Need a graphics card, which?

[Gizere]

Hey guys, i have a Dell inspiron 530 with intergrated graphics, and i an looking to find a new graphics card due to gaming. the only problem is i practically know nothing about computers and dont know which cards my computer will support. Please help, thanks

 

[thepizzaman]

ok first... can you fill out your system specs? and second we need to know if you have a pci express slot and what your psu is....

 

[Gizere]

hey, like i said in the first post, i know nothing about computer, i am useless :P
please can you tell me where to find these and all the individual detail you need to know, thanks

 

[lil domii]

is it a laptop?

 

[Gizere]

no its a desktop

 

[thepizzaman]

ok for the system specs...... look in the control panel.... under system and.... for the psu and pci express.... you will have to open the case and look
what your looking for on the psu is a sticker with the voltages

AC INPUT​

115V/230V - 60/50Hz​

DC OUTPUT​

+3.3V​

+5V​

+12V​

-12V​

+5VSB​

1600W​

Max
Combined
Watts​

24A​

28A​

117A​

0.5A​

6A​

1600W​

this is off a really good one thuse the high watts.... but what we need to know is the total watts and the one that says +12V
and your pci express connector will look like this if you have one

File:PCIExpress.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and thats what your looking for

 

[d3aths3rver]

download belarc advisor its free and it will tell you everything about your pc in an easy to read user friendly way.

Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit

or press on the start tab and type system info and press enter
this will do the same but you might have to copy and paste the specs.
also how many years old is your pc, this might help us if you cant be bothered doing this?

 

[Gizere]

i have filled out the system specs as much as i can, im not sure if its all right thought because i find it hard to understand each individual piece of info, also i have had my computer about 2 years and have been updating the intergrated graphics regularly.
i will post the psu or whatever it was later today when i get chance, thanks

 

[thepizzaman]

thats a start

 

[lil domii]

cpu = processor e.g. intel core 2 duo
motherboard = main circuit board e.g. gigabite *name*/acer revcathedral.
x84 based system means 32-bit.
psu means the power supply unit. what we want to find out is the wattage of the psu, as lower than 500 watts won't be able to run a decent graphics card. you might need to take off the side panel to see the psu and its wattage. also, while the panel is still off, check your motherboard for this/these slot(s):

see if you can do that, and will give you further information about the graphics card.



Dom


EDIT: forget the psu bit, i just read that you will find out today

 

[d3aths3rver]

I just looked up your type of motherboard. The good news is that you have a PCIe x16 lane in there (this will be not be taken up by any room as you dont have a dedicated graphics card yet)
you have a 19in monitor, this is good, because even a US $150 card will not lag when you have a monitor with max resolution 1280x768, (likely 1024x768).
I know you have a core 2 duo (or quad) cpu or Pentium duo core , because that's the only CPU's that will run on your board.

PSU we need to know, this is imperative, or your pc most likely wont even turn on when you install a graphics card. I'd also like to know how much ram and how fast (and what your cpu is) because there is no point in buying a graphics card if you have 512mb of ram. to do this, right click on "computer", and go to properties it will say it right there, vista --------- then it will say cpu 3.4ghz 2Gb of ram or something like that.

if you have the psu for it, I think an ATI 5770, would do the trick for next gen and current games and smoke them too for your monitor resolution. CPU bottleneck shouldnt be a problem, i am worried about the ram specs of a 2 year old pc, not upgraded.
what do you think guys?

 

[thepizzaman]

ok i can promise he doesn't have enough psu power for a 5770, he will be luck if he can push a 3870, also length will be a problem since its a dell case....... at most his psu will be 400 watts..... if you really want to upgrade get a new case, a psu, and then your gpu
edit.... also what is your budget? (Meanin how much money can we spend for you :D )

 

[d3aths3rver]

You'd be surprised with dell sometimes - they dont always give them 400W PSUs esp when they have a pciex16 lane, but you are right, time for a yumcha build where he can get something twice as good for half the price he paid for the dell pc

 

[thepizzaman]

exactly.... :D

 

[Gizere]

well, i wasnt rly expecting to spend too much, but for a graphcis card, i was just thinking of 1 that would do the job and get me through games, so maybe like up to £70? if thats possible, that is $115.23 :P
thats practically all i have at the minute

 

[Gizere]

To the post on the first page, i opened my case and am writing this on my phone, but i found the sticker,
input: 100-127v~8A, 200-240V~4A 50/60Hz
Output: +12V -/ 18A
+5V -/ 22A
+3.3 -/ 17A
-12V -/ 0.8A
+5VSB -/ 2A

then it has a few more stuff on that sticker if u need it, i will also post a picture of them slots when i get my computer back on because i dont know what is what

 

[lil domii]

could you find a page on dell of the exact model of your computer? we will be able to carry on from there.

 

[lil domii]

wait i have found this page.
look at bottom of page
it looks like it is a 300 watt psu.
for a decent card, you might need to upgrade your power supply.



Dom

 

[thepizzaman]

hm......... lets see....... you can prolly get a cheap 450 watt psu... (like a thermaltake tough power.... reliable but cheap, they are about $40... not sure how much where you are...) and maybe a 3650 or a 3870...... that is if they will fit in your case and if you have a psu that can be changed and not a dell custom.... and if they don't have special plugs on the motherboard, thats a lot of if's haha

 

[d3aths3rver]

hes running a celeron. dude you should just save up and buy a new pc if you want to play games. the best you are going to do with that is watch dvds (and it might still lag), i just built my boss a yumcha pc for $950AUD thats about $846USD or 517.706422 English pounds and it flies. 8GB DDR3 ram, 1TB hardrive, intel Q9550, asus motherboard, ATI 4890, cooler master case, antec 650watt PSU. it has everything you need. just shop around we got all this cheap, and you can play games for a good price. it shouldnt cost more than 35 En Pounds for them to build it for you. or you can build it yourself and save that. go to dell for that and they charge you 1100 pounds for that (more than double the price).
The only disadvantage you have buying all the pieces separately is the warranty- dell normally gives you one year. but if some company builds it for you (i dont know in the UK, but over here in Australia) they have a duty of care, so they have to find what is wrong with it and fix it (they are liable because they built it) - all the parts in a "yum-cha" built pc have around a 3 year warranty. they are just all individual. you have to know what is wrong and organise the warranty. (but if a pc shop builds it for you - they have to find out what's wrong and organise the warranty, its the law, The Aus legal system is based on the english one, so theoretically they should be very similar if not the same, bar new laws in parliament)