Dell Dimension 3000 - Suggestions for Graphics Upgrade

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Most of the 3000's are a very basic config though. According to the "psu calc," an average setup of a 3ghz prescott 478 cpu, 2 sticks of ddr ram, a 6200, 1 hd, 1 dvd-rw, a pci card, 2 usb devices, and a 92mm fan equaled a power usage of 234w. Now if the pc has two opticals or two hard drives it may have issues, but if it has a single hd and a single optical drive, then it should run it, if dell's 250w is ok, which I think it is.

Next, don't listen to people who tell you you can't put a normal power supply in any dell(some dell's had proprietary power supplies several years ago). This series, the 2300, 2350, 2400, and 3000, all seem to be atx. I replaced a psu in a 2300 with an antec sl350 350w psu and it works great.
Here's a cheap power supply that seems decent if anyone needs one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104901
 
Hiya i have a dell dimension 1100 and i too found the graphics capabilities too be not very good, well lets face it awful. After a lot of being messed around with dell i purchased a nvidia geforce 5500 pci card and i have been struggling to get it too work i am trying too get hold of drivers from Nvidia which will allow it too work with the dell chipset. Which dell have told me is not recommended for gaming. I replyed politely not everyone has £1000 to blow on a dell xps. I am still trying to get this card too work and have taken my computer apart at least 10 times i will post another message if i manage too upgrade this computer. Good luck Ali
 
Different Brand

The ATI Radeon 9250 works great in the Dimension 3000 if you want to play games with great graphics. The Intel graphics are some of the worst on the market
 
graphics cards

i have a dell dimension 3000 and would like to know what is the best grapgisc card tht i can get for it. it only had PCI slots, i looked at the radeon 9250 but is there anything out there that is better.
 
JasonH,

I have a Dimension 3000 and just bought the Radeon 9250 as well but I'm having troubles getting it to work. When I insert the card into the PCI slot the PC either doesn't boot or boots with no display. I've disabled the Intel graphics prior to inserted the card. Was there anything else that you did to get it to work???

Roger
 
Rogerz I had the same problem with my dimension 1100, i couldn't get my card too work with the computer, start with your computer working off the intel graphics again and start it up and enter the setup menu in the bios by pressing i think F2 as your computer starts up. Then go to integrated devices and the should be a title along the lines of Onboard Video. On my Dimension 1100 it is second to the bottom. You should have two options one is Onboard which it should be set too and Auto which should be disabled. Set this to Auto then go and turn off your intel graphics. You should now be able to work you screen off the graphics card and everything should work properly.
 
hayward said:
i have a dell dimension 3000 and would like to know what is the best grapgisc card tht i can get for it. it only had PCI slots, i looked at the radeon 9250 but is there anything out there that is better.

I don't know what cards have come out on the market recently but i have got a nvidia geforce FX 5500 in my dell dimension and it works a wonder apart from an extra fan is needed to keep the card cool. I have not tried the Radeon and neither do i know Anyone who has one of these cards but my card allows me to uses some of the newer powerfull games such as Star Wars: Republic Commando.
 
Thanks Cartera, but I've already done that. The Video graphics IS set to Auto instead of OnBoard. Any other suggestions??
 
Just checking but did you install the latest driver for your new graphics card? Also, don't take this the wrong way but is your monitor connected to the new graphics card?
 
rogerz said:
Thanks Cartera, but I've already done that. The Video graphics IS set to Auto instead of OnBoard. Any other suggestions??

Then did u disable the onboard graphics after you changed the video settings in bios? Also does your graphics card have two slots for the monitor if so try both and when the onboard graphics have been disabled THEN u plug the monitor into your graphics card. Otherwise i'd try contacting dell they maybe know help but if u persist and ask for a level 2 because they actually know what they are doing. ive done this before and also if that doesnt work see if radeon can help! Update when uve tried wot ive sed.
 
I got it to work. It turned out to be a bad card. I returned it and it now works fine. Thanks for everybody's help!!
 
Sorry Guys *Tear*

sorry to bump an old thread, but upon searching google after getting frustrated with my wonderful machine we call a Dell Dimension 3000, i found this website


my problem is this:


i just bought a 3D Fuzion nVidia GeForce 6200 (PCI) for my Dimension 3000...i installed everything allright...it's all showing up on my PC...i disabled my P.O.S. standard graphics card that came with this thing, and now, whenever i try to use my 6200, my icons turn GIGANTIC..like someone messed with my settings or something

and to top THAT off, whenever i try plugging my moniter into my new video card, it says:

"Cannot Display This Video Mode"


i tried updating my drivers, says everything is where it needs to be


has anyone else had this problem?

and can someone help me out plz...


