Video Card Upgrade for Dell Dimension E310

Video Card Upgrade for Dell Dimension E310???

Ok, so I just got this new Dell Dimension E310 Series, Intel Pentium 4 Processor 521 (2.80GHz) and 1MB cache, 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
with built in Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelator 900 (um.., yeah that's not going to cut it) for my wife mostly for her work, but I would like to do some gaming on it and would like to upgrade the video card.
To my understanding I can upgrade with a PCI card, but really don't know what to go with and what will be compatible?? I tried calling Dell Tech Reps., and let's just forget about that whole freaking exhausting process!!! I tried doing some searches on PCI cards, but did not see anything in particular to my system and came up confused??

Since so many of you seem much more knowlegable than these guyz, could someone please recommend a decent card for around $60.. I don't get too intense into gaming, but would like something I could play like Half-life, etc .. If there is nothing in that price category I'm open to any suggestions.


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I tried to do a bit of checking on you particular model and Dell's site was not very helpful. Here are a couple of decent PCI cards:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143059
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102533

this one is less expensive, but it only has a 64 bit memory interface:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143058

Great. thanks nickslick74, I think I'm going to go with the SAPPHIRE 100114 LB Radeon 9250 256MB 128-bit....

Silly question, but do I have to do anything before installing it..I mean I know that the Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelator 900 is built in... I'm not sure if there is a way to disable, transform, etc.. I dunno??

Some people say that you should go in and remove the old video drivers, but I don't think you really need to bother with that unless problems crop up. Just install the card and make sure that Windows finds it. You can go the mfr website for driver updates if you want.

If you want to diable the onboard graphics, you can do that through the bios, but I don;t think you really need to bother.

Ok thanx again nickslick74 for all you help!! hav a good weekend

Not a problem! You have a good weekend too.

PCIE for Dimension 3100?

I had trouble with a Radeon 9000 PCI card and called Dell support. They said my mobo will only support a PCIE video card expansion and gave me a model number they suggest, the ATI HD347. Unfortunately, I cannot find this product anywhere? Any suggestions for a video card that will finally let me end this nightmare and run dual monitors?

Thanks.

PCI vs. PCI Express

Hello, sorry to repost, but I was just about to order the SAPPHIRE 100114 LB Radeon 9250 256MB 128-bit, but realized I have a PCI Express slot, below are the specs of what my mobo will support:
Expansion Bus
Bus type
PCI 2.3
PCI Express x1
Bus speed PCI: 33 MHz
PCI Express: 500 MB/s bidirectional speed
PCIconnectors two
connector size
120 pins
connector data width (maximum)
32 bits
PCI Express
connector
one x1
connector size
36 pins
connector data width (maximum)
1 PCI Express lane

I know that's a bit of a mouthful, but just copied and pasted everything from the manual over for thoroughness..
Should I still go ahead with the PCI SAPPHIRE 100114 LB Radeon 9250 256MB 128-bit or consider a PCI Express card??.. I've been reading up on the advantages of PCI Express over PCI, but I'm not sure if it is relevant for my situation??
If I should go for the PCI Express, any recommendations for still around the same price (~$60)?? Thanks again for your insights!!!

PCi Express x1 graphics cards are useless and highly overpriced. A better bet than the Radeon would be the one below.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143058
It's even cheaper than the Radeon and being a Geforce 6 series card, it supports Shader Model 3.0 and has a faster core clock than the Radeon 9250, making it a better option. The only downside is that it has a 64-bit memory interface but it makes up for that in the higher core clock. Plus this one can play BF2, the 9250 cannot(read the customer reviews).

much appreciation for the feedback Rage 3K Moiz, yeah I was just checking around for 1x cards and they pretty much seem obsolete to the 16x now adays... and as you said it, price outrageous! thanks for the recommedation!!

What you have is a PCIe x1 slot, not the PCIe x16 that almost all PCIe graphics cards use. There are a few x1 cards out there, but they are fairly expensive and don't offer any real advantage over regular PCI cards, especially when you consider price.

Think I would still be in the clear with the Geforce 6200 128MB 64-bit even though I have a integrated Graphics Media Accelator, I was reading the reviews and it seems some have had problems with other Dell systems due to the built in media??
my system:
Dimension E310 Series, Intel Pentium 4 Processor 521 (2.80GHz) and 1MB cache
-1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
-Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelator 900

It wouldn't have any problems I think. Check out the second page of reviews, the 5th post down. The guy's name is Dan and he has the same Dell as yours. He ran it perfectly without any problems, so I wouldn't think u would have any.

The GeForce 6200 64-Bit PCI-Bus graphic card will work with your system (as long as you have the correct power supply), but will work slow on games. It only has 64-Bit memory interface, and will not give good performance on high-end games like F.E.A.R or Oblivion. There are other FX Series cards out there, like the FX5700, but I have not looked into those. Dell's are great work computers, and for home office use, but lack expandability options (had the same problem with an OptiPlex). I am not sure what to say what would be a good graphic card for you. You can also look into ATI cards that are compatible with the PCI-Bus slot.

Here's a PCI-Express 1X Card, which is quite good:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814161017

(The only problem is that the card is 64-Bit. Although, I would think that it's more powerful than the GeForce 6200 64-Bit)

The downfall of the X1300 is that it uses Hypermemory, which is just a different way of say that it uses your RAM as part of the video memory.

yeah, your totally right Rage 3K Moiz, I looked over every review earlier and not sure how I missed that, but it pretty much looks like I'm in the same boat as Dan...

yeah, I hoping that shouldn't be too much of a problem...I got 1 gig of RAM and not much other programs on there..


sweet, thanx again all of you for your appreciated feedback

Anytime mate. What do u plan on buying then? I just want u to get the best card for ur system. The X1300 has 128MB onboard and takes more RAM from the system to make it 512MB, which totally sucks. Plus its 5 times as expensive as the 6200. IMO, go for the 6200 and forget about the X1300. But it's upto u to choose.

Yeah Rage 3K Moiz, it looks like I'm going to go with the 6200, really can't beat that price and it looks like it was already tested on the same system!

E310 video card upgrade ...

OK, I need to do the same thing to my son's new E310. I have read this post and another reguarding this issue, and in the other post (a slightly different Dell) they were recommending an EVGA GeForce 7600 GT CO 256MB GDDR3 SLI PCI Express Dual DVI HDTV Video Card 256-P2-N553-AX at TigerDirect.com. I realize that there is a hugh difference in price, but for this upgrade, the ability to play game for sometime into the future is the issue. There will not be any clocking or the like done, and by what I have read, the 305 vdc PSU should be able to handle it as well. Can anyone give me your opinion on this issue?

Thanks up front for your time and help.