need graphics card help - Blu-ray Forum

sega_smasher · 05-20-2009, 05:49 AM

so i'm running on a Dell XPS 400 that is running a really crappy ATI X300 card. it is PCI-E slot so i know my upgrade possibilities are good however...i am limited by a 400w PSU. i REALLY want to get me a 9800gt

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product...9800gt_us.html

that bad boy

but want to know if my PC can handle it. if you need to see my specs, i can post it via CPU-Z. thanks...i really want to turn this into a HTPC before i move out and also will set myself up for building a better gaming computer. thanks for any help guys! if you need me to post anything to help you out just let me know!

Leopold BUTTERS · 05-20-2009, 06:44 AM

This card is better for the same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131125

md99 · 05-20-2009, 06:50 AM

To be honest, you don't really need a graphic card if its just BR movies you want to play. A good 7.1 hdmi mainboard (of the micro variety) will more than suffice.

Some of the Asus ones have been been designed specifically for the HTPC market.

Leopold BUTTERS · 05-20-2009, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by md99

To be honest, you don't really need a graphic card if its just BR movies you want to play. A good 7.1 hdmi mainboard (of the micro variety) will more than suffice.

Some of the Asus ones have been been designed specifically for the HTPC market.

he wants it for gaming as well.

sega_smasher · 05-20-2009, 05:11 PM

thanks butters. my only question is... would there be a problem if my mobo wont support it? thats the only worry i have. i'm liking the 4850 your showing me there but my only issue is that its a DDR3 type graphics. thanks for the responses!

slaizer2000 · 05-20-2009, 05:39 PM

the nvidia card you have listed does list 400 watt minimum. So it should be ok. Biggest problem here is if the power supply doesn't provide the needed 400 watts then you could have problems and may need to look at upgading the power supply which should be fairly cheap.

Probably the biggest spec you need to look at is the PCI-Express 2.0 spec. If you only have the 1.0 spec on your motherbaord then it may have problems.

sega_smasher · 05-20-2009, 05:59 PM

is there anyway to check my spec? i'm almost positive its 2.0 but before i buy a card i want to make sure i know what i'm getting into. and i am thinking of upgrading the 400w supply anyway so... thats not TOO important but definatley something i'm looking into.

slaizer2000 · 05-20-2009, 06:07 PM

i couldn't find out the pci-e spec on the website. The fact it isn't listed most likley means it is 1.0, as most 2.0 products will list it. You may need to find the manual or contact dell to verify the version.

I also noticed it lists your power supply spec at 375Watts and not 400, so that would mean the card may not work as wella nd you may need to ugprade the power supply.

http://www.dell.com/content/products...=28&l=en&s=dfb

sega_smasher · 05-20-2009, 06:14 PM

hm. 375. i read 400 somewhere, looks like i really do need a better PSU. so no guessing if its 2.0 eh? is there any program that will let me know my specs aside from CPU z? its not telling me... thanks for taking your time to help man. its appreciated.

slaizer2000 · 05-20-2009, 06:14 PM

one other thing. That cards lists it also has a 6 pin power connector. I believe some of the higher end cards need addtional power and require them to be plugged in directly to the power supply. I do not know if this is required or not as i have never installed a vid card that has that extra power supply connector. Maybe someone else can chime in on if that is needed or not. If it is then you would need to make sure your power suppply has it. If not you would need to get some type of adapter that would most likely convert one of the hard drive power connectors into the right type of connector for the video card. Or again upgrade the power supply to one that has enough watts and that type of power connecter.

slaizer2000 · 05-20-2009, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sega_smasher

hm. 375. i read 400 somewhere, looks like i really do need a better PSU. so no guessing if its 2.0 eh? is there any program that will let me know my specs aside from CPU z? its not telling me... thanks for taking your time to help man. its appreciated.

If i had to take a logical guess i would say it is 1.0. As most stuff that is 1.0 doesn't list the 1.0 as there was not a higher version out when that version was introduced. That is why you tend to see 2.0 listed as 2.0.