EDIT: just turned off the Onboard Vid Card to Auto in the Bios and now whenever i plug in my Moniter to my new card, the system boots up, but stays a blank screen
 
Trouble with my GeForce FX5200 256MB

hi there
im having trouble trying to install my new graphics card, i am unsure what to do and unsure if the card even work with my dell dimension 3000, because im english there are not many places to get a graphics card on the net in england which is pci and 256mb.this is the card i have

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...39899/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_3_2/202-4489584-4766226

I have put the pci card in the computer but when i connect the vga to the graphics card there is just a blank screen.
could i have some advise on trying to install?

cheers rob
 
Fable i had exactly the same problem with my dimension. You need to enter bios upon start up of the computer by pressing F2 when the machine is loading up. The move down the list untill you find integrated devices. Then look in the next menu for a thing that says onboard video buffer this should be set to onboard. You should be able to change this to auto. Once changing this to auto star t using your graphics card it should work properly. Make sure once you have done this you still have the integrated graphics turned off from the system menu and that you are using the graphics card to run your monitor on. Reply if your still having problems, it took me 4 months to get mine working and dell was little help at all.
 
Hiya rob,
You need to start up your machine and while it is loading press F2 to enter your system bios. Then scroll down the menu and click on a title that is called integrated devices. Under this menu you will need to find a title called onboard video buffer or something alike(dell machines aren't all the same as ive been told by dell) this should have two options one called onboard and another called auto select auto. Then Go to windows and onto control panel and then click on performance and maintenance. Now click on the button called system, Then go to hardware and then click on the button device manager. Let me remind you you should have your graphics card installed and in your machine. When device manager comes up look down the list for display adaptors and then you should see your intel integrated graphics and your graphics card which you have purchased and installed. You need to right click on the intel graphics and disable them. Once disabled turn off your computer and plug your monitor into the graphics card and turn your computer on again it should now be working properly.
Ali
 
Hi guys,
I've been reading through forums lately on how to upgrade my video card on my Dell Dimension 3000. This seems to be the best thread with helpfull people and because I don't know much about computers I guess I have a couple of questions. My 3000 has a P4 with a gig of ram, Windows XP etc, and I play World of Warcraft frequently. The computer plays it fine, it's a little choppy here and there and sometimes laggy but not bad.

My first question is will a PCI video card be a noticeable upgrade?
Second is will the difference between the GeForce 6200 and the ATI 9225(?) be worth the difference in price?
And last question, is my computer able to run the above cards without further upgrades? You mentioned I might need a power supply, but from the people in this thread that have upgraded to the GeFroce or Radeon, did you?

Thanks fellas, I hope I don't seem like a newb

Ryan
 
so yeah, I'm pretty much in the same situation as the rest of the Dimensin 3000 users. I only have a pci slot.

Yesterday, I decided to order a 128mb/64 bit version of the Geforce 6200 made by 3D Fuzion. I read the the article that guy vnf4ultra posted so I was convinced to buy the 6200. I'm just bothered that it only costs $27 while the other cards where twice as expensive.

I chose it over a JATON Geforce FX5700LE, POWERCOLOR Radeon 9250, and a PNY Geforce FX5500.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814139166
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814131411
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814133134

Did I make the right decision?
 
Alright, I got a Dell 3000 with the P4 a Nvidia 5500 256mb 128bit and 1gb of ram in it right now. The PCI graphics I am seeing are pretty.... well.... insufficient. What would it take to get the best juice out of this system in terms of transplanting to a new motherboard? I'd like PCI-E... however I know I cant have everything. I'd also like to be able to keep the processor since I think thats the only thing worth value in this box. I can still return the video card for an exchange since I've only had it a few days.

Thanks in advance guys.
 
Heres what someone did and im planning on doing the same in two days.

"FYI. I have had perfect success with my DELL! I replaced the motherboard in my DELL Dimension 3000 PC with an ASUS P4P800-VM (93.00 at zipzoomfly), and it works perfectly. I replaced the mobo because the original DELL board did not have an AGP slot. After carefully measuring all the voltages of the power supply connectors and checking the mounting hole locations, I was able to determine that this is a direct drop-in replacement board. What is all the fuss about? Apparently DELL is totaly M-ATX compliant now. (This pc was purchased in 2004). I installed an ATI 9200 graphics card, 2 CD/DVD drives, 2 HD, and 1394 card, and all is working very well on the original DELL power supply (250 Watt). All the mounting screws line up perfectly, all the slots line up perfectly, the fan shrould fits perfectly over the new board CPU socket, the PSU cables all plug direclt in and the pinout is exact ATX with one exception (no -5V lead on the DELL PSU, but apparently ASUS does not require this). The only mod I had to make was the front pannel connectons. I salvaged an old connector from a junk PC and used it in place of the DELL connector for HD led, PWR led, speaker (added), and reset switch. This is very easy to do if you are electronicaly inclined. Please contact me if you have any questions. So, after reading so many scary posts about DELLs, here is my conclusion.

ASUS mobo fit: PERFECT
DELL PSU: 250 W original PSU is fine for ASUS mobo + ATI 9200 + 4 discs
Original DELL DIMMs: Reused in ASUS board with no problems at all (pc3200, DDR400)
No SW or OS reinstall whatsoever was necessary! Just droped in the new board and powered up. Everything was just how I left it. (Important note: I had previously installed an original retail version of XP Pro on the old DELL mobo, this may have made things easier for the transition).

What an improvement in the graphics quality too over the onboard Extreme Graphics 2!"
 
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