New graphics card

[shemer77]

Hey I have abandoned building a new comp since I dont feel like paying that much money and work. Mostly money though.
I have a dell dimension 8400.
Here is its specs

Brand: Dell
Product Line: Dimension
Model: 8400
Cabinet Type: Mid Tower
Operating System:Windows XP Home
Power Consumption: 350 Watts
Color: Black
Processor Manufacturer: Intel
Processor Type: (what's this?) Pentium 4
Processor Speed: (what's this?) 3.2 GHz
Bus Speed: (what's this?) 800 MHz
Storage Drives
Hard Drive Capacity: (what's this?) 80 GB
Hard Drive Interface Type: (what's this?) Sata
Ram
Installed Memory: (what's this?) 512 MB
RAM Type: (what's this?) DDR SDRAM
Maximum Supported RAM: (what's this?) 4 GB
Motherboard
Motherboard Chipset: (what's this?) Intel 925X
Number of Processors: 1
Number of PCI Slots: 4
Rear Peripheral Connectors: Serial: 1, Parallel: 1, PS/2: 2, USB 2.0: 6
Front Peripheral Connectors: USB 2.0: 1, USB 2.0: 2
CD/DVD Drive
Optical Drive Type: DVD+RW
CD Read Speed: 48 X
CD Write Speed: 40 X
CD Rewrite Speed: 24 X
DVD Read Speed: 16 X
DVD Write Speed: 16 X
DVD Rewrite Speed: 4 X
Display
Screen Type: (what's this?) CRT
Diagonal Screen Size: (what's this?) 17 in
Video Resolution Standard: (what's this?) VGA
Video Card
Video Card Type: (what's this?) ATI Radeon X300 SE
Video Card Interface Type: (what's this?) PCI Express
Video Card Memory: 128 MB
Rear Video Outputs: S-Video: 1
Sound Card
Sound Card Type: (what's this?) Integrated
Rear Audio Inputs: Microphone: 1, 1/8 in Stereo Mini: 1
Rear Audio Outputs: (what's this?) 1/8 in Stereo Mini: 1
Front Audio Inputs: Headphone: 1
Sound Card Interface Type: (what's this?) Integrated
Networking
Networking Type: (what's this?) Fast Ethernet, Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
Dimensions
Height: 16.7 in
Depth: 17.6 in
Width: 7.13 in
Weight: 35 lbs

And I was wondering what I should do to this comp to make it be able to run some of the newest games on high or ultra high settings and still last for another 3 years? Ex. Shadowrun, Halo 2
Can you guys give me some products? I would like to spend less than 500$

[Alaron]

Dell PCs are not designed for gaming. The main limitation is that your 350w PSU holds you back from major video card upgrades. That said, we can make some tweaks to keep you gaming for awhile. I'd suggest a new video card and certainly more RAM. The last part would be a great general upgrade as well.

Crucial's RAM upgrades are also guaranteed to work: http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Dimension+8400+Series I'd go for 2GB total.

This Geforce 8600 *should* work with your Dell PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130084

If you want to go any higher, a PSU upgrade would be smart. PCPower and Cooling offers Dell upgrades that are guaranteed compatible: http://www.pcpower.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S47D

[BeepBeep2]

umm....

so you are saying you dont know what a cpu is, cpu speed is, or what bus speed is, or what a Gigabyte is, or what SATA is, or RAM is, or what the RAM limit is, or what a mobo chipset is, or what a CRT is, or how big a CRT is, or VGA and DVI is, or a Video Card is, Or what PCI-e is, or what a Sound Card is, or what an Audio Out is, or what kind of sound card it is, or what kind of neworking you can use?????????

[Alaron]

BeepBeep, I believe that is a consequence of Copy/Paste. The system properties have little options for "Whats This?" in Windows. ;)

[BeepBeep2]

lol, i guess you are right> :D

[shemer77]

lolz no I had to copy and paste that because the dell support website was down :(
So get a psu I already knew about the ram and a graphics card. Is it hard to install a new psu?

I also wanted to get a new directx 10 graphics card. Do I need a cooling system of any sort on this comp?

