[EMROY]

Im going to buy a computer for collage this fall and i dont have that much money so im looking at a referbished Dell. I will play a few games on it and i was thinking about buying a video card seperate(less than $100, any suggestions) to save money and get a better one.

Here are the specs one the computer ($389)

Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memory
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 677MHz (2 DIMMs)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hard Disk Drive
250 GB EIDE SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Modem
56K DataFax Modem
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Certified Refurbished
Certified Refurbished
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Base
Dimension E521 Small Mini-Tower: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3600+ (1.9 GHz)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Media Bay
48X CD RW/DVD Combo Drive


Thank you for any help or advice

Edited by EMROY, 02 July 2007 - 03:35 PM.

[Advertisements]

Hi EMROY, welcome to Geeks to Go! The system looks fine, do you know what graphics slot the motherboard has? I'm pretty sure it would be PCI-Express, in which case this card would look about right, but if it's an older refurbished computer then it might be AGP. It's important to know what slot so we can get the right card.

[Troy]

Hi EMROY, welcome to Geeks to Go! The system looks fine, do you know what graphics slot the motherboard has? I'm pretty sure it would be PCI-Express, in which case this card would look about right, but if it's an older refurbished computer then it might be AGP. It's important to know what slot so we can get the right card.

[EMROY]

Yes it is PCI express.

Ive never had a AMD processor is this one good? its 1.9GHz x 2 so 3.8GHz total

I can also find one with this video card 256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache is it any good?

thanks

Edited by EMROY, 02 July 2007 - 11:58 PM.

[Troy]

That video card is pretty average, the suggestion I posted is much better. I suppose it really depends on what games you play. It may very well be fine for what you do. As for your AMD processor, I don't have much experience with them at all, but it sounds good considering the price...

[EMROY]

Thats what i thought

thank you for the help

[Titan8990]

You will also need to make sure that the power supply in that computer can handle a graphics card. You may have to upgrade that as well.

[EMROY]

It only has a 305watt supply

i have another question and i thought it would be better to just ask it instead of starting another thread on monitors. does wide screen throw off the picture or should i go with a regular screen?

thanks

[Titan8990]

Any newer game or program usually is widescreen compatable. Technology is pushing in that direction. It hasn't caught up quite yet but it will.

That PSU won't get the job done....

Edited by Titan8990, 03 July 2007 - 01:23 PM.

[EMROY]

Thats great news ok i will look in to PSUs How big do i need?

so it would be a safe bet to go with a non widescreen, so i will be able to take advantange of the size all the time not just some of the time.

*I found a 380watt for $15 on newegg. or do i need more?

thanks again for the help

Edited by EMROY, 03 July 2007 - 08:07 PM.

[Titan8990]

I would be surprised if a $15 PSU didn't fry your system. 400 watts is the lowest you will be able to go. Usually I would recommend overshooting it a bit with a 500w supply but 400w will do if your budget is running short. You have to be careful because the PSU in a Dell case might not be able to be changed due to abnormal size. The cheapest quality 400w PSU I could find was $50: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817163030.

[ViprXX]

I'm in no way an expert with power supplies but if your gonna go with the video card that ruthandtroy suggested(which is a pretty good deal) then I'd suggest a different power supply than the one Titan8990 suggested(no disrespect to Titan8990). only because I looked at the specs of the video card suggestion and that psu might work but isn't up to the vid cards min. requirements (Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 18 Amps.) that psu is 15amps @ +12V. which might not matter, like I said I'm not an expert lol. also I noticed the psu doesn't come with any PCI-E Connectors which again might not matter but figured I'd point it out. Anyways I searched newegg a little and found a decent one for $40 Here. Again, you need to be careful of cheap psu. I've had problems in the past with cheap psu's that came with cases I've bought.

good luck

[Titan8990]

Good catch. The one that Viper suggested will be good.

[EMROY]

i have a E310 of my parents and it is the same size case. So i can check, i think its normal size. But what are the dimensions or can i look somewhere to find them out.

and i did buy the same just a little faster processor.

thanks for the help

[Titan8990]

A standard ATX PSU is approx. 3.25 x 6 x 6 (HxWxD).

[EMROY]

What would i do if it was not the normal size?

and another Question about the monotors How does wide screen work on normal programs like open office and firefox. sorry ive never been on a wide screen much