Inspiron 530 PSU / Graphics Card / RAM upgrade questions.

Anyone have any input? :P

If you want to go a little high wattage power supply, you might consider the following from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooling-PPCS500D-Silencer-Certified-Supply/dp/B0017XEGCM/ref=dp_return_1?ie=UTF8&n=172282&s=electronics

This power supply is designed specifically for Dell PCs and this looks like a pretty good deal at $57.  The same power supply is about $20 more at Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703016

You can read the comments at both sites to see what people think about this power supply.  Looks like a couple people have put it in a 530 with no issues.

As far as the RAM, the wattage shouldn't be an issue.  But the specs on this RAM is 1.9 volts and I think the 530's motherboard has a max voltage of 1.8 volts.  I did see on Newegg that several people had used it in 530 without any problems.  But assuming you aren't overclocking, why choose this RAM over a 1.8 volt device?   You might want to look at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211188.

Can't help you with the power requirements of the the video card.

pab49162

NathanD1,

Welcome to the Dell Community Forum.

From this forum and a couple of others there is an opinion that graphics card suppliers generally overstate their power requirements to be on the safe side and Dell understates their PSU output for the same reason. Have also read that when a PSU is running at the upper limit they will degrade approx 10% in the first year. The disclaimers need to be  mentioned. This will also depend on if you have added any other power consuming devices, additional CD/DVD, hard drive, PCI cards, etc. Check this site for a power consumption review for graphics cards. If you plan on over clocking the graphics card and using it for long periods like playing games for hours then the PSU upgrade would be recommended, since you stated that you won't be over clocking you should be fine with your stock PSU.

Several 530 owners have said they are using the HD 4650 with their original PSU, even 530s owners with a 250w PSU. I have seen in other sites that 220w PSUs are handling the card with no problems. I have received my Sapphire HD 4650 LP and will be installing it in my 530s 250w PSU in the next couple of days. I did some research on this same topic before I bought it, and due to the disclaimers the PSU upgrade is a possibility if not now maybe in the future. This is difficult for the 530s but fairly easy for the 530 mini tower. Replacement PSU for Dell computers, there are other brands if you check around. I have seen posts on this site, try a search with PSU or 530 PSU. 

The HD 4650 doesn't use an additional power cable from the PSU like some cards in this range do, this is because the power requirement can be handled from the power in the PCI slot. I have read that 530 owners are using the HD 4550 and the HD 4650 with no problems, for me the 4650 has higher specs and works with the Inspiron 530 so I don't see any problems of going with the card you mentioned.

Do you have a graphics card now? Or integrated graphics?

Is this memory the one offered on the Dell site? I remember seeing a Corsair 2 X 2GB for the 530. You can go to the Corsair website and inter your computer make and model and they will tell you which memory will work with your computer. I would check this to be sure there are no problems or incompatibility before you buy from any supplier. Dell Inspiron 530 uses non-ECC, unbuffered, 1.8v memory.

It is best to get the same specifications of the memory that is already installed on your computer, speed, timings and voltage.

If you are using a 32bit OS it will only use between 3.25GB - 3.5GB of ram when 4GB are installed. This is due to system address limitations, max address is 4GB but other things are using these addresses and the RAM gets what's left. I am using 4GB on my 32bit OS and get 3.3GB useable. For the price of RAM these days I went with the 4GB and will be installing Vista 64bit soon.

On a 64bit OS it will use all of the 4GB of RAM, with a max of 8GB depending on your system. Yours should be the same as mine.

If you don't have the specs of what is currently in your computer you can try either of these two system info (free) programs. They will tell you exactly what is in your computer now, it's best to match the current memory to insure no problems.

Here are 2 free downloads that will tell you a lot of information about your computer.

They will tell you the number of memory slots, your computers max allowable size of memory board (stick), how many are used/free. What make, model and speed of existing memory currently installed. This will help you select the correct type and speed of memory to buy.

Click Here for SIW is an advanced System Information for Windows tool that gathers detailed information about your system properties and settings and displays it in an extremely comprehensible manner.

  SIW can create a report file (CSV, HTML, TXT or XML), 

 The system information is divided into few major categories:

• Software Information: 
• Hardware Information: 
• Network Information: 
• Network Tools: 
• Miscellaneous Tools: 
• Real-time monitors: 

  SIW is a standalone utility that does not require installation (Portable Freeware) - one less installed program on your PC as well the fact that you can run the program directly from an USB flash drive, from a floppy, from a network drive or from a domain login script.

 CPUZ  freeware gathers information and download info.

Click Here for CPU-Z is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system. 

CPU

Main board

Memory

       Frequency and timings.

       Module(s) specification using SPD (Serial Presence Detect) : vendor, serial number, timings table.

System info

Hope this helps,

Dave

NathanD1,

You can get the recommended memory and P/N here:

This is the Dell site for the 530 2 X 2GB memory upgrade

Dave

Thank you so much, I really aprreciate it.

With your info I went and found a Silencer 500 

A small bit better and also quite near to me in delivery terms, very hard to get exactly what you want and have to live in Ireland.

The PSU installation seems more complicated than the memory or graphics card installation though, so il have to read up alot if im going to install it.

But becuase of your help finding a PSU actually suited to Dell computers the process will be much simpler.

Is this  the same as this?

Amazon.co.uk was the only place that I could find that had them.

I would order direct from Dell but I am very cautious about it due to a previous incident involving stolen credit card details when getting some ink for my printer.

The 530 came with a Radeon HD 2400 PRO installed. I've noticed that the Radeon 4650 is quite large, measuring over 24cm across, but if others have managed to get them into the 530 I see nothing stopping me when I do install it. 

I am very new to all this upgrading stuff, but very interested in how it works.

Thanks again for all your help,

Nathan.

Nathan,

Glad that you got the information to help you find the upgrades you want. Nothing worse then waiting for something only to find out it's the wrong part.

Looks like a nice PSU this will be good for this upgrade and any other you might want to do later. You might want to consider trying the HD 4650 with your original PSU, it should run just fine with it. If you want to be absolutely sure of everything running with no possible problems then get the new PSU.

Memory looks to be the same manufacturer part number.

Dell:

Manufacturer Part# : TWIN2X4096-6400C5 | Dell Part# : A1640627

Amazon: 

Corsair - TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) PC2-6400 DDRII-SDRAM PC Memory

I would recommend email or calling the supplier you decide to use and confirm that the memory has the correct specs:

Memory Speed    800 MHz ( PC2-6400 ) Latency Timings    CL5 ( 5-5-5-18 ) Data Integrity Check    Non-ECC RAM Features    Unbuffered Supply Voltage    1.9 V
It's important to ensure it is Non-ECC and Unbuffered.   You won't  have any problems installing the HD 4650 on your Inspiron 530. It's been done by many before.  Be sure to let us know how the upgrades go. Any problems and someone on this forum will help. If you haven't already found your manual is here. It will explain in good detail how to do most upgrades. Good luck, Dave