Card suggestion

[Haui]

Video card suggestion

I would like to know some suggestions of a PCI-E video card I should get. I want to be playing Battlefield 2, WOW, Day of Defeat Source, things of this nature. My computer has the following specs:

Dell Dimension E521 Mini Tower desktop
AMD Athlon 64X2 Dual Core 3800+
2048M DDR2 RAM
160G SATA hard drive
16X DVD+-RW double layer CD/DVD burner drive,
Chassis 305 Watt DC Power Supply
19" Gateway FPD1960 8ms LCD with DVI 1280 × 1024 (native)

I would like to spend less than $150.

Now, I have it setup to dual boot, both XP Professional and Vista Home Basic. I believe performance wise, gaming will be better on XP, but I am willing to try and test both OS's.

What are some suggestions for this?

 

[conlan]

Do you know the specs on the PSU in that Dell case??

It's very important we know in order to give you a good recommendation

 

[Haui]

Chassis
305 Watt DC Power Supply

 

[beaulanger]

I've go almost the same exact system and was wondering the same. I'm worried my 300 watt PSU on my new HP being adequate but I am looking for a mid-range card. My onboard nVidia GEForce 6150LE isn't cutting it and holding my Vista score down. I'm partial to ATI. I don't need to play the latest games at high setting.

 

[ribbon13]

Budget?

Perhaps a Sapphire 100196L

 

[AliasX]

I'm not sure how easy the newer Dells are to upgrade, but my old one was an absolute pain. I would be wary of installing a new PS in a Dell if things haven't changed.

A 300 watt PSU really won't be enough. If you are willing to upgrade PSU and video card, it might work. You have enough ram, and fair processor for a pretty good gaming machine. My recommendation depends on both your budget and if you have an AGP or PCIe slot. With a PCIe slot, I would go with something like an 8800GTS.

 

[Haui]

I would like to spend $150 or less, that I should have mentioned.

 

[ribbon13]

I would certainly hope I could persuade someone to upgrade a sub400w stock PSU before spending $280+ on a 3D accelerator...

Do you have any monitor upgrade plans? It really doesn't take much to power 1280 × 1024 LCD res.

It's down to:
Buy the most powerful card you're willing to afford that won't overload your current PSU
Uprade PSU simultaneously.

Bought one of these recently (xmas upgrade gift)for this very purpose..


edit:
Don't overclock it for god's sake

 

[conlan]

You posted that your case is a MiniTower, is it ATX or mATX?
If it's ATX:

FSP AX450 PSU

X1950GT $120AR

7900GS $140AR


Personally i'd go w/ the 1950GT, it'll run those games fine at lower resolutions (1280 x 1024)

You could get by with a less powerful PSU than the FSP i linked, but you'd spend about the same for it (if it's worth having)
The FSP 450 is a great PSU for $50, and will power your system w/ plenty to spare.

 

[Haui]

What about a 7600GS?

 

[conlan]

Originally posted by: Haui
What about a 7600GS?

You don't wanna go there

A 7600GT would be better, they're close to X850XTpe speeds plus have SM3.0

However, as you can see, it's only $20 cheaper than the X1950GT


EDIT....link added

 

[Haui]

Ok, what about a 6800GT or 6800 Ultra?

 

[Haui]

I found this:

I like the price - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130073

 

[conlan]

Originally posted by: Haui
I found this:

I like the price - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130073

LOL, thats the same card i linked above

 

[Haui]

So this would handle games good correct?

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: conlan

Originally posted by: Haui
I found this:

I like the price - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130073

LOL, thats the same card i linked above

How will that 128bit mem perform?

 

[conlan]

Originally posted by: conlan

Originally posted by: Haui
What about a 7600GS?

You don't wanna go there

A 7600GT would be better, they're close to X850XTpe speeds plus have SM3.0

However, as you can see, it's only $20 cheaper than the X1950GT


EDIT....link added

 

[Haui]

What is SM3.0?

 

[Haui]

What is SM3.0?

 

[Pip75]

SM3.0 is shader model 3.0

here is some info about it Click Here

the article is a few years old but it has some decent information

you could also just google it.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
Perhaps a Sapphire 100196L

A what?

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: Roguestar

Originally posted by: ribbon13
Perhaps a Sapphire 100196L

A what?

This card

 

[Haui]

Just purchased an EVGA 7600GT for $119, plus tax. Now there is a $50 rebate I am turning in tomorrow, so for $70, NOT BAD!

Took an ad from Microcenter online and PMed it at a local Fry's. All they had to do was call Microcenter and verify that they still carry this product and bam 100% PM.

 

[beaulanger]

So Haui, are you upgrading your power supply to handle the 7600GT? I've read that Dell might use a proprietary power supply that may take a bit of work getting a regular PSU installed. Likewise for my HP. I just found out my HP uses a uATX PSU which is 1.5" shorter than an ATX (see my new post in this General Hardware forum).
You got a good deal on that video card. After you install it post back here, especially if you don't upgrade your PSU. Thanks.
Beau

 

[Haui]

I put the card in, no problem at all. I have not tried a game yet, but it should work anyways right?