Not really sure what I'm doing! Help Please:)

[joeshmoe]

I have a Dell XPS 400 and am looking to upgrade the ram and video card, but I'm not 100% about the questions I should be asking. I do know that I have crappy stock ram right now and have been looking at getting some Corsair XMS2 ram (2x1GB) first and then worry about the video card. I think I should be looking at the pin of the ram to make sure it is compatable,but not sure after that. Since I have DDR2 now in my machine (1GB Dual Channel DDR2 at 533MHz) does that mean I have 240-pins? I also would like to get a Geforce 7900 video card since the 8800 came out and the 7900 went down in price. I was told i need a new power supply to run the video card, but how do I find out how much power I need. Thanks.

[Stuey]

If you have DDR2 now, then DDR2 is what you need since the pins are equivalent within that standard.

What video card do you have now? If you have a hefty video card now, then your existing PSU might be able to handle a video card upgrade.

[joeshmoe]

I ordered the XPS 400 with a Geforce 6800 about a year ago and have just looked on the inside of the tower at the PSU it says the output is 375 watts. A friend of mine told me that I might have another problem with the stock PSU not having the right connection (pin config) to the new video card and I just might have to buy one anyway. Do you know if this is true and how I would know what to look for in a new video card? I can take my power off of my card now and see what it looks like but how can I compare w/ the new card. what should I look for?

[flanzig1]

The 7900 series needs at least a 400w PSU and the external power connection is a six pin but most cards come with an adapter to 4 pin molex. Not sure if the XPS series of Dells use a standard ATX PSU or a Dell special.
As for ram, go to the Corsair ram configurator and check to see which type of ram works with your Dell XPS 400.