Upgrading my Dell XPS 420

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You're not going to be able to move cases due to the motherboard you have. Cooling your system comes down to do you have any slots to put more fans?

As far as the actual upgrade in performance I stand by what I suggested.
 
I dunno if I have any slots for fans or whatever

do you know if the PSU you linked earlier will fit my computer and if it will cool it down?

It's people saying stuff like some of the stuff here that makes me worried about finding a fan online that works, since they seemed to mention stuff in the way or measuring or something and I'm just a huge noob that doesn't know much about computer hardware.
 
I did some research. Your motherboard is a BTX. While there used to be soem case on the market for them, they are all gone now. What few I found would not be an upgrade for you.

Rigging up a fan like what you linked to would be a good idea. Looking at the pic posted there I doubt anything bigger than an 80mm would fit. A 92mm would really be pushing the space, but it might be possible... you would probably only be able to secure two opposing corners. Stay with an 80.

We can recommend you a better graphics card, but we really need a ballpark figure to work with.
 
Thanks.

So can someone link me to a recommended fan that would fit my case (as in apparently an 80mm one?) And would it be simple to put in?

As for video cards, well, will any of the video cards these days work completly with my Dell XPS 420?

I have a lot of money, but I wouldn't want to pay like 300 dollars more for a video card that's just 1% better than a much cheaper video card or something. I'll probably google which cards are the best and order one of those or something.

And will I probably need a new power supply if I get a new video card, and if so then what should I get as long as it fits my XPS 420 case and stuff?

I also am definatly going to get a bigger monitor, one that can do 1080p, the one I have now is 19" and 16:10 and I want a bigger one that's 16:9 so I can watch stuff with it covering the entire range of my eyes, without borders. I was thinking like a 24" one, I'm not sure how much the difference will be, though, and which brands are the best for that and stuff. And I know I say "and" a bit too much and talk weird a bit and ramble, I'm wacky like that.

So if anyone has any recommendations for that, then cool beans, but most of all I just want my computer cooled down and upgraded for games.
 
K, money isn't the issue with video cards. You're power supply has to fit the system too.

I truely though, don't think you really need a new gpu... Unless theres something wrong with yours besides heat. Gpus are good to around 105C, Then they throttle back to cool off. and I run mine 24/7 at around 75C, both 260s and my 8800gt.

Getting airflow into your computers the biggest issue.... How crafty are you?? Mzaybe you could try modding your case to add a top fan. Adding a fan is basically plug in and it goes.
Adding a top fan is actually cutting your case to make a hole, then making it pretty. Pretty easy to do, but hARD to make decently pretty.

As for a card, i'd look into a 5770 give or take a level, and a 450 to 550W decent branded psu.
 
I'm not that crafty, I don't want it to be too complicated if possible, I'm just going have my dad put it in, and hopefully it would be pretty simple. I don't know how things work, though.

So if anyone has a link to a fan or something else for cooling that would be easy to use in my tight Dell XPS 420 case, that I could ask my dad to order and put in for me for Christmas, that would be cool beans.

And power supplies and video cards of any variety these days will work in my tight XPS 420 case, right? I don't know.

I don't know what a GPU even means, so that's fine that I don't need one. Although I do want a ~24" monitor and don't know which ones are better than others, but I can just look at user reviews.

And I don't know about 'dual slotted cards' and why I'd want one, since someone on tom's forums wanted me to 'try one,' (link) which I wouldn't want to do.
 
GPU = graphics processing unit, used interchangeably with graphics card. ;)

I ordered several of these for my old case. they work good and were not loud:
Newegg.com - MASSCOOL FD08025B1M3/4 80mm Case Fan

You will need a few small zip ties to tie it onto the grate in the back of your case as well.

Your case will accept a standard ATX power supply, so you can go for whatever card that strikes your fancy, provided you provide it with enough power. Here's is a very nice combo:
* Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply
* ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/768MD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Combo Price: $189.98 + $4 shipping on PSU
$20.00 Mail-In Rebate Card
Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $169.98 + $4 shipping on PSU
 
Thank you, that's really helpful.

So, with that 3 dollar fan thing, will my video card be a lot colder than 94 degrees whenever I play games on high settings? And it's not too loud? And do I just get 1? If people usually get more than 1 (I believe I'll just get 1 if that does the job fine though,) do I just put them all 'onto the grate in the back of my case?'

The combo is nice. But, I think I want a higher-end card, (and I also want the godliest ~24" monitor, if anyone knows about good monitors or monitor brands.) I know a lot more now though, knowing that any ATX power supply will work I guess and I can use whatever card.
 
The fan will help lower the overall temps in your case which should help your card. If you haven't already then take the card out of your computer and blow it out with compressed air (you can get a can of it at any office supply store or Walmart). You could blow out your CPU's heatsink, too... just don't try to unmount it to do so. You could also take the side cover off the computer to allow fresh air in; I had to run my old case that way for a while.

I don't think you would have room for more than one where the fan will have to go. Anything beyond that would require you to mod your case. I just can't believe Dell put that system together without providing better ventilation.

A 460 is not a low end card. It is solidly mid-upper range right now (#14 on our list currently). but, if you want more power, then go with this combo:
* XFX HD-587X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
* XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Combo Price: $399.98
$20.00 Mail-In Rebate
$20.00 Mail-In Rebate
Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $359.98
 
I ordered several of these for my old case. they work good and were not loud:
Newegg.com - MASSCOOL FD08025B1M3/4 80mm Case Fan

You will need a few small zip ties to tie it onto the grate in the back of your case as well.
I use that an as an exhaust, right? I tried it as an exhaust on the back of the grate of my case inside it.

Team Fortress 2 still heats my video card to 82 degrees (I was using 16x anti aliasing when it went to 94 degrees before I got the fan and now I'm using 4x) and in World of Warcraft I'm making a character in it and my video card is at 87 degrees so far.

Should I be having the fan be near the video card instead as an exhaust or something? I don't know how to cool down my video card.
 
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