Upgrade graphics for games

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rob0602uk

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Hi, I currently have a dell inspiron 530s with:
Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66ghz
4gb ram
radeon x1300

I was looking to upgrade my graphics card and saw the nvidia 8800gtx for about £110. With my system would it be worth upgrading or is the rest of the system not powerful enough anyway?

also would I need to upgrade my power supply?

and...is it worth upgrading to a 64 bit version of windows as vista is only seeing 3.25gb of my 4gb of RAM?

any help appreciated, cheers
 
I would check the Wattage of your PSU.

It is highly unlikely that it is powerful enough but there is a slim chance that the one in there is capable.
 
could I get a larger case and swap everything over?

or is there a better option for upping the computer's performace?

cheers

I've seen a 9600GT low profile card on Newegg but it would need a 400w power supply. I think I would need to upgrade the power supply.. any ideas what one I should go for?

thanks
 
How much are you willing to spend? because you could pretty much build everything from scratch just keep the cpu, and ram, but than you'll need a case, psu, gpu, mb (depending on the one thats in the computer but more than likyly you'll want a new one.)
 
I don't think it's worth "upgrading" (note the sarcasm) to Vista 64 just to see the full 4GB; 3.2GB is more than enough for normal use (gaming, websurfing, etc). Myself I'm still using WinXP SP2, and I have 4GB of RAM too.

As for the video card, you could get an 8800GT or GTS, saving a few bucks, and buy a new motherboard and case, so that you can ditch the Dell case. I recommend a PSU with at least 28A on the +12V rail(s). I'm using an old 450W with 21A and I think I'm having power issues (my harddrives seems to be failing).
 
Dell has its own propritary motherboards, which means you may have trouble moving it to a bigger case as its not standard ATX size.

For a new PSU, i would suggest this one if you are on a tight budget: Newegg.com - FSP Group SAGA+ 450R 450W ATX12V Power Supply - Power Supplies

And this if you have a bit more cash Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies



That fsp psu doesn't look to good. It has low amps on the 12v rail and it has 2 12v rails. You should only see multiple 12v rails in psus with much higher wattage. However the corsair is a good bet.



You do have a pciexpress slot so you can upgrade but an 8800 is out of the question. Your case is just too small and the air flow would cause overheating. You can get an 8600 in there and that is much faster than an x1300.
 
I don't think it's worth "upgrading" (note the sarcasm) to Vista 64 just to see the full 4GB; 3.2GB

Are you trying to say that vista isn't an upgrade?

You can get an 8600 in there and that is much faster than an x1300.

8600gt's are pretty small, but if you have enough room a 9600gt would be a ton better.
 
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