Dell Dimension E310 - upgrading graphics card, power supply question

[NeoGC]

Hello,TechSpot. I am here to ask about an little upgrade I'm getting to replace my Dell Dimension E310's onboard graphics. It's only a 256 MB memory PCI card,but it's all I could afford at the time,and it is being shipped to me,and should arrive at my doorstep in a day or two.

My question is, can I use the default 230W power supply? I can't really get a job(Teenager.),so money is hard to come by for me. I hear that Dell computers have the power supply ports wired differently,so a non-dell power supply could possibly fry the motherboard. Another thing I may ask, will the computer even run at all if this graphics card I bought (The Newegg page for it is posted at the bottom.) is plugged in and enabled? Or will my computer freeze/crash/restart/shut down if it isn't for my power supply?

I really don't know what to do,and I hear power supplies can be somewhat expensive,so I'm not sure if I can use my default one,or do I have to buy one with a higher wattage? If I have no other choice but to earn money and then shell it out for another power supply,if someone could link me or at least specify a good power supply for me,that would be appreciated. I'm not here to edit my computer into anything real special,I just want games that run on the Source engine (Half Life 2,Garry's Mod,Counter--Strike: Source) to not run like garbage, and the possibility of being able to play more games using my PC. I have already upgraded the RAM from 512 MB to 1.2 GB,and some day,I may upgrade it to it's maximum; 2 GB.

Thank you for your time, I hope you guys can help me!

Newegg Page

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

I hear that Dell computers have the power supply ports wired differently,so a non-dell power supply could possibly fry the motherboard.

Lol, did you talk to dell tech support?
Hahaha they lie.

Yeah should be fine, but of course, its not a particularly good card. You should be ok with the source engine if you load up the proper configs.

 

[NeoGC]

Lol, did you talk to dell tech support?
Hahaha they lie.

Yeah should be fine, but of course, its not a particularly good card. You should be ok with the source engine if you load up the proper configs.

Well,I did some online research on power supplys for E310s... :<

But thank you anyway. But...I will be good with my default Power supply,right? And the proper configs you mean are low to medium settings,correct?

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Nah I mean a custom low graphics config.
I've used Casey's for CSS, seems fine, though I didn't use it much, I have my own.
You'll just have to look around, or be content with just settings your graphics to low or whatever suits you, there won't be a huge difference.

