Video Card + 250W PSU

[fiarb0lt]

My specs:

Dell Dimension 8200
P4 2.25Ghz
256MB RAM
GeForce 2 MX 64MB
Win XP
250W PSU

I want to upgrade the RAM and video card and will be very soon upgrading to 768MB RAM. I bought a 256MB Radeon 9600XT which arrived today and when I set it up and turned on the PC, the fan on the card would spin, PC would appear to boot up but no signal on the monitor and I don't think the PC was even loading Windows. I've been told it's most likely a power issue, so maybe the card is hogging it and preventing the PC from booting.

Can anyone recommend a good video card either 128MB or 256MB that will run on my 250W PSU? I know I should upgrade the PSU but apparently the Dell ones are weird and others may not fit in the case. I also can't be bothered to be honest particularly as I only want to upgrade the vid card and RAM so that I can play games up to about a year old pretty well (eg. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, Rome: Total War and such) and later on I will just buy a whole new more upgrade friendly PC. So basically I just want to upgrade the Dell to keep me going until the end of the year or so.

 

[Kitire]

Upgrade your PSU. That is the only option....

 

[The_Tobes99]

Upgrade your PSU. That is the only option....

I'd agree with that, dell only put in a PSU that just big enough for the stock components, you are another person burnt by dell

 

[FghtinIrshNvrDi]

yeah, you need more power. You'll have to go through Dell to get a compatible power supply. Be prepared to choke up some substantial cash just to upgrade a meager 100W rating. That is, unless you're willing to buy a new motherboard AND psu. The parts are proprietary, so they're not compatible with the industry standards.

Ryan

 

[curtcheese64]

I had a dimension 8200 and you can upgrade the psu. The 8200 was one of the few dells of that era that got a standard atx psu. Just make sure that it doesnt have a switch on the back, as the 8200 case doesn't have room for it.

 

[Ridlyn]

Well, actually my computer is a dell 4600 which uses the same 250w PSU, I'm using a 6800 Vanilla with the pipelines and vertex shaders unlock and i have it oc'ed a bit.

I've seen people running 6800gt's on the dells 250w PSU. So no need for PSU upgrade either get 6800GS, or the 6800 Vanilla.

 

[Kitire]

.. Yeah... Right.

^^ Do NOT trust this dude.

300W for a single GeForce 6800GT is the required, plus dell psu's are ****.

 

[FghtinIrshNvrDi]

I'm with Kitire. I'm calling b.s. on ridlyn. A 250W Dell PSU is just NOT up to suff for that kind of a video card. It's just a fact.

Ryan