Upgrading a "Dell"

[ManBearPig]

yeah a dell... well because of the 300 watt psu my upgrades are somewhat limited.. here is my system:

BTX Dell E510 Case
P4 HT 3.0
Intel 945G Chipset (able to handle 1066mhz FSB thats a plus)
four 240 pin ram slots with two samsung 512s
DvD burner
80 GB Seagate HD
Integrated Sigmatel Audio
Integrated Radeon x600se 256mb (oc'd with Ati tool)
Integrated Network
305 watt psu (crap)



ok here is my video card upgrade and i'm thinking because my computer is not stacked with cd roms and HD's i think i could power this card..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814161164

I'm not really a fan of a page file so i'm gonna add some more ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145526

also what else should i upgrade? could i replace my dell motherboard with this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135218

 

[AnthraX]

1) I would get a bigger power supply.
2) Make sure you have PCI-express slot
3) Motherboard may not fit, Dell makes proprietary cases

 

[ManBearPig]

in other words build a new computer....


why did i buy a dell... curse you dell!

 

[AnthraX]

What I would buy is a case, motherboard, PSU, RAM, and video card. Then just use everything else from your Dell, on your new system.

So practically a new system except for the drives and the CPU.

[EDIT]
From your model number, it says BTX. That COULD mean the motherboard is in the BTX form factor. I know there are BTX versions of processors, so I dont know if that means much for you or not. It could mean that your current processor wont work in a ATX motherboard. However, I am not very knowledgful of BTX mobos.

 

[ManBearPig]

ok i figured out how much of my psu i'm using form this site.. and because i have 3 pci slots open, (yes i have x16 PCIe slot) only one dvd rom and one hard drive i can power the video card i want... Also screw that motherboard i looked up. my motherboard is full 64bit capable and can handle FSB's at 1066mhz

in the end my dell can last me about another year before ill need to do what you said athrax, build a new comp.

how good is this video card anyway? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102505

 

[Jorsoft]

It's okay, I'd consider it mid range. What games are you trying to play?

 

[crazy_jason520]

A dell is very hard to upgrade, becuz it's brandname machine, what i would say is to buy a tower, big tower, a motherboard, and a mice.

 

[john3]

yeah a dell... well because of the 300 watt psu my upgrades are somewhat limited.. [/url]

something else that limits u is that its Dell and u cant upgrade it. they are big jerks, and want all money going to them, a55h0l3z

 

[cwiz]

i had a dell when i got out of high school a while back, i tried upgrading the RAM using advice from some people that come to find out didnt really know what they were talking about.... ended up frying my mobo. dell has proprietary ram or something.... to late now!

moral of the story: dont take bad advice (check everything people tell you twice!)

alternate moral of the story: dont get a dell! (doesnt help you any, but hind sight is 20/20 lol)

"Dude! I'm gettin ripped off!"

 

[kmote]

if you do upgrade the dell, make the first thing the PSU, that one is clearly no good other than that dont upgrade anything. stick with it until you build a new system next year or whenever you planned and then just take the drives, and maybe the CPU and of course the PSU out of the dell and use that in the new system