graphics card upgrade?

Question

Misguidedly, I ordered my son a computer for Christmas 2005 for homework and playing games. Not knowing anything about anything, I believed the salesguy who said it would be 'awesome' for these purposes. Now the new game we gave him for his birthday won't work; his graphics card must be the sorriest (it's integrated), and it's not even Christmas 2006 yet.   Can I even upgrade this Dimension E310?  Or do I need to start computer shopping and pass his along to a younger sibling?  I would prefer to add a new graphics card to his computer, of course.  Actually, an awesome one.   Dimension E310 160 G hard drive 1 G ram XP Media Center Edition

Nascar Nut72 · Answer

I have some good news and some bad news for you in regards to installing a graphics card in your system. The good news is that you can indeed install a stand-alone graphics card. The bad new is that you can only install a PCI graphics card. As this is a very old standard with AGP and PCI Express being the latest standards. Most graphics card makers are no longer even making PCI cards. NOTE: Do not confuse PCI Express with plain PCI.

I find the major problem when buying a PC is the failure of the sales person to delve into what you plan to use your PC purchase for. As a result many buy a underpowered system thinking they can do anything they want on them. If and when you buy another system, sit down with a guru and plan out a system that will fits your needs for today and for at least two years down the road. As you can from my handle I'm a racing fan.. and there is an adage in racing "speed costs, how fast do you want to go" holds true with computers. If your son wants to play the latest PC games you will need to get him a good powerful system as games really tax systems and in many cases you can't run or play the latest games systems that are underpowered.

Dell Demension 8400
3.0GHz HT P4 processor
250 GB SATA HD
ATI 300SE 128MB RAM PCI Express Video Card
1901FP 19" Flat Panel
NIC card
DVD+RW 16X Drive
DVD ROM drive
56K Modem
Windows XP SP2 OS
1 GB DDR2 533MHz memory
Sound Blaster Audilogy Sound Card

Dell XPS T850r
512 MB RAM
Nvidia GeForce 3 64MB RAM Video card
20 GB IDE HD
30 GB IDE HD
17" Quantex CRT Monitor
NIC Card
DVD-/+RW 16x
CD-RW Drive
Sound Blaster Live Audio
Windows XP SP2 OS

Dell Inspiron 8100
1.13 Pentium III M processor
512 MB Ram
30 GB HD
15" Screen
DVD Rom Drive
CD-RW 8X Drive
Linksys Wireless Adapter
Windows XP SP2 OS

All systems networked using Linksys Wireless Router.

SR45 · Answer

PCI slot video cards to consider. Low ended cards, but the best ones out there for an entry level system. Good luck

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2427231&CatId=697 6200 PCI slot card

http://www.bfgtech.com/6200_256_PCI.html 6200 PCI from BFG

http://www.visiontek.com/products/cards/retail/x1300_256pci.html

Another one is the nVidia FX 5500 PCI card.

www.newegg.com is a very good vendor for computer stuff and one place you can locate some of these cards

tigerwolf7 · Answer

Yeah, Oblivion won't really run on that regardless of what you put in it.

compusong · Answer

Thanks for your replies; this information will definitely help me, although I haven't decided what route to take.  I think talking to a guru before computer purchasing will help next time.  It will be tricky to buy the correct system to keep up with games technology.  My son wants to play Oblivion, and, after reading several pages of threads, I think it will have to be a new computer with top-of-the-line everything. Thanks again.

SR45 · Answer

The E510 system is the least I would think about, and perhaps depending on cash flow or how much you love you son, the XPS 410 system should be considered for good gaming. :smileyvery-happy:

Dell still has some good promotions each week, but they have released to the public that those days are coming to an end within the next 12 to 18 months.

Coupon sites to look at.....

http://www.couponmountain.com/
http://www.dailyedeals.com/free_online_coupons/dell.htm
http://gotapex.com/
http://coupons.atspace.com/
http://www.fatwallet.com/store.php?store=208
http://www.xpbargains.com/

tigerwolf7 · Answer

I'm already getting adds from the Small Business section promoting their new 'simple pricing' or whatever they're calling it. Only difference I can see is the sales aren't as good...but they're still changing prices every week, only now slapping a 'simple' or 'easy' or something on it :D

SR45 · Answer

Don't like that one bit....If you don't know of the past coupons or promotions, Dell can slap on any words they like telling us this is a better price, but it won't for those that know about past promotions. Think its a way to increase the amount of the system to a level some first timers think its a good price, but the veterans know better, giving Dell more cash. Understand that, but I prefer the promotions, and wait for them.

1. Used to be 100 % lifetime support for the softeware on Dell systems... No more

2. Used to be 30 Return policy.... No more

3. Used to be no re-stocking fee's .... No more

4. Used to be better and more promotions .... No more

5. Used to be US tech support .... No more

6. Used to have Dell giving us a OS CD included with each purchase ... No more for most systems

I probably missed a few others, now gone by, by

Message Edited by SR45 on 08-29-200609:50 AM

Locked Topics – Desktops General

graphics card upgrade?

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