Graphics and Power supply Upgrade help plz :)

[Rokzum]

My stepson currently has a Dell Inspiron 570. We bought it January of this year I believe.. Anyway he wants a new video card so he can play ArmA II with friends(also plays Minecraft, TF2, and other steam games) Here are the specs to the computer, I can get more if need be:

Windows 7 Home Premium 64
AMD Athlon II x2 3.0GHz
4096MB RAM
300 Watt Power Supply(not sure the size of the thing)

His mom wants try to spend 150 or less on the upgrades, and I've read it might be cheaper to get a new power supply and video card rather than just a low profile card.

[yurano]

The most powerful card which doesn't require power connectors is the 7750. The 7750 runs for about $100. You can shoot for a better card, but with a $50 PSU consuming a third of the budget, you can't do much better than the 7750. According to my Google-FU, 800 Mhz 7750s don't require additional power but 900 Mhz ones do.

[Rokzum]

Sorry for the late reply was working. But it doesnt have to be 150 on the dot or anything but close would ideal. I just dont really know what i am looking for. And should i order from like amazon or newegg? Any parts suggestions from there? thx

[yurano]

In my experience, Newegg and Amazon are both good. Newegg ships slightly faster but I've heard that Amazon treats you better with returns. When buying from Amazon, I recommend only buying 'fulfilled by Amazon'. Third party companies selling through Amazon are sometimes sketchy. Plus, Amazon gives you free shipping when you buy 'fulfilled by Amazon'. Some people also buy from NCIX US but realize that they usually have a 'hidden' $8 shipping that you only see at checkout. I also heard you might have to pay border tax? Not completely sure about that.

If you can increase your budget from $150 to $200, you allow for a $150 GPU + $50 PSU. In that case, you can choose between the 6870 or the 650 Ti. The 6870 is well rounded in most games, but the 650 Ti is newer technology: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/540?vs=680

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/video-...118,41&sort=a5

From this guide: http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...uide/Guide.png they say "ASUS, EVGA, Gigabyte and MSI are very good. Sapphire, XFX and Zotac are good. HIS is ok."

For PSUs, the ones listed in the guide are good but I'd try to get at least 400W for around $50. Also consider http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-pow...ply-p1450sx2b9 although its currently on the expensive side.

[Rokzum]

And both are compatible with his crappy Dell you think?

[yurano]

The website lists the Inspiron 570 as having PCIe x16 which is sufficient for a graphics card.

The next question is whether the PSU would 1) Fit in PSU slot and 2) Have the correct power connectors for the Mobo/CPU.

Quote from: http://en.community.dell.com/support.../19989356.aspx
"The Dell Inspiron 560/570 Mini Tower can use most generic standard ATX power supply units, with either a 24-pin or 20+4-pin main motherboard power connector, with or without the on/off switch."

The poster forgot to mention that the CPU seems to utilize 4 pin power: http://www.hexparts.com/assets/image...ages/4gjjt.jpg

The Antec EA-380D seems to support 20 (+4) for motherboard and 4 (+4) for CPU. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371033

Video guide by Corsair: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZo2QWXyakM

[Rokzum]

Its got 2 rows of 12, so would that be 24 or 20+4? lol

[yurano]

Its got 2 rows of 12, so would that be 24 or 20+4? lol

20+4 is equivalent to 24. The only difference is that the 20+4 can be split into 20 and 4 pin plugs so its backwards compatible with 20 pin sockets.

[Rokzum]

oh I see. I noticed on some of the ATXs saying 20+4.