// Casey's Config v2 (CAL compliant) 
// Updated for new season by CAL|Stone 
// Updated 01/23/07 - Added misc settings section
//_Set Netcode vars_
cl_cmdrate "101"
cl_interp "0.01"
cl_interpolate "1"
cl_lagcomp_errorcheck "0"        // Disables lagcompensation error checking, only needed if you're having any registration/loss/choke problems. 
cl_lagcompensation "1"
cl_smooth "1"
cl_updaterate "101"
rate "25000"
//_Set MP vars_
mp_decals "0"            // How many player sprays will be shown.
//_Set Client vars_
cl_drawmonitors "0"        // Disables the rendering of ingame "monitors" which contain 3d rendered images.
cl_ejectbrass "0"            // Disables brass ejection
cl_forcepreload "1"            // Forces the game to load all texture and model information into memory on map load.
cl_phys_props_enable "1"        // Enables phsyics props.
cl_phys_props_max "50"        // Maximum amount of physics props allowed.
cl_ragdoll_physics_enable "0"    // Disables ragdoll.
cl_restrict_server_commands "0"    // Compatible/needed with serverplugins
cl_show_splashes "0"        // Disables water splashes.
//_Set Render vars_
r_3dsky "0"            // Disables the rendering of 3d sky boxes.
r_decal_cullsize "9999"        // Any decals under this size are not rendered.
r_decals "0"            // Disables decals.
r_drawbatchdecals "1"        // Enables the rendering of decals in batch.
r_drawdetailprops "1"        // Enables the rendering of detail props.
r_drawflecks "0"            // Disables the sparks and dirt from bullet impacts.
r_drawmodeldecals "0"        // Models decals (i.e. blood).
r_eyes "0"            // Disables eyes in models.
r_lod "-1"                // Different level of details on models. -1 = Variable at distance. 0 = None. 1 = Minor. 2 = Less minor.
r_modellodscale "1.0"        // The transitioning power of LOD.
r_occlusion "0"            // Enables the Model Occlusion system.
r_propsmaxdist "100"        // Max distance at which props are rendered.
r_renderoverlayfragment "0"
r_rootlod "2"            // Base lod of the model in the memory.
r_shadowmaxrendered "32"        // Max shadows the game will render.
r_shadowrendertotexture "1"        // Rendered the shadow texture causing it to match the player model.
r_shadows "1"            // Enables shadows (Change be disabled for additional performance.)
r_teeth "0"            // Disables teeth in models.
r_waterdrawreflection "0"        // Disables the rendering of water reflections.
r_waterforceexpensive "0"        // Forces cheap water.
gl_clear "0"            // Disables the gl_clear convariable.
props_break_max_pieces "0"    // Disables prop fragmenting
//_Set Materials vars_
mat_antialias "0"            // Disables the use of multisampling to smooth out edges.
mat_bumpmap "0"            // Disables bump mapping.
mat_clipz "0"            // Disables optimized Z-Buffer rendering.
mat_compressedtextures "1"    // Disables texture compression. Users with low amounts of system memory should turn this on.
mat_disable_bloom "1"        // Disables bloom effects.
mat_hdr_enabled "0"        // Disables HDR.
mat_hdr_level "0"            // Double Disables HDR.
mat_mipmaptextures "1"        // Enables the use of mipmapping to make textures look smooth.
mat_monitorgamma "1.6"        // Lower the number the brighter the screen. Only works in fullscreen.
mat_picmip "2"            // Changes the resolutions of textures when they're loaded into memory. May improve FPS on graphics cards with low memory sizes.
mat_reducefillrate "1"        // Reduces the fillrate when the game is run in DXLevel 8.
mat_specular "0"            // Disables Specularity on objects.
mat_trilinear "0"            // Disables the use of Trilinear mipmapping.
mat_wateroverlaysize "8"        // Sets the resolution of water distortion. Must be multiple of 8.
//_Set Violence vars_
violence_ablood "1"
violence_agibs "1"
violence_hblood "1"
violence_hgibs "1"
//_Set HUD vars_
hud_centerid "1"            // Centers player IDs
net_graph "3"            // Enables net_graph (Required in SS round) 
net_graphpos "2"            // Adjusts netgraph position-set between 1 and 3. 
//_Set Misc settings_
cl_downloadfilter "nosounds"        // Disables annoying pub sound downloads
fps_max "101"             // Caps framerate. Set to max monitor refresh rate + 1.
jpeg_quality "100"            // High quality screenshots
clear
echo _Casey's Config v2 (CAL compliant) loaded_

 

[NeoGC]

Nah I mean a custom low graphics config.
I've used Casey's for CSS, seems fine, though I didn't use it much, I have my own.
You'll just have to look around, or be content with just settings your graphics to low or whatever suits you, there won't be a huge difference.

