Dell Inspiron 530s graphics card for Orange Box?

I have a Dell Inspiron 530s, 250 W power supply, and want to play the Orange Box maxed out if possible.

I'm considering a Radeon HD 3650, or GeForce 8400 . I have to be careful, due to my limited power supply; do these sound like decent choices? I'm also stuck with having to find a low profile card. I'm primarily concerned with just the OB. Thanks!

Here you go http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3255392&CatId=1079 - PSU , http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3092423&CatId=1560 -8600gt

$85 for both

^^^ Yeah, my 8600GT maxes out Portal (I know, not much stuff happening in it) easily, even with the highest anti-aliasing. bedram793

yes also depending on your processor. This person may have a Pentium 4 3.0ghz and be expecting to max the orange box.

Yeah, I always forget to mention this: Pentium Dual CPU @ 2.20 GHz. 3 GB Memory.

I already have the computer (since spring). I know it's not meant to be a gaming machine--a realization I came to painfully not long ago. As far as I know, no PSU can fit inside this low profile case, which means I'm stuck with 250 W.

Given this new info, are my aforementioned cards sufficient? Thanks again

none of the gfx cards mentioned in this post will max tf2 or come close to it.simardbrad

LOL!!! REALLY!!! then how come i max tf2 with AAx4 with my meager ati x1650????

I have a Dell Inspiron 530s, 250 W power supply, and want to play the Orange Box maxed out if possible.

I'm considering a Radeon HD 3650, or GeForce 8400 . I have to be careful, due to my limited power supply; do these sound like decent choices? I'm also stuck with having to find a low profile card. I'm primarily concerned with just the OB. Thanks!

gehhn

.I can tell you that if you buy a Geforce 8400, or a Radeon HD 3650, you are wasting your money.

Your Dell is in a very slim case, and those cards absolutely won't fit. The only card I've found for a Dell 530s is a NVidia 9600 gt slim. but it requires a 400w PSU, or somwhere in that range.

Also, its pretty hard to find a PSu that is bigger than the stock dell one, and one that fits in the 530S case.

I have a dell 530S, and have resorted to just buying a new case, because the slim case is just to hard to work with for gaming.

On another note, I used my dell to play the demo for L4D, Portal, and Half Life 2, and was actually quite impressed with its ability, considering its using a Radeon HD 2400 XT.

Based on the comments from Newegg, both the 8400 and 3650 fit the Dell 530s without any problem, and the 8500 as well if the bracket is replaced for LP case.

Both of those cards to which I refer are the low profile versions, not the regular, useful sizes for people who don't have slim cases. So, from a graphical standpoint, will they do the job?

[QUOTE="gehhn"]

I have a Dell Inspiron 530s, 250 W power supply, and want to play the Orange Box maxed out if possible.

I'm considering a Radeon HD 3650, or GeForce 8400 . I have to be careful, due to my limited power supply; do these sound like decent choices? I'm also stuck with having to find a low profile card. I'm primarily concerned with just the OB. Thanks!

TheyTookMyWoody

.I can tell you that if you buy a Geforce 8400, or a Radeon HD 3650, you are wasting your money.

Your Dell is in a very slim case, and those cards absolutely won't fit. The only card I've found for a Dell 530s is a NVidia 9600 gt slim. but it requires a 400w PSU, or somwhere in that range.

Also, its pretty hard to find a PSu that is bigger than the stock dell one, and one that fits in the 530S case.

I have a dell 530S, and have resorted to just buying a new case, because the slim case is just to hard to work with for gaming.

On another note, I used my dell to play the demo for L4D, Portal, and Half Life 2, and was actually quite impressed with its ability, considering its using a Radeon HD 2400 XT.

LOL i was in the same situation i have a dell ispiron 530 and i bought a new case for it too, enough room for any video card to. and i have to say im impressed by the base performacnce of the machine, but i have the 4 gig version and dual core at 2.0 ghz and with just a x1650 i run oblivion close to max with 1280x900 resolution no AA of course.