[LeftyAce]

Is it hard to install a new psu?
Easier than installing a new motherboard :-)

It involves unplugging the old PSU from everything (motherboard, in 2 places, CD drives, harddrive), unscrewing the old PSU from the back of the case and sliding it out. Reverse the procedure to put the new one in.

It isn't too hard, especially since you'll be able to see how the old one goes as you take it out.

You shouldn't need upgraded cooling. The DX10 graphics cards are hot, but they have built in cooling that vents out the back of the case.

[shemer77]

wat ram and psu should I get?

[BeepBeep2]

umm...

these are Alarons links...PSU:http://www.pcpower.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S47D

RAM:http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Dimension+8400+Series

[shemer77]

Thanks I just bought the graphics card, which as you said should work on my comp thanks. Saving up my money for some ram next.
Should I get a soundcard?

[Alaron]

I wouldn't bother for now unless you feel you need better sound. Keep your budget for more useful upgrades. Keep in mind too that unless you have decent speakers, the soundcard doesn't make much difference. :)

[shemer77]

hmm ok, the only reason that I was going to get one is because I heard it takes care of sound processing so the comp dosent have too.

[LeftyAce]

It does, but sound processing is a very very very small task unless you want very high quality, or are recording stuff. The performance gain isn't worth the money you'd spend on a card; you probably wouldn't notice the improvement anyway.

[shemer77]

OMG, I just checked out the evga website and this is what I found out. CAN SOMEBODY TELL ME WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN?
Evga website (http://evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=256-P2-N761-AR&family=23)
Requirements
Minimum of a 400 Watt power supply.*********
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 22 Amp Amps.)
Minimum 450 Watt for SLI mode system.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 24 Amp Amps.)
An available 6 pin PCI-E power connector (hard drive power dongle to PCI-E 6 pin adapter included with card)

Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130084)
System Requirements
Minimum of a 350 Watt power supply.************
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 18 Amps.)
Minimum 450 Watt for SLI mode system.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 24 Amps.)
An available 6 pin PCI-E power connector (hard drive power dongle to PCI-E 6 pin adapter included with card)


Which one is the right psu?

[Alaron]

Interesting catch. I'd go with eVGA since they are the manufacturer. Newegg must have goofed. With this new knowledge, I'd suggest ordering the replacement PSU I linked to earlier. It will be plenty for that card. Unfortunately PSUs are the sticking point when it comes to Dell upgrades, but you should have room in your budget. :)

[shemer77]

what would happen if i connect this to my psu and evga is right?

[LeftyAce]

Your computer might not boot up. It might boot up, but when running games it'll freeze or crash. I don't think anything will blow up, but the card will be starved for power.

[shemer77]

as long as it dosent get damaged. Now I need to get some money.

[BeepBeep2]

if you can buy this psu...i would reccomend it:http://www.pcpower.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S47D

[shemer77]

Is there anything cheaper, also I read all the reviews for the graphics card and they say that it gets incredibly hot. What should I do? Ill be lucky if I can scrap out money for the psu :(

[Alaron]

Dell power supplies are not wired the same as most aftermarket power supplies. Its one of the ways they keep you tied into their products. But PC Power & Cooling has their own line of replacements that they guarantee will work. Not the cheapest PSUs out there, but your options are very limited in this situation.

[shemer77]

Well I have checked out some reviews and people confirm that it does work on a 350W PSU, also I have heard that dells psu's are highly underrated. So now I feel a little bit better. For cooling do you know if pci cooling fans work?

[LeftyAce]

What video card are you getting? The 8 series cards actually act like PCI slot cooling fans. They vent out the back of the case.

I doubt you'll be needing additional cooling. You're not changing anything but the video card, right? You'd need better case cooling if you started overclocking the computer, which I believe is impossible on a Dell bios :-|

[shemer77]

its an evga geforce 8600 gts. You are right you cannot overclock on dell bios. I just dont want it to overheat. Should I buy a psu first or ram if my graphics card can run on my psu?

[LeftyAce]

First make sure the graphics card will work with your current PSU. If it does, then I'd upgrade ram. If it doesn't, you'll have to get a PSU upgrade in order for the graphics card upgrade to do anything.

[shemer77]

Thanks, hope my psu works. Give me luck!