DEll Question

[Spadge]

I have a Dell Dimension 4600. I upgraded the monitor to a 22' widescreen. It turned out the video card wasn't compatible. I picked up a GeForce 7600GS even though the 7600GT was suggested. I figured I'm not a gamer so why spend the extra money. It's bad enough they charge more for video cards that use an AGP slot. Anyway, after I installed the new card the pc wouldn't boot up all the way. Now I figured i had a power supply problem since the Dell supplied one is only 250W. I did buy a very cheap 450W that didn't even work. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm also wondering if I could transfer all the hardware to a larger case. I would like to add another HD and a DVD burner.

Thanks

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

You can transfer everything to a larger case without problems. As for the video problem, are you sure the card's seated properly? Also, you'd need a good-quality, inexpensive PSU (Power Supply Unit) like this one.

 

[CCT]

Things I have read say that card takes 32/33 watts (pretty low) BUT still has a power dongle requirement. BFG for example states theirs should be supplied via a 400 w psu with 22 amps @ 12v rail.




edit: keep in mind, I think most of these power recommendations for higher-end vid card use are for basic setups, ie, 1 HD, 1 cd/dvd, 1 floppy, 1 vid card.

If you have more stuff, go 450-500 watt.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Almost all the AGP cards above the 6600GT's power level require a 4-pin Molex connector

 

[jwinathome]

Why didn't the monitor work with your previous video card?

 

[raybay]

I suspect the monitor didn't work with the previous card because of the larger size, requiring better video graphics to render the image at higher resolutions.
Dell uses semi-proprietary power supplies... and the video card you purchased requires too high a power output.
You need to trade that card with a less powerful model that does not require the molex connector. You can get advice from www.newegg.com and many other resellers. There are still several sold which will work with that 4600 which remains an excellent computer. You should be able to buyer for the card which offers decent video graphics.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The 7600GS is still a gamer's card. Get a 6200 or something similar and you should be fine.

 

[Spadge]

I think raybay hit the nail on the head, "Dell uses semi-proprietary power supplies". That's why the the cheap power supply didn't work. I probably have to buy one of their PSU's that has enough power to run the new video card. The reason I wanted to upgrade my video card was that I couldn't get the monitor to work using the DVI cable or get the best resolution for the monitor which is 1680X1050. The people at the Dell forum suggested the 7600GS as the card to get.

I think I'm done dealing with Dell and I'm just going to build my own system. I've been trying out the Linux ubuntu OS for the business I'm starting, but there are still some things I need Windows for. Even though I use both operating systems on my Dell, I would like to dedicate a hard drive for each OS. Now that I'm getting used to tearing my computer apart I think I'm ready for my first build or I know just enough to be dangerous.

I'd like to find a motherboard that I can use my video card for. I know they are phasing out AGP slots so does anyone have any ideas? I know it will have to be an ATX mobo and I would like to transfer my 2 gigs of memory from the Dell.