[sere83]

Hi there,

I'm thinking of upgrading my graphics card, with the sole purpose of being able to watch HD video. I am thinking about a Radeon HD4650 1GB PCI-E Card. I will be running it under Windows 7 ultimate 64Bit. Just wanted to ask if anyone could forsee any issues I might face, my PC spec is as follows...

Model: Dell Dimension 5150
CPU: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with Hyper-Threading Technology - 630 sequence - 3.00GHz, 800MHz FSB, 2MB Cache
Ram: 3GB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz SDRAM
HD: 250GB Sata
Graphics: ATI RADEON X300 SE Hyper Memory
Slots: 2 PCI slots , 1 PCIe x 1 slot , 1 PCIe x 16 (graphics) slot

Any help appreciated....

Edited by sere83, 21 August 2010 - 12:09 PM.

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Hi there sere83
You have not listed the specs for the psu and that is important information
to consider before purchasing and installing new hardware,
The specs for your computer show the following psu is fitted as standard;

Power
Input Voltage: 100 to 120 V at 60Hz, 200 to 240V at 50Hz
Output Wattage: 305W maximum continuous
Heat Dissipation: 560.5 BTU/hour
Backup Battery: 3.0 V CR2032 coin cell

Now if you look at the AMD link you will see the minimum psu requirement for
the HD4650 series of card it is a minimum 400W or greater thus meaning a new
more powerful psu needs to be fitted http://www.amd.com/u...quirements.aspx
Below are some options you can look at and consider;
Card http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814150396
PSU http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817341022
My choice of the psu/gfx card bundles is this one http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.469185
I hope you find this information useful and good luck with whatever you decide.

EDIT: Sorry wrong link for Psu, correct link inserted

Edited by phillpower2, 22 August 2010 - 10:32 AM.

[phillpower2]

Hi there sere83
You have not listed the specs for the psu and that is important information
to consider before purchasing and installing new hardware,
The specs for your computer show the following psu is fitted as standard;

Power
Input Voltage: 100 to 120 V at 60Hz, 200 to 240V at 50Hz
Output Wattage: 305W maximum continuous
Heat Dissipation: 560.5 BTU/hour
Backup Battery: 3.0 V CR2032 coin cell

Now if you look at the AMD link you will see the minimum psu requirement for
the HD4650 series of card it is a minimum 400W or greater thus meaning a new
more powerful psu needs to be fitted http://www.amd.com/u...quirements.aspx
Below are some options you can look at and consider;
Card http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814150396
PSU http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817341022
My choice of the psu/gfx card bundles is this one http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.469185
I hope you find this information useful and good luck with whatever you decide.

EDIT: Sorry wrong link for Psu, correct link inserted

Edited by phillpower2, 22 August 2010 - 10:32 AM.

[sere83]

Hi there sere83
You have not listed the specs for the psu and that is important information
to consider before purchasing and installing new hardware,
The specs for your computer show the following psu is fitted as standard;

Power
Input Voltage: 100 to 120 V at 60Hz, 200 to 240V at 50Hz
Output Wattage: 305W maximum continuous
Heat Dissipation: 560.5 BTU/hour
Backup Battery: 3.0 V CR2032 coin cell

Now if you look at the AMD link you will see the minimum psu requirement for
the HD4650 series of card it is a minimum 4000W or greater thus meaning a new
more powerful psu needs to be fitted http://www.amd.com/u...quirements.aspx
Below are some options you can look at and consider;
Card http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814150396
PSU http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814150396
My choice of the psu/gfx card bundles is this one http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.469185
I hope you find this information useful and good luck with whatever you decide.

Many thanks for the advice. I don't want top spend too much as it's an old machine but just wanted to know do you think the DDR2 version of the card would do the job?, found one cheap on ebay, similar to this...

http://www.bestbuy.c...e8d143aa7a0en02

I'm in the UK so can't find that specific PSU, will any 550W PSU do? Like this for example >>>>

http://cgi.ebay.co.u...owerSupplies_EH

Also are they difficult to fit? In addition would it be better just to get a 350W PSU compatible card to save hassle? As I say It's sole purpose will be to play HD video content, no gaming or anything.

Edited by sere83, 22 August 2010 - 06:38 AM.

[phillpower2]

If you see this in time this is worth a bid up to about £10 http://cgi.ebay.co.u...964902845878089
Your present psu could not power the card you are suggesting as it requires 350W yours is only 305W.
The psu you are thinking about purchasing on ebay is an unknown brand to me and so I cannot advise you on this.
You get what you pay for and a good quality brand named psu should always be a priority, as for fitting one it
is a straightforward job have a look at the tutorial by Troy showing how to build your own computer;
http://www.geekstogo...r-own-computer/ if you do decide to upgrade should you require assistance I will be happy to help,
just remember to disconnect the power cord from the wall, take anti static precautions (touch a bare metal part of the case)
take notes of where each connection goes before disconnecting them and if you have a digital camera take a couple
of pictures (if you have access to a card reader/SD slot.

[sere83]

If you see this in time this is worth a bid up to about £10 http://cgi.ebay.co.u...964902845878089
Your present psu could not power the card you are suggesting as it requires 350W yours is only 305W.
The psu you are thinking about purchasing on ebay is an unknown brand to me and so I cannot advise you on this.
You get what you pay for and a good quality brand named psu should always be a priority, as for fitting one it
is a straightforward job have a look at the tutorial by Troy showing how to build your own computer;
http://www.geekstogo...r-own-computer/ if you do decide to upgrade should you require assistance I will be happy to help,
just remember to disconnect the power cord from the wall, take anti static precautions (touch a bare metal part of the case)
take notes of where each connection goes before disconnecting them and if you have a digital camera take a couple
of pictures (if you have access to a card reader/SD slot.

Many thanks again for your help. Will try and pick up a psu from a good brand. As I was saying before...do you think the DDR2 version of the card would do the job? is the DD3 version necessary?

Edited by sere83, 22 August 2010 - 02:14 PM.

[phillpower2]

The DDR2 version is fine, I have a DDR2 gfx and run a blueray player through it with no problem.

[sere83]

Hi phillpower2 quick question....

I have read that the GT220 only requires a 300w PSU meaning I may not need top change mine after all. Just wondered do you think the 512MB version of this card would be sufficient for full HD playback? Just don't want to spend too much as it is an old machine, as mentioned before I do not intend to play any games.

Edited by sere83, 31 August 2010 - 12:35 PM.

[phillpower2]

What resolution are you looking for (what size screen).
I read this write up for the GT220 and it requires 350W so double check before you purchase as some brands may require more juice http://www.guru3d.co...20-review-test/
Another good review at this link shows what you can expect in HD playback http://www.hardwareh...-bluraymkv.html

[sere83]

thanks for the info....will be sure to check the specific cards psu requirements before purchase.

My current monitor is a 19 inch 1280x1024 display, VGA only. Although in the near future I will probably upgrade to a 25 inch 1920x1080 panel with HDMI.

After reading the reviews I definitely think the GT220 will do the job. Just wondered though, do you have any idea what impact the amount of ram will have? Will a 512mb card for example have significantly worse video decoding capabilities than a 1gb card on my system? Just trying to work out how the ram will effect video playback and whether a 512mb DDR2 card will do. To be honest most HD content i will be playing will be at 720p just be nice to have the 1080 option.

Edited by sere83, 01 September 2010 - 03:51 PM.

[phillpower2]

As you have 3GB of Ram installed you could use the 512mb card with minimal impact.
I would go for the 1GB if you can though as the cards Ram is dedicated to video.