Should I upgrade to a Zotac 9500 512mb DDR3?

[TekBubs]

I recently got a new computer, it runs nicely, its quiet, but I bought it mainly for gaming (It was actually an xmas gift, I didnt buy it) and it came with an ATI Radeon 3450...which cant play games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear sky or Cod5 (it can but at low settings and resolution), it also came with a 22" inch 16:10 Dell monitor...Im sure you can image playing 800:600 res for a monitor meant to be at 1680:1050... Anyways the tower is a Dell Inspiron 518, I've read up somewhere that its only x1 PCI slot and not x16..w.e that means and I was wondering if this card is worth the $$ and the gaming experience over the 3450..that being said, I know the 3450 is a budget card but its just not that much of an improvement over my ATI Radeon x300 w/ a 17" monitor and I feel like we all got ripped off with this one

If an ATI radeon 3450 CAN run cod 5 at decent settings and its my PC thats the problem, let me know...Oh and I forgot, I have 3 GB of DDr2 SDRAM

This is the card im looking at Computers: Computer Upgrades: Zotac GeForce 9500GT 512MB DDR2 PCI-E Video Card | Best Buy Canada Web Store

or if theres a dramatic FPS increase between the two then

Computers: Computer Upgrades: Zotac 9800GT 512MB DDR3 PCI-E Video Card | Best Buy Canada Web Store


EDIT: Before anyone asks my CPU is an Intel Pentium Dual CPU 2.2 ghz E2200

 

[Evolv]

You would see a significant increase in gaming if you went with the 9500gt. But if you can afford the 9800gt, that would make a huge difference and I think would be the better buy.

 

[saltynay]

The specs you said don't match up with the specs of that model
Dell Inspiron 518 specs and Desktop specifications - CNET Reviews
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-inspiron-518?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

 

[TekBubs]

I never bought it from the Dell store I bought it from a store called Aarons, hmm but thats whats in my computer :l?

Thats wierd, but my question is, is that can I actually put the card in this PC?

And I looked at the other PC specs...wth? Quad core 2.4GHZ? Should I take it back and ask for the proper stuff?

 

[saltynay]

Use everest to find your motherboard model then tell us, also open up the case and look at the psu wattage.

 

[NightSurge]

I would say if you want to do your full resolution gaming with high settings, get a 9800GT or an HD 4830. That is if your motherboard has a PCI-e x16 slot (I imagine it does because only a few motherboards don't these days). To check, either look in your manual you got from Dell or open up the case and look for a slot that looks like this:

May not be yellow, but it will be offset slightly and be longer with the pin slots being different.

 

[TekBubs]

reserved for reply, alright ill open it

1 month with this computer and im already fed up with it, it has 2 slots that look almost the same size, I cant tell you if its x16 but, ill try to make as much sense as possible here, that little closing part on the yellow slot is on the left, right? and the 2 smaller slots have that closing thing on the left, well mine only comes with 1 really small slot (the one above the x16 slot in ur picture) one normal slot and another one thast looks like a normal slot with the closing thing on the right, is that x16? Oh and for the voltage..I dunno i saw a number that said 200-240V is that means anything im not opening this pos up again its BS and it obviously sucks

edit: ffs sorry for the double post, used everest and it says motherboard name: unkown WTF

Field Value
Motherboard Properties
Motherboard ID 08/14/2008-1.0.3-6A79O009C-00
Motherboard Name Unknown

Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type Intel GTL+
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 367 MHz
Effective Clock 367 MHz
Bandwidth 2933 MB/s


ANOTHER EDIT: I WAS LOOKING AT MY BIOS (Which ive had problems with too, it wont let me access advanced chipset features and it has limited options, THIS IS WHAT CAME UP)


Field Value
BIOS Properties
BIOS Type Award
Award BIOS Type Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Award BIOS Message (7C1D1p24) EVALUATION ROM - NOT FOR SALE
System BIOS Date 08/14/08
Video BIOS Date 06/02/08

BIOS Manufacturer
Company Name Phoenix Technologies Ltd.


Alright why does it say NOT FOR SALE? Did I get ripped off? I made it bold btw

 

[NightSurge]

Dell uses very generic brands when picking parts, and usually they do not allow much customization to be done in their BIOS. That slot that has the clip type thing is likely the x16 slot.

 

[TekBubs]

I dunno if I explained it right I rushed it and how come it says that my BIOS is not for sale........THanks for all the help though, Ill buy it and see what happens ...as for everything else...im never buying a dell again

 

[Evolv]

Yea he should have a PCI-E slot because all HD3450s are PCI-E 2.0 x16, and he said his computer came with it installed.