Upgrading my Dell Dimension 5150 graphics card?

Hi Guys,

As you may know from other posts I know enough about computers to get by on this site... just. I just seem to have a bit of a weakness with graphics cards (which isn't great when I get asked at work whats the best one to have!).

So here are my computer specs and anything else you'll ever need to know about my computer: http://support.euro.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim5150/en/sm/specs1.htm#wp1052310

I have a budget of about £70 - I know my computer probably can't support anything amazing - Im not a hardcore online gamer I just tend to buy the odd goodish game which requires a bit in the graphics department.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

PS - I have 2GB of RAM now.

as long as you have a desktop pc (i think from your model number it is but dell models aren't my specialty ) then you can quite easily upgrade your graphics card

you could get either of these cards in your budget: 7900GS or 8600GT but these are at the top end of your £70

however, if you wanted to spend a bit less there's a lot of choice out there, there are also cheaper version of the cards that i supplied links to

You have a 16 speed PCI-E slot which is good. The Radeon X1950Pro really sets the price/performance mark. Mostly because it has a fast GPU and memory. It also has a 256 bit memory bus. Most gaming cards have a 256 bit memory bus or better. The only problem I see is that it is just a tad higher priced than 70.00.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132527

I'd stay away from anything that has a 128 memory bus or less.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/01/the_best_gaming_graphics_cards_for_the_money/

I said about £70 so I'm more than willing to go a few quid over.

This provides performance similar to the X1950PRO but pulls lesser power, which is critical since your PSU is a proprietary one that provides only about 22A on the +12V rails combined, which will not be enough for an X1950PRO, which requires a minimum of 30A. The 7900GS by comparison requires a minimum of 20A so you can bet it will work fine.