Dell Dimension E521 help

[outlawarrior781]

i need help with my computer concerning video cards. i would like to kno wat if i can put an ATX PSU in my computer. my mobo is BTX so i dont kno. also i would like to kno wats the best type of video card i can put in my comp. preferably from the 8 series or 7 series. i found out that the best 8 series video card i can put is the 8600 GTS. the 8800 is too bulky. i would have to cut some metal off of my comp. thats not something i want to do. the 8600 is good but they have some 7 series that are better. this is the main reason i am posting. wats the best 7 series i can put in my comp?

this is the link for the PSU im planning on to buy.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

this is the video card i would like to get, though a pci express interface
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150223

this is my second video card choice. anyone of these i would prefer. i just wanna kno which video card would fit in my comp.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130048

 

[DellCA]

PSU and Video Card

outlawarrior781:

I’m at Dell Headquarters in Austin, Texas and I just came across this post. An ATX power supply will most likely not fit in that system because of where the screw holes are and we don't sell an upgraded one for the E521. That would leave you with the 305 watt one that comes stock and whatever video card options can work with that. Feel free to post back if you have any other questions.


Neil
Dell, Inc.

 

[raybay]

Avoid upgrading that computer. It is not built to handle what you want to do. You will have all sorts of reasons for early failure.
You can install a more powerful power supply by drilling new screw holes, but that will immediately void the warranty, and you must know your power supplies.
There are several video graphics cards that will work....
You can use one of the power supply calculators to determine needs and capabilities. See
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp
They are not perfect, but give you a reliable indicator of the potential relationship between power supply and video graphics cards requirements.

 

[kpo6969]

Another opinion. I have an E521 with the 305w psu @ 22amps.
The 7900GS would run fine with the stock psu.
7900 and 7950GT would be the limit (22amp card requirement).
I put a Dell Silencer470 (26amp) in mine with the hope of using one a Nvidia's new card offerings on Nov 12th. The E521 can be upgraded within it's capabilities and by selecting the right components. It will never be a gaming monster but can be upgraded to a pretty decent mid-level system on a budget.
Good thing I don't take everything I read as gospel.

 

[outlawarrior781]

outlawarrior781:

I’m at Dell Headquarters in Austin, Texas and I just came across this post. An ATX power supply will most likely not fit in that system because of where the screw holes are and we don't sell an upgraded one for the E521. That would leave you with the 305 watt one that comes stock and whatever video card options can work with that. Feel free to post back if you have any other questions.


Neil
Dell, Inc.

wait, cant i just buy a BTX power supply. i have a link for one. could this fit in my computer?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121003
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121011

could these work?

i was planning on upgrading my processor. actually il give u a list of wat i plan to upgrade my computer. i already upgraded my ram to 2GB DDR2-4200.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103771 - processor
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=2918356&sku=B52-7870 - video card
power supply is listed above

 

[DellCA]

Psu

outlawarrior781:

To be honest, I'm not sure if it would work or not. It clearly wouldn't be supported by Dell, but it may fit. The two things you'd want to be careful of are that the screw holes are in the right places and that there are no proprietary connectors.


Neil
Dell, Inc.

 

[kpo6969]

http://www.pcpower.com/products/power_supplies/selector/dell.htm

http://www.power-on.com/dell.html

This is what I am using:

http://www.pcpower.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S47D

 

[outlawarrior781]

http://www.pcpower.com/products/power_supplies/selector/dell.htm

http://www.power-on.com/dell.html

This is what I am using:

http://www.pcpower.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S47D

rite now my bro got this psu that im buying off of him. he's gonna install it for me since he knos how to build a computer. if it doesnt fit he'll tell me. u sure i cant buy those btw psus? E521's btx. also u see its cuz i want a 500 W psu. not a 470W. anyway this is the psu i plan to buy off of my brother.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

 

[Tedster]

also bear in mind, earlier DELL systems used proprietary power supply units. While the connectors will fit, the voltages are in the wrong slots and use of a non-dell psu can and will fry your system.

BTX is pretty much obsolete. It never really caught on. While it certainly was better than ATX in design, there was too much resistance to adopting it.

 

[outlawarrior781]

also bear in mind, earlier DELL systems used proprietary power supply units. While the connectors will fit, the voltages are in the wrong slots and use of a non-dell psu can and will fry your system.

BTX is pretty much obsolete. It never really caught on. While it certainly was better than ATX in design, there was too much resistance to adopting it.

wait so i guess im stuck to using the dell silencer then. u are rite. only dell would put btx in their computer.

 

[kpo6969]

wait so i guess im stuck to using the dell silencer then. u are rite. only dell would put btx in their computer.

Earthwatts 500w = 500w maximum = 34amps
Silencer470w = 470w continuous, 520w peak = 26amps

Any video card you could fit in the case doesn't need that much juice (34a)
I'm not saying the Earthwatts is bad, but PC Power and Cooling is one of the best manufacturers of psus there are. Also I read that the Earthwatts can be loud on heavy load but I do not know this 1st-hand.