// Casey's Config v2 (CAL compliant) 
// Updated for new season by CAL|Stone 
// Updated 01/23/07 - Added misc settings section
//_Set Netcode vars_
cl_cmdrate "101"
cl_interp "0.01"
cl_interpolate "1"
cl_lagcomp_errorcheck "0"        // Disables lagcompensation error checking, only needed if you're having any registration/loss/choke problems. 
cl_lagcompensation "1"
cl_smooth "1"
cl_updaterate "101"
rate "25000"
//_Set MP vars_
mp_decals "0"            // How many player sprays will be shown.
//_Set Client vars_
cl_drawmonitors "0"        // Disables the rendering of ingame "monitors" which contain 3d rendered images.
cl_ejectbrass "0"            // Disables brass ejection
cl_forcepreload "1"            // Forces the game to load all texture and model information into memory on map load.
cl_phys_props_enable "1"        // Enables phsyics props.
cl_phys_props_max "50"        // Maximum amount of physics props allowed.
cl_ragdoll_physics_enable "0"    // Disables ragdoll.
cl_restrict_server_commands "0"    // Compatible/needed with serverplugins
cl_show_splashes "0"        // Disables water splashes.
//_Set Render vars_
r_3dsky "0"            // Disables the rendering of 3d sky boxes.
r_decal_cullsize "9999"        // Any decals under this size are not rendered.
r_decals "0"            // Disables decals.
r_drawbatchdecals "1"        // Enables the rendering of decals in batch.
r_drawdetailprops "1"        // Enables the rendering of detail props.
r_drawflecks "0"            // Disables the sparks and dirt from bullet impacts.
r_drawmodeldecals "0"        // Models decals (i.e. blood).
r_eyes "0"            // Disables eyes in models.
r_lod "-1"                // Different level of details on models. -1 = Variable at distance. 0 = None. 1 = Minor. 2 = Less minor.
r_modellodscale "1.0"        // The transitioning power of LOD.
r_occlusion "0"            // Enables the Model Occlusion system.
r_propsmaxdist "100"        // Max distance at which props are rendered.
r_renderoverlayfragment "0"
r_rootlod "2"            // Base lod of the model in the memory.
r_shadowmaxrendered "32"        // Max shadows the game will render.
r_shadowrendertotexture "1"        // Rendered the shadow texture causing it to match the player model.
r_shadows "1"            // Enables shadows (Change be disabled for additional performance.)
r_teeth "0"            // Disables teeth in models.
r_waterdrawreflection "0"        // Disables the rendering of water reflections.
r_waterforceexpensive "0"        // Forces cheap water.
gl_clear "0"            // Disables the gl_clear convariable.
props_break_max_pieces "0"    // Disables prop fragmenting
//_Set Materials vars_
mat_antialias "0"            // Disables the use of multisampling to smooth out edges.
mat_bumpmap "0"            // Disables bump mapping.
mat_clipz "0"            // Disables optimized Z-Buffer rendering.
mat_compressedtextures "1"    // Disables texture compression. Users with low amounts of system memory should turn this on.
mat_disable_bloom "1"        // Disables bloom effects.
mat_hdr_enabled "0"        // Disables HDR.
mat_hdr_level "0"            // Double Disables HDR.
mat_mipmaptextures "1"        // Enables the use of mipmapping to make textures look smooth.
mat_monitorgamma "1.6"        // Lower the number the brighter the screen. Only works in fullscreen.
mat_picmip "2"            // Changes the resolutions of textures when they're loaded into memory. May improve FPS on graphics cards with low memory sizes.
mat_reducefillrate "1"        // Reduces the fillrate when the game is run in DXLevel 8.
mat_specular "0"            // Disables Specularity on objects.
mat_trilinear "0"            // Disables the use of Trilinear mipmapping.
mat_wateroverlaysize "8"        // Sets the resolution of water distortion. Must be multiple of 8.
//_Set Violence vars_
violence_ablood "1"
violence_agibs "1"
violence_hblood "1"
violence_hgibs "1"
//_Set HUD vars_
hud_centerid "1"            // Centers player IDs
net_graph "3"            // Enables net_graph (Required in SS round) 
net_graphpos "2"            // Adjusts netgraph position-set between 1 and 3. 
//_Set Misc settings_
cl_downloadfilter "nosounds"        // Disables annoying pub sound downloads
fps_max "101"             // Caps framerate. Set to max monitor refresh rate + 1.
jpeg_quality "100"            // High quality screenshots
clear
echo _Casey's Config v2 (CAL compliant) loaded_

I apologize for being naive..but how in the world do I use those? They kind of look like console commands but I'm not sure...

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Oh uh, yes thats right.
You'd save the entire script to a text file in the directory %CSS install directory/cstrike/cfg/TEXTFILE.txt.
Then from within the game console, type "exec TEXTFILE.txt.
TBH, it won't be much better than settings everything to low, but the idea is that its "optimized" so that the game looks good while not wasting any processing power on useless doodads.

Ok, so you bought the card, then asked for advice?

 

[NeoGC]

Well,I had already bought the card. It's being shipped.
..but I was unsure if it would work with my factory default power supply.