Video card questions

[jollygrunt]

According to Dell's specs for the 4700, the psu is 305w. Is there a utility or something to find out how much wattage this pc is using?

Also, on Dell's website they recommend visiontek for the 4700 series. Is that a good brand?

 

[Snake91839]

Yeah. Manufacturer choice is up to you. It's always a personal preference. I prefer nVidia due to bad experience with ATI, but you can take that or leave it

 

[ohGrFreak]

I think he means manufacturer of the physical boards, not just the chips, IE: Gigabyte, MSI, Evga, Leadtek, etc...

I prefer MSI or Gigabyte Nvidia cards due to personal experience.

 

[maroon1]

If you want to upgrade then get 8800GS

6800 to HD2600 is barely an upgrade

 

[ricanflow]

Do you do any type of gaming? If not, there really is no reason to upgrade, and you could just get a new fan installed..... unless you do something that would tax the gpu. Hd video, would be an example. An HD2600pro would be a nice upgrade, in terms of better video playback. You can also get one with an aftermarket cooler already installed, for example:

Newegg.com - HIS Hightech H260PRQT512DDN-R Radeon HD 2600PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics

 

[jollygrunt]

Do you do any type of gaming? If not, there really is no reason to upgrade, and you could just get a new fan installed..... unless you do something that would tax the gpu. Hd video, would be an example. An HD2600pro would be a nice upgrade, in terms of better video playback. You can also get one with an aftermarket cooler already installed, for example:

Newegg.com - HIS Hightech H260PRQT512DDN-R Radeon HD 2600PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics

That one looks nice, but I've never heard of HIS. Are they reliable?

I don't really do much gaming, but I'd still like to have the capability just in case. I'm really interested in the multimedia capabilities of the ATI's.

Do you think that a 305w PSU would be good enough for the card that is linked above?

 

[veg1992]

Ya its reliable, and it will work, unlike the 8800gs/8800gt's which would probably wouldn't let you boot with one in

 

[ricanflow]

That one looks nice, but I've never heard of HIS. Are they reliable?

I don't really do much gaming, but I'd still like to have the capability just in case. I'm really interested in the multimedia capabilities of the ATI's.

Do you think that a 305w PSU would be good enough for the card that is linked above?

305w is pushing it.......and HIS makes some of the best cards for ATI period....well known for theyre aftermarket cooling on the cards.

 

[veg1992]

Dell Upgrade Power Supplies from PC Power & Cooling

check there for upgrades