 

[outlawarrior781]

Earthwatts 500w = 500w maximum = 34amps
Silencer470w = 470w continuous, 520w peak = 26amps

Any video card you could fit in the case doesn't need that much juice (34a)
I'm not saying the Earthwatts is bad, but PC Power and Cooling is one of the best manufacturers of psus there are. Also I read that the Earthwatts can be loud on heavy load but I do not know this 1st-hand.

nice. do u kno how many amps would i need for that 7950 geforce 7 video card u suggested to me? would the dell silencer be good for that. if it is, then that's wat ill buy. also do u kno information on wat type of processor i can buy with the silencer. im planning on replacing my current processor with a new one. an amd athlon 64 x2 5600+ (2.8 ghz, 89 W) processor. would the silencer be good enough?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Yeah the Silencer would be good enough for that CPU. For the video card however, I'd recommend this. It performs on par with a 7950GT for a much lesser price. It comes with free shipping too.

 

[outlawarrior781]

Yeah the Silencer would be good enough for that CPU. For the video card however, I'd recommend this. It performs on par with a 7950GT for a much lesser price. It comes with free shipping too.

that video card looks beautilful. pretty hot. i wonder if it could fit in my computer though. ill give u a pic of the model of my computer. so u could see for urself. if it could fit. the 7950 GT that i wanted got sold out. sucks. so i guess ill settle with this. now all i need is the psu, processor, and this video card and im good to go. i wont have to upgrade my computer after that for a long time. im gonna compare the 7950 GT and this video card. see how they do.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

It will fit if a 7950GT fits. The card is about on par with the 7950GT and at maximum, you'd see only a difference of about 10% in performance, which is not worth the large price difference.

 

[outlawarrior781]

It will fit if a 7950GT fits. The card is about on par with the 7950GT and at maximum, you'd see only a difference of about 10% in performance, which is not worth the large price difference.

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/gobadgrs/IMG_1024.JPG
ok thats the link of wat my computer looks like. just no video card in the pci express slot. now then looking at that pic, do u think the X1950 Pro could fit? at least the link of the one u gave me.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The link you gave me doesn't seem to work. Try attaching it to your post or hosting it on some image-hosting site.

 

[outlawarrior781]

The link you gave me doesn't seem to work. Try attaching it to your post or hosting it on some image-hosting site.

ok this is the link. from this website, go down until u see the 4 pics that the guy put up. the computer in those pics is the same exact model as my computer. check it out.
http://forums.anandtech.com/message...ORDFRM=&STARTPAGE=2&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear
if u look at the pic then u can tell me if i can fit the X1950 Pro. its slightly longer than the 7950. thats y im worried. it also consumes more power than the 7950. it needs 12V rails @ 30A. the PSU i plan to buy, dell silencer, only has 12V rails @ 26A. is that a big difference? does that difference in power matter? help me out.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Ok, if you're worried about power consumption and the card fitting, try this. It's just a notch below the X1950PRO in performance but it's still a good card.

 

[outlawarrior781]

Ok, if you're worried about power consumption and the card fitting, try this. It's just a notch below the X1950PRO in performance but it's still a good card.

yea, but id rather stick with the 7950 GS. it may be more expensive, but it wont consume as much power as the X1950 Pro and its much smaller, lengthwise. i found a X1950 Pro for around $150. which is y im leaning on it. o i have a link for you to go to. for a PSU im planning on getting, besides the silencer. i found out that BTX mobos are compatible with ATX PSUs. so this should be good. im confused with the 12V rail. read the specifications: go to output and you'll see. look at the 12V part. its confusing. i thought there's only supposed to be one rail, yet this one has two. both of them seperately are below 20A, but together exceed 30A. should i count them as together or seperately. here's the link.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Almost all new PSUs have multiple +12V rails. So don't worry about that. In calculating the amps on the +12V rail, first, get the wattage on the other rails using the information given and then subtract this from the total wattage. The number you're left with is the power available on all the +12V rails combined. Divide it by 12 and you have the number of amps available. That PSU has about 34A on the +12V rails combined, so it's enough for the X1950PRO. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[PropNut]

Hi, I also have the E521, with an AMD X2 5000+ though. I purchased an eVGA 8600GTS card a few weeks ago. From the reviews that I have seen, and 3DMark06 numbers (mine are 6008 marks on 3DMark06 with the card), the 8600GTS is equal or slightly better than the X1950Pro.

The real benifit is that it is a DX10 card where the ATI is not. It fits just fine in the case and the 264watt (the 305 is actually the peak rating) PSU drives it just fine. I overclocked it to 734/1108 and have had it running for weeks continously with no problems. I have two DVD units, a 160 gig harddrive 2gigs of ram an aftermarket Multicard reader and a soundblaster PCI card running.

All my games run excellent, including the Crysis Beta. I purchased my 8600GTS at Circuit city, usually on sale for around 159.99 and also availible on NewEgg for about the same price.

This card will do until my next complete upgrade in a year or so, maybe two.

Hope this helped.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Current DX10 games bring the mighty 8800 Ultra to its knees. You can't expect the 8600GTS to fare better. For HD decoding though, the 8600GTS is the card of choice.

 

[PropNut]

Current DX10 games bring the mighty 8800 Ultra to its knees. You can't expect the 8600GTS to fare better. For HD decoding though, the 8600GTS is the card of choice.

Could be, I just finished a round of Bioshock that ran very smooth with everything turned to high...

I have not yet tried Crysis in DX10 as the beta is DX9.

I will admit that this runs like mud on Knight of the Sea (PT Boats) DX10 demo with all turned up high. Odd that, compared to Crysis in DX9, Knights looks like an Atari 2600 game.