new video card for inspirion 545

Hi perry59, If you have the duel core tower model, then you have the 305w PSU, and your computer does support the PCI 2.0. With that in mind I would recommend the 9500GT HERE or the 4650 HERE. Manufactors do overstate the power for their cards, and dell do understate the power for their PSU's. Ps Your manual for the 545MT HERE, if you have the slimline model then your PSU will be 250w, so the ATI 4550 HERE is an good card.

Thanks for the tip Robin

We have the quad core tower, BTW.

even the manuals you pointed me to dont give a lot of detail, why does Dell hide this?

They tell me how to remove the PSU, but not its rating. I think its safe to assume that this computer

supports pci 2.0.

I guess I wont know until I look inside just how big the PSU is, and maybe not event then.

I'd still like to put the 9800 card in there, but not if I have to replace the PSU.

Well, looks like this thing only has a 300W psu.
Wont be able to put in a "nice" graphics card without getting a different psu.
However, I do have an old "parts" computer in the garage. Could swipe the psu
out of it and use it to power a new card ?!?

Hi Perry,

I assume you have the 545MT, and not the slimline version?  If you have the slimline, your upgrade options for a power supply will be limited, due to the size of the case.

I assume you don't, since a 9800GT wouldn't fit in a slimline anyways...

I wanted to also make you aware that it is possible your computer has a 350W power supply.  For my Inspiron 530, I had a 350W power supply come in mine, due to my Quad Core processor...I would think that trend would also be the case for your computer?  Easiest way to find out would be to pop off the side, and look at the rating sticker on your power supply.

I put a 9600gt on the stock 350W power supply, and it has been going on strong for 6 months.  I believe I have read on the forums of people using the stock 350W power supply with a 8800GT as well, which is essentially what the 9800gt is...

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the info Tibby.

I do NOT have the slim one, thank God. So if I have to replace the psu it should not be too difficult.

I'm starting to think also that it has the 350 watt'r (quad core) I wont know for sure till I peek inside

this weekend. At least I'm feeling confident that 9600 card should work without mods (if the stock psu has the 6-pin connector)

and, at worst I could upgrade the psu and put in whatever card strikes my fancy (within limits of course).

Hello,

I have an Inspiron Desktop 545MT......

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66GHz Q9400 1333FSB
Memory: 8GB RAM DDR2 800MHz
Video:  Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100. Up to 256mb memory
Hard Drive: 750GB SATA II 7200RPM
19-in-1 Memory Card Reader
Audio: Integrated 5.1 channel audio
Optical Drive: 16x DVDRW Dual layer DVD Burner w/ lightscribe
Ports: 8 USB 2.0, VGA, Sound.
TV Tuner: Not included.
Network: 10/100/1000 Base-T networking interface
Software: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit

I would like to max out my video card and power supply.

Did you find anything out perry59 ?

Can anyone out there in cyberland help me ?

Thank You

The only way to know for sure is to just open up the side of your case and look at the sticker information on the power supply to confirm what you have.  My feeling is that Dell does not put the 350W PSU in like they used to even if you have a Quad CPU so you could only have the 300W.  If that is the case, you can upgrade to the ATI HD 4670.  Since you just have onboard graphics now, this would be a very big improvement depending on what your use will be. 

Welcome to the forums Darth :emotion-21:

I would like to max out my video card and power supply.

It won't be difficult to stress an on-board Intel GMA graphics chip, but you'd soon run into problems if you were ever to max out the PSU :emotion-55:

But using an integrated/on-board Intel GMA graphics chip, in a system which includes an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 @ 2.66GHz and 8GB RAM, is a horrendous mis-match :emotion-3:

You really need to consider upgrading to a dedicated graphics card ASAP.

Upgrading to a graphics card befitting the rest of the specs, is likely to require upgrading the PSU to something more powerful as well?

But just upgrading to something which the PSU you already have can handle, would make a huge difference!

Thank you both very much.

OK now I know what card to get but am unsure about power supply due to amp ratings and all that.

How close do I have to get to the rating on my 300w power supply

There is a Hipro HP-P3017F3 in here now.

and I do have an ASUS 256mb vid card my buddy sent me in this machine.

Thanks,Darth

I have a Dell Inspiron 545 MT/Mini Tower.

Quad Core, 8 GB of RAM, 1 TB SATA hard drive... and only a puny 300W power supply, with +12V @ 18 A.

What was Dell thinking??

I'd also like to know if anyone has upgraded their Power supply/PSU in the Inspiron 545 MT, and what model was used.

I've already tried installing a GeForce GT 220 1 GB (EVGA) adapter, which is supposed to be one of the "low power" options compatible with the stock power supply.

It had troubles powering the fan when first booting up the computer, a sure sign of an underpowered PSU.

I put a ATI Radeon HD 4670 1Gig card

  http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-4000/hd-4600/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-4600-overview.aspx

I went off this chart which says this card only pulls 65 at peak 3D

http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?showtopic=264

So far then has been no problems(knock on silicone)

I've played Bad Company 2 at highest settings just fine.