Hi, This is my first post on this site (or anywhere else) so sorry if I do something wrong. I've just bought a Dell Dimension 1100 and wanted to play some games on it. Looks like I need to get a graphics card as the onboard graphics aren't up to the job (need t&l or something). Have seen 128MB PCI HIS Excalibur Radeon 9250 which appears to do the business. Can I just put this into the PCI slot and use it or am I likely to need a new power supply, etc? (currently 250W)
Lots of thanks for any help. I'm totally new at this!

That PCI card is going to be slow for most new games. In fact any of the latest games will run like crap on any PCI card. A DEll Dimension 1100 is just not a gaming platform period, it's a $300 PC.

The card will work, i.e. is compatible, whether it works with that 250W PSU depends on how mnay HDD and Optical drives you have. Just one of each you probably just be ok.

Thanks.
I just want to play "Dawn of War" on it. Have an xbox for most games. Will try this card and see if it works.
Thanks again.

This game?

http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product_id=646493&Section=SYSTEMREQ#PROD

That AGP requirement is interesting.

But here's 1 (1) PCI 9250 that claims to be Direct X 9 on newegg, the others don't so I'm not sure I believe it, but some buyers claimed to have played F.E.A.R. on it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814103167

Others to consider though, Nvidia's FX series, FX5200 and higher are DX9.

-Bf

I think the best PCI card you can get is an FX5500.

Ok, found a PNY FX5500 . Anyone know if this will work with my current 250W psu?

It would work but your system will be starved of power. What are the rest of your specs?

PS.
Never buy Dell. Even if the whole world is screaming Buy Dell.

I know. Really pleased with this inexpensive computer until I began to understand the parts that make it... only PCI slots, small psu, etc. Guess I should have expected this stuff. Not sure which specs you need. I have 1 CDR/dvd rom optical drive. 1X 80GB hard drive. 2.53GHz celeron processor. 512MB RAM. Lots of things running off USB though. Will this cause a problem with the power?
If so, do you know a compatible (not too expensive) power supply that I could fit to this computer to give it more of a chance of handling the graphics card?
Thanks

Not all if any PSUs work with Dell Computers.

"Dell owners

Our quiet power supply units are fully ATX compliant, which means that they will work in any standard ATX PC. You may or may not realise that PCs manufactured by Dell may use a power supply which often looks to be industry-standard, but in fact employs different wiring which makes replacement of the power supply with an ATX model impossible. This approach ensures that when you need to replace or upgrade Dell components, the only place you can buy them from is Dell! With this in mind, Dell owners please check that our PSUs are compatible with your system before you buy. However, as we know Dell 8250, 8300 and 4600 models use standard ATX power supplies you can use any of our power supplies in these machines."

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/powersupplies

I am so sorry you bought a Dell.

me too!
Guess I'd better see if dell have any better psu's for sale. Thanks a lot for your help. Will let you know if I have any luck with the people at Dell.

Let us know how much they'll charge you. Most probably for the price they will install the graphics card and psu you can most likely build whole new rig!

PC Power and Cooling also sells Dell compatible powersupplies. they are a little pricy but probably not much more than Dell will charge you and they are far superior to any PSU Dell will sell you.
here's a link http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/power_supplies/dell/

looks like you'll need the 410 Dell-2 accroding to the compatibility chart
It costs $119 but will provide enough power for you to fill every slot and bay in your case upgrade to a P4 and still have power leftover. PC Power and Cooling also produces some of the most reliable PSU's around, usually outlasting the rest of the system.

Thanks,
Dell were monumentally unhelpful. They told me that there was no available upgrade for my PSU and that Dell machines aren't supposed to be upgradeable!
Will have a look at those power supplies mentioned.
I also just found this website: http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=dellconverter who sell converters so you can use a normal ATX power supply in a Dell machine. Will look into which works out best.
Thanks for all the help

If I was you, I would sell the dell PC and build a new one. We can help you to choose the best parts!

You can find out how much watts your computer needs HERE

This should give you an idea.

Don't know about selling it Wolfram (paranoid about leaving banking data etc. on it) any chance I could canibalise most of the bits? - e.g. can I remove the processor, heatsink & fan from this motherboard and put them into another one?

dell is more like office stuff.. not so bad for that purpose..

Your procesor, hard drive, floppy and optical drive you can re-use. I am not so sure about the RAM though. What processor do you have?

Click HERE Then double click the cpuz.exe application. It will tell you processor and motherboard and ram type you are running. If you do a printscreen and upload the images we should tell you what you need.

Yes, yes you can. That system uses a standard Socket 478 CPU and has standard DDR memories.

I would not try to re-use the cpu fan though for two reasons: 1) the stock dells are junk, and b) a superior cpu cooler that you can re-use on the next upgrade can be like $12 US hehe.

Example of parts you could use to build a basic, AGP-based Socket 478 system using your spare parts:
Antec case with SmartPower 400W PSU - $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129163

Asus P4P800-VM Motherboard - $84.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131460

Now for CPU cooler and thermal paste:
Thermaltake P4 Spark5 CPU Cooler - $11.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835106024

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal compound - $5.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007

Videocard? I'd say start with an X1600 Pro or 6600GT. Both are good entry level but fully featured 3D cards that will play all new games quite well:
Powercolor X1600 Pro 256MB AGP - $114.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814131427


Basically, you'd pull your CPU, memory, floppy/hd and cd/dvd drive and put these in the new case. The Celeron cpu will fit in this motherboard.. plus you can expand down the road easily with any Socket 478 Pentium 4 or Celeron CPU if you desire more power. It's an AGP system, which is being phased out, but on a budget- it will make for a good system.

You'll want to re-install Windows XP for best results (meaning burn to cd/backup all your important data and have the install cd's for any desired software handy for re-install)- so if you do not have a copy of OEM Windows XP CD around (NOT the Dell recovery XP disks), you'll need to borrow one or buy your own. You can re-use the XP serial from the Dell as this will be on a sticker on the case. Windows Activation will complain but all you'll need to do is call their 1-800 number and explain you've changed the motherboard/upgraded.

Good luck!

IBN, Here's the info from SPU-z (hopefully this should be in an attachment to this message) :suspiciou