Upgrading video card questions

Hi all, I am interested in getting a geforce gt9600 video card but I am not sure if my current motherboard or powersupply are capable of having it. My system is a gateway gt5668e. I am not sure if the motherboard supports it or not, or if my powersupply does( stock powersupply 300 watts) Also the gt9600 i was looking at was used. Is it a bad idea to get a used one? Also any suggestions for powersupplys needed would be much appreciated! Thanx!

Hi, your stock 300w PSU will not run the GT9600, as it requires 400wPSU, along with a seperate 6 pin power supply. You never said what system you have, but you could aslways upgrade your PSO, or use a 5670.

6-pinSupplementary Power Connectors

I am not sure why you are posting on the Dell forums having a Gateway computer?  Anyway, like RobinBredin stated, the 9600 GT will not work.  I would look for a AMD/ATI card in this range as they are much more power efficient and will have better performance.  The HD 6570 or the HD 5670 or HD 6670 should all work and be better than the older more power hungry 9600 GT.  It looks like you have an AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ processor anyway so it is a better fit.  

Thanx everyone! And to answer  your question ive always been a dell guy but someone gave me this gateway for free and i couldnt turn it down.

So what you are saying is that if i get one of the cards you suggested i wouldnt have to get a new psu and it would be more performance?

That is correct.  I listed them in order of performance with the HD 6670 being the best, but they should all perform above the older 9600 GT.   It is more difficult to find the HD 5670 now since the HD 6670 replaced it so be careful of the prices out there as you don't want to pay more for it than the HD 6670.  HERE is a nice HD 6670 if the dual slot type card will fit okay in your system.  

Also how do i know if my mobo supports pci x 2.1?

Ok cool. Are u sure it will work with my psu? It says it needs a minimum of 400 watt psu. I have a 300 w psu.

I know others have used the HD 5670 and HD 6670 or their Dell 300 watt power supplies.  The HD 6670 only uses around 50 watts even under load like gaming which is less than the HD 5670 and 10 watts at idle.   All AMD cards are the 2.1 version which is backwards compatible with older versions on your motherboard.  I don't know how old your computer is, but you would have either the 2.0 or 1.1 version.  Most do not have any issues with 2.1 cards in a 2.0 or 1.1 PCIe slot.  Some have reported issues using 1.0, however, and others have gotten it to work.  

Alright but it would probably be better if i upgraded my power supply right? And its a newer computer with vista and 3 gigs ram stock. So im guessing it has either 2.0 or 2.1 pci x

Thanx for all the help! Its very informative in helping me choose what to get.

I don't know of any motherboards that actually have a 2.1 PCIe slot.  Most are 2.0.  It is just the AMD video cards that are 2.1 and the new AMD 7000 series are 3.0.  I have seen some 3.0 motherboards out now, however.  

It is more trouble and more cost to upgrade the power supply as you do not want to install a cheap unit just because it has more watts.  If it was me, I would just use the power supply you have.  If you have issues like games crashing regularly or your PC shuts down then you can probably blame the power supply, but I don't think that will be the case.  I am not familiar with AMD chipsets so you may or may not have 2.0.  

Alright cool. thanx for all the information! It has really helped! I am def gonna get the hd 6670 or something close to it.