I do not know of any programs that would tell you the spec version of the pci-express slot. Maybe someone else can chime in on that as well?

sega_smasher · 05-20-2009, 06:18 PM

i see. well this is unfortunate. i was hoping to get a little more life out of this PC until i build my own system. looks like i'm going to have to build a little sooner than i thought. is there any card off the top of your head that is 1.0 that is so-so that you know of?

slaizer2000 · 05-20-2009, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sega_smasher

i see. well this is unfortunate. i was hoping to get a little more life out of this PC until i build my own system. looks like i'm going to have to build a little sooner than i thought. is there any card off the top of your head that is 1.0 that is so-so that you know of?

I have never played high end video (blu-ray) on my PC so i am not sure what would be good or not.

md99 · 05-20-2009, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leopold BUTTERS

he wants it for gaming as well.

Oops. Pardon my short sightedness. To be honest, I'd forget about the nVidia card and go for the best all rounder at the moment for the price, the radeon 4850. Should be able to pick one up pretty cheap and I know a 400w PSU is more than sufficient to run it.

sega_smasher · 05-20-2009, 06:24 PM

is the 4850 a pci e 2.0?

slaizer2000 · 05-20-2009, 06:31 PM

you can check out neweggs site. Under interface select pcix16 (not the 2.0 one) and you can find 60 some pci-e x16 1.0 cards. Yuo can further narrow down the search paremters and read other customer eviews as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...cs-Video-Cards

slaizer2000 · 05-20-2009, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sega_smasher

is the 4850 a pci e 2.0?

that is a 2.0 spec'd card as well. you may want to contact dell to see what your motherboard supports.

sega_smasher · 05-20-2009, 06:37 PM

i'll do that. thanks for the help!

sega_smasher · 05-20-2009, 06:48 PM

one last question (sorry guys) any way to know if my dell is a BTX or ATX?

slaizer2000 · 05-20-2009, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sega_smasher

one last question (sorry guys) any way to know if my dell is a BTX or ATX?

you should have an express code or service tag number on the machien you can plug into the dell website to get info abotu it. It it usualyl a black tag with white/silver lettering.

http://support.dell.com/support/topi...n&s=gen&~tab=2
If you can't find the service tag number, the little link on the first link that says find my tag will actualyl figure out you tag # for you fi you browse to teh website from your actually dell xps 400 machine.

or this one if you want other info

http://support.dell.com/support/topi...=us&l=en&s=gen

05-20-2009, 05:49 AM	#1
sega_smasher Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Santa Monica, CA PSN: SecretAgentHam Blu-ray collection:103 Trading Score:1	need graphics card help so i'm running on a Dell XPS 400 that is running a really crappy ATI X300 card. it is PCI-E slot so i know my upgrade possibilities are good however...i am limited by a 400w PSU. i REALLY want to get me a 9800gt http://www.nvidia.com/object/product...9800gt_us.html that bad boy but want to know if my PC can handle it. if you need to see my specs, i can post it via CPU-Z. thanks...i really want to turn this into a HTPC before i move out and also will set myself up for building a better gaming computer. thanks for any help guys! if you need me to post anything to help you out just let me know!

05-20-2009, 06:14 PM	#10
slaizer2000 Expert Member Member since:Mar 2007 Location:Mooresville, NC 4K collection:67 Blu-ray collection:1117 Trading Score:21	one other thing. That cards lists it also has a 6 pin power connector. I believe some of the higher end cards need addtional power and require them to be plugged in directly to the power supply. I do not know if this is required or not as i have never installed a vid card that has that extra power supply connector. Maybe someone else can chime in on if that is needed or not. If it is then you would need to make sure your power suppply has it. If not you would need to get some type of adapter that would most likely convert one of the hard drive power connectors into the right type of connector for the video card. Or again upgrade the power supply to one that has enough watts and that type of power connecter. Last edited by slaizer2000; 05-20-2009 at 06:18 PM.