I'm in the same boat -- d@mned Dell tech fibbed, swearing up and down he knew for a fact I could fit a Radeon 4670 into the Dell Inspiron 530S case (techically true, if I didn't mind not being able to put the cover back on, or having to take a crowbar to bend some brackets out of the way. I do mind, though).

I've looked around and the best solutions seem to be either 1) get a new case w/ gaming-appropriate cooling and power and space, unless you're really that cramped for room to put your tower; or 2) go with this graphics card, which one happy reviewer who upgraded his Dell InspIron 531S with it called "MEANT for upgrading Dells." I.e., it runs cool and quiet within the constraints of a Dell 530S's cramped case and low-watt PSU to get gaming performance along the workable lines of 40 fps for Fallout 3 on Medium settings, Age of Empires 3 on Maxed-out settings, or 60fps for Team Fortress 2 maxed out:

Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile Video Card (Sapphire)

I'm probably going to do #2 because it's cheap ($55) and easy (plug card into the extra slot Dell thoughtfully provided in case anyone could actually find a card that fits the case :) ). And I'm poor and ignorant. A match made in Heaven :). If you have more bucks and more importantly more know-how than me, though, getting a new case would of course be better because you could upgrade forever to meet new games' specs.

(The Dell Inspiron 530s is a fine low-end computer squashed into too small a box. If it weren't for the teensy case -- and one mendacious Dell rep -- I'd be doing cartwheels for getting a 3 GB, fast dual-core PC for under $600. Oh well. Make that $660.)

this is unfortunately one of those times i cannot recommend the 8400gs or its compadre thehd 2400proboth though will run on your psu.. are incapable of handling tf2 at all. they handle portal well but again slip n stumble on half life 2 (though they ran the lost coast demo not to shabbily). unless you like gaming at 800 x 600 resolution stay back man n upgrade that psu.. even to a 400 watt then you could tote an hd 4550 or 4670 low power.

How much power does the 4670 take? I read it doesn't take much to run it. bedram793

varying on the quality of the psu's rail 450 for a good one 500 for a bad one..

He can dump the new psu outside and plug in, itll look ugly, but hey when your on a budget. The thing I worry about is the slim casing and get a card to fit in there, and he ever overclocks the that thing, itll light on fire :D I see those things at school that they use is pure joke in size, but it is a space saver.

That 8600GT will play The orange box on high settings just fine.04dcarraher

none of the gfx cards mentioned in this post will max tf2 or come close to it.simardbrad

Woah.. How? i used to max HL2, CSS, Doom 3 etc when I had an ATI X800XT, AMD 64 3200 and 1 gb of ram... I got an average of 80+ fps at 1280 x 1024 4xAA and 16AF. I'm sure those cards will easily max it.

The nice thing about the 4650 (noted above) is that by all accounts it runs fine off the factory-installed PSU for the Inspiron 530S. (Dell actually apparently underrates its PSUs -- it calls the Inspiron 530S's 250W, but it's really 300W or a little more.) Another reviewer posted that it runs w/o any problem in his Gateway with a 220W PSU (!), and that HL2 and even the new Batman demo (drool) run fine.

Anyway, that card saves you having to buy a new PSU, and then struggle to fit that into the teensy-weensy case, too. Also no need for a new fan 'cause it runs very cool. I just ordered mine and it's supposed to be here by Monday, and then it's slot 'n' play; so I'll be able to let you know how it works soon.

OK, now I'm drooling w/ anticipation. Read some more reviews; and by Monday, acc. to another Dell small-form-factor upgrader, I'll be able to play Call of Duty 5: World at War at about 40-50fps.

Not to mention that Batman demo.

The computer always had the guts (Intel Core 2 Duo @ 3.00GHz, 3GB RAM). Now, with a decent lo-pro video card, I'll get the glory.

(I hope. Stay tuned for field results early next week.)

