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Upgrading my system

Montego

Montego

Montego

Associate
Joined
15 Jan 2009
Posts
15
I've recently decided to start upgrading my PC but I'm not much of an expert so I thought maybe you guys could help me out :p

I have a Dell Dimension 9200 and upgrading the graphcs card is the main priority but to achieve this I read that you have to upgrade the PSU or the PC/card won't function properly.

I was mainly looking at the Radeon HD4850/70 but I'm not sure if it's worth the money or if there's anything better for roughly the same price along with a PSU (the card requires a 500w with mine only being 375w).

PC Specs:
OS - Vista
CPU - Intel Quad Core 2.4GHz
Memory - 2GB, soon to be 4GB
Screen Resolution - 1680x1050

Thanks.
 
I'm not sure of the motherboard, I'll have to check once I get home.

The main use is gaming really, I don't mind if the graphics aren't at full capacity but enough to have it look decent and play well at that res.
 
I'd get a Radeon 4850, but make sure it'll fit as some Dell cases are m-atx/btx/proprietary layout, and that your PSU has a 6-pin power connector.

If not, get a Radeon 4670.
 
Also check for a label on the PSU that gives more information about it's capabilities. If it outputs a decent current on the 12V rails then you might get away without needing to upgrade that (if, of course, your motherboard supports PCI-e x16 and the case has enough room for a new graphics card, etc).
 
I could be wrong but I think it's a Dimension 9200 WG855 and looking around I see some specs;

Intel P965E ChipSet
Socket LGA775 Supporting Pentium 4, Pentium D, and Core Duo Processors
800/1066 MHz system bus
4 Dual Channel DIMM connectors Supporting DDR2 533/667/800MHz
4 GB MAX system memory
16x, 4x, and 1x PCI-Express Slots
Integrated Intel 82566DC 10/100/1000 Lan
Integrated Sigmatel 9227 7.1 Sound
6 Serial ATA Hard Disk Connectors
One Floppy Connector
3 PCI Card Slots
6+2 USB 2.0 Ports
7.1 Surround Sound Audio Ports
 
It'll take a modern graphics card, so now the question is whether the PSU will support it and whether one will fit in the case.
 
I had a quick look today and the PSU is 375w as I thought with the +12va/b (I'm not sure if that's what I was supposed to look for) has a 18A output.

Thanks for the info so far, much appreciated.
 
Shameless bump :o

What about the temperature of the card in a basic case, will this have any negative effect or will it run just as normally as it would on a 'proper' gaming setup?
 
Last edited:
I might just go for the 4670 then.

I'm guesing it will run games such as Fallout 3, WoW etc at the 1680x1050 res no problem?

Sorry for the lame questions but I'm fairly paranoid when it comes to things like this.
 
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