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05-20-2009, 06:44 AM	#2
Leopold BUTTERS Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jun 2007 Location:AB,Canada Blu-ray collection:93 Blu-ray reviews: 2 Trading Score:1	This card is better for the same price. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131125

05-20-2009, 06:50 AM	#3
md99 Expert Member Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Sep 2008 Location:Oirland Home Theater Gallery:167 Blu-ray collection:406	To be honest, you don't really need a graphic card if its just BR movies you want to play. A good 7.1 hdmi mainboard (of the micro variety) will more than suffice. Some of the Asus ones have been been designed specifically for the HTPC market.

05-20-2009, 05:11 PM	#5
sega_smasher Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Santa Monica, CA PSN: SecretAgentHam Blu-ray collection:103 Trading Score:1	thanks butters. my only question is... would there be a problem if my mobo wont support it? thats the only worry i have. i'm liking the 4850 your showing me there but my only issue is that its a DDR3 type graphics. thanks for the responses!

05-20-2009, 05:39 PM	#6
slaizer2000 Expert Member Member since:Mar 2007 Location:Mooresville, NC 4K collection:67 Blu-ray collection:1117 Trading Score:21	the nvidia card you have listed does list 400 watt minimum. So it should be ok. Biggest problem here is if the power supply doesn't provide the needed 400 watts then you could have problems and may need to look at upgading the power supply which should be fairly cheap. Probably the biggest spec you need to look at is the PCI-Express 2.0 spec. If you only have the 1.0 spec on your motherbaord then it may have problems.

05-20-2009, 05:59 PM	#7
sega_smasher Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Santa Monica, CA PSN: SecretAgentHam Blu-ray collection:103 Trading Score:1	is there anyway to check my spec? i'm almost positive its 2.0 but before i buy a card i want to make sure i know what i'm getting into. and i am thinking of upgrading the 400w supply anyway so... thats not TOO important but definatley something i'm looking into.

05-20-2009, 06:07 PM	#8
slaizer2000 Expert Member Member since:Mar 2007 Location:Mooresville, NC 4K collection:67 Blu-ray collection:1117 Trading Score:21	i couldn't find out the pci-e spec on the website. The fact it isn't listed most likley means it is 1.0, as most 2.0 products will list it. You may need to find the manual or contact dell to verify the version. I also noticed it lists your power supply spec at 375Watts and not 400, so that would mean the card may not work as wella nd you may need to ugprade the power supply. http://www.dell.com/content/products...=28&l=en&s=dfb

05-20-2009, 06:18 PM	#12
sega_smasher Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Santa Monica, CA PSN: SecretAgentHam Blu-ray collection:103 Trading Score:1	i see. well this is unfortunate. i was hoping to get a little more life out of this PC until i build my own system. looks like i'm going to have to build a little sooner than i thought. is there any card off the top of your head that is 1.0 that is so-so that you know of?

05-20-2009, 06:24 PM	#15
sega_smasher Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Santa Monica, CA PSN: SecretAgentHam Blu-ray collection:103 Trading Score:1	is the 4850 a pci e 2.0?

05-20-2009, 06:31 PM	#16
slaizer2000 Expert Member Member since:Mar 2007 Location:Mooresville, NC 4K collection:67 Blu-ray collection:1117 Trading Score:21	you can check out neweggs site. Under interface select pcix16 (not the 2.0 one) and you can find 60 some pci-e x16 1.0 cards. Yuo can further narrow down the search paremters and read other customer eviews as well. http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...cs-Video-Cards

05-20-2009, 06:37 PM	#18
sega_smasher Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Santa Monica, CA PSN: SecretAgentHam Blu-ray collection:103 Trading Score:1	i'll do that. thanks for the help!

05-20-2009, 06:48 PM	#19
sega_smasher Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Santa Monica, CA PSN: SecretAgentHam Blu-ray collection:103 Trading Score:1	one last question (sorry guys) any way to know if my dell is a BTX or ATX?

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