Galaxy 96GFF6VIFCXX GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 SLI Supported Low Profile Video Card - Retail

Slimline Dell users are all over that graphic card's reviews. Read some and you'll be convinced this is the card for you.

Hmmm. Aside from that one requiring a power source upgrade, too -- external, since it won't fit in the case, which means drilling cable holes 'n' stuff -- there are an awful lot of complaints that it runs very hot; and really, really LOUD. (I don't mind a little noise, but when one guy compares it to a hovercraft and says headphones are mandatory just to muffle the noise....) Not saying it's not a powerful card that will fit the case; but I'm still happy I decided to go for the 4670 and won't have to also buy and mount an external power supply and don ear shielding before switching the computer on. :)

But I guess I'm personally the sort who goes for the Honda over the Jaguar -- I want to be able to drive at reasonable speeds inexpensively and with minimal time in the garage for repairs and rebuilding. If one just wants pure power, the above card does seem to deliver that; no doubt about it.

Certainly it's better to have the choice, so tx for adding to the rather skimpy list of graphic-upgrade options for us unwitting owners of seriously anorexic computers.

Hmmm. Aside from that one requiring a power source upgrade, too -- external, since it won't fit in the case, which means drilling cable holes 'n' stuff -- there are an awful lot of complaints that it runs very hot; and really, really LOUD. (I don't mind a little noise, but when one guy compares it to a hovercraft and says headphones are mandatory just to muffle the noise....) Not saying it's not a powerful card that will fit the case; but I'm still happy I decided to go for the 4670 and won't have to also buy and mount an external power supply and don ear shielding before switching the computer on. :)

But I guess I'm personally the sort who goes for the Honda over the Jaguar -- I want to be able to drive at reasonable speeds inexpensively and with minimal time in the garage for repairs and rebuilding. If one just wants pure power, the above card does seem to deliver that; no doubt about it.

Certainly it's better to have the choice, so tx for adding to the rather skimpy list of graphic-upgrade options for us unwitting owners of seriously anorexic computers.

sywi

The reviews say it runs fine on 250W-300W PSUs.

I guess some do, don't they. I had to read down a bit, though. The reviews on top all seem to talk about having to buy a new PSU. (I didn't read past those because that had seemed to be the consensus for 9600+ cards in my past research: i.e. that the factory-installed PSU for most non-gaming "consumer" PCs won't really cut it. I guess it can. But I'd rather not have to worry. And, yeah, I know I sound like a girl; but I come by that honestly.);)

Actually, I'm probably just in "cautious" mode because I'm sitting here looking forlornly at a never-used 4670 card that would blaze through games -- if it worked with the rest of my setup, which it doesn't, and so is relegated to being a somewhat expensive paperweight. And btw: If there's a market or a swap-meet for graphics cards that someone knows about, please let me know. A fine, pristine card is going to waste, when someone could be using it to play Crysis maxed out on a Dell/Gateway/Acer/etc. that's not as imperially slim, or fussy, as mine. Or, maybe I'll figure out how to take everything functional out of my computer, stick it in a nice roomy new case, and then play with it myself. I'd feel even stupider about breaking my new computer than I do about believing the OEM's sales guy about graphics upgrades, though, and that would be bad. So I play it safe.

Monday, I'll throw some games at the 4650 and have some actual data to report.

I can report at this point that Call of Duty 4 is one cool-looking game. Runs fine. Goodbye, integrated graphics, hello games!!

Oh, and Crysis is gorgeous. I want to put my gun down and just go swimming in that water.

More seriously, Crysis is running at 35-45 FPS on medium (actually, I had it on high before turning Fraps on and didn't notice any sluggishness then either). I don't hear a thing from the new card's fan, either. Sweeeeet.

I can't max out TF2 with a 8800gs, so it's not going to work for a 8600gt.crazy-player

funny b/c i know an hd 4670 can and the 8800gs is slightly better (not by much) you just had a bad cpu at the time.