also @ TechSpot: Facebook headhunts Apple engineers for 3rd smartphone attempt

TechSpot

Installing a new Video card on my Dell Dimension 5100 need confirmation

Discussion in 'Audio and Video' started by Batmaniac, Jul 13, 2006.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Batmaniac Newcomer, in training

    Well I plan to buy a "EVGA E-GEFORCE 7600 GT CO 256MB GDDR3 PCI-E" off ebay so I can replace the crappy Radeon 128mb x300 that came with my computer and run Gothic 3 and BioShock!

    Now I'm not sure how Dells are built exactly, but I've heard that there are issues when installing new hardware.

    Now my motherboard supports the follow card slots:

    2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16, and 1 PCI-E x 1

    The card I am purchasing is a PCI Express x16 so I assume that my motherboard supports it and that there will be no issues with my installation.

    I don't like returning things on e-Bay so I'm just trying to make sure that I won't have to because my the card won't be compatible with my computer.

    Thanks for the putting a simpleton such as myself at ease.

    Also, if you would recommend another card that I could get for about the same price I'd be happy to hear it. I just want to update my graphics card and not spend a fortune doing it.

    Thanks again!
  2. Rage_3K_Moiz Sith Lord

    How much are u paying for it? Chances are it may be cheaper somewhere else. And where exactly are u located? There are alternatives but until you give us the amount of money ur ready to spend on this card we can't tell u if a better card is available for the same price.
    P.S. - To answer ur original question, It will be compatible with ur PC.
  3. Batmaniac Newcomer, in training

  4. i_am_a_newbie Newcomer, in training

  5. Rage_3K_Moiz Sith Lord

  6. i_am_a_newbie Newcomer, in training

  7. Greenmachine Newcomer, in training

    That is a nice card. One consideration though....recommended Power supply for that card is 350W and your comp. comes with a 305W PSU. As long as you have an ATX PSU the replacement/install is very easy to do yourself. A good PSU will cost around $75 US.
  8. Batmaniac Newcomer, in training

    I definitely do not have the money to spend on a new PSU plus the video card.

    What should I do?

    Should I opt for the X850XT instead? I looked around and I think that has a 300w PSU minimum and I'm assuming it will give me about the same performance as the 7600gt for about the same cost.
  9. Rage_3K_Moiz Sith Lord

  10. Batmaniac Newcomer, in training

    With shipping and tax those two products come out to an exact total of $330.50 with a 30$ rebate.

    =(

    I really don't want to spend more than 260 initally - rebates. Which is how much the card alone would cost. Damn my power supply =(.
  11. Rage_3K_Moiz Sith Lord

  12. Batmaniac Newcomer, in training

    Alright I think I'm going to suck it up and get the XFX card and the Coolmax V-400 / 400-Watt which comes out to a total of $320.

    But before I make this purchase, is there any chance that the PSU won't work with my computer? Dell has this online manual that is very detailed so I plan to just follow the steps listed here when installing these new parts:

    http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim5100/en/sm/parts1.htm#wp1370145

    Hopefully I won't have any trouble and thanks a lot for your help.
  13. Rage_3K_Moiz Sith Lord

    I think if u have an ATX case then it will fit. Good luck with it :grinthumb
  14. Batmaniac Newcomer, in training

    I'm like 75% positive that my case is BTX.
  15. Rage_3K_Moiz Sith Lord

    I think u would need an ATX12 PSU in that case. Those PSUs aren't sold by TigerDirect so you'll have to find a PSU of that specification. Antec, Enermax, Fortron and Thermaltake are some of the good brands that produce this type of PSU. I can't seem to find one on ZipZoomFly since the site doesn't seem to want to open but if u find any of these brand PSU that u like, don't hesitate to buy.
  16. Batmaniac Newcomer, in training

    What about if I bought a 20 - 24 Pin ATX to BTX Power Supply Convertor, not sure what it is but I found some on eBay and it sounds like something I could use.
  17. Batmaniac Newcomer, in training

    I've been reading around and it seems Dell lists the low-end factor of their PSUs. Like a 350w Dell PSU has a high-end factor of 500w and somebody else said that a 250w Dell PSU is overkill for a 350w x1600.

    I will look into this more and if anybody knows anything regarding this I would love to hear it. I'd be estatic if I could get away with not having to purchase a new PSU (especially since ATX12s are expensive and the ATX/BTX connectors apparently do more harm than good).

    Edit: After checking around the dell hardware forums, I've already seen two cases of people with a Dell stock 305w PSU that successfully installed a 7600gt. One was the EVGA OC and the other the XFX.

    I don't plan on overclocking the card or my CPU and I'm starting to think that I should be fine just purchasing the XFX card.
  18. dmill89 TechSpot Guru

    You'll be fine as long as you don't overclock or make too many more upgrades. If you decide to make more upgrades later on you'll probably need a new PSU but for those cards your PSU is fine.

    Update: I looked it up and the geforce 7600 GT only uses 3 more watts than the X300
  19. Rage_3K_Moiz Sith Lord

    Cool. Then I guess ur good to go eh? And u saved urself some money in the process too!
  20. chas0039 Newcomer, in training

    Dell is notorious for PSU/MBs that are non-standard. The worst will accept a standard plug and then fry. So check with Dell before you plug anything into your motherboard.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.