but I think I'm going with the 5570 anyways. Anyone have feedback on this website "Geeks.com" Prices are way low but I've never heard of them...
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