I need help with power supply & motherboard upgrade on Dell pc (skip to bott

Lets just start by saying I know very little about graphics cards and secondly I'm 16 so bear with me.

I have 2gb ram, dual core (lol: i think thats the right terminology for two processors) 1.8ghz processor and windows Vista 32bit Operating system. I have an awful graphics card which shipped with the PC: don't laugh its the 256mb ATI Radeon X1300 PRO (there is nothing PRO about it: i can't play stalker ffs)

I have as far as i can tell the PCI express slot needed for the card: under device manager i get a reading "PCI Express Root Port". I read into PCI 1.0 and 2.0 and they seem to be backwards compatabile so whichever version that is i think thats not a problem.

What I don't understand is all this overclocked business. Like literally i type into amazon.co.uk 8800 GT and there seem to be a zillion different versions. The sticky guide on this forum had a picture of this one as did a review somewhere else therefore I assume this is the standard version: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Palit-Nvidia-GeForce-8800GT-PCI-Express/dp/B0010WJAD0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1207952753&sr=1-1.

My computer was built by Dell: I only really wanted the internet and a PC capable of running new games on medium to medium low so i didn't attempt to customize it myself or anything. Question: as my PC is pre built does that limit the version of the GT8800 i can get? Question 2: if so, or even if not, which version should i get?

Finally as far as i know (again i literally selected a bullet point when i built my pc on the dell homepage) my current graphics card is just fitted into the PCI slot in PC. I could be wrong ofc but does this mean if i want the 8800GT then i have to buy extras like a power supply to connect to the card? What I'm getting at is that as far as i can tell apart from updating the drivers from the Nvidia website, its not a straightforward procedure installing a new graphics card: you can't just slot it in, update it and :D.

So to conclude: which version of 8800GT should i get, if i can get an overclocked version what does that mean and why is it better, and finally what extras do i need. And is there anything else that may mean that the card either doesn't run or isn't running as well as it should (believe me if it was running at 50% performance i probably wouldn't know).

Regards, Tim. (ignore my stupid username i typed randomn stuff in frustration that all the good usernames were taken up)

Lets just start by saying I know very little about graphics cards and secondly I'm 16 so bear with me.

I have 2gb ram, dual core (lol: i think thats the right terminology for two processors) 1.8ghz processor and windows Vista 32bit Operating system. I have an awful graphics card which shipped with the PC: don't laugh its the 256mb ATI Radeon X1300 PRO (there is nothing PRO about it: i can't play stalker ffs)

I have as far as i can tell the PCI express slot needed for the card: under device manager i get a reading "PCI Express Root Port". I read into PCI 1.0 and 2.0 and they seem to be backwards compatabile so whichever version that is i think thats not a problem.

What I don't understand is all this overclocked business. Like literally i type into amazon.co.uk 8800 GT and there seem to be a zillion different versions. The sticky guide on this forum had a picture of this one as did a review somewhere else therefore I assume this is the standard version: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Palit-Nvidia-GeForce-8800GT-PCI-Express/dp/B0010WJAD0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1207952753&sr=1-1.

My computer was built by Dell: I only really wanted the internet and a PC capable of running new games on medium to medium low so i didn't attempt to customize it myself or anything. Question: as my PC is pre built does that limit the version of the GT8800 i can get? Question 2: if so, or even if not, which version should i get?

Finally as far as i know (again i literally selected a bullet point when i built my pc on the dell homepage) my current graphics card is just fitted into the PCI slot in PC. I could be wrong ofc but does this mean if i want the 8800GT then i have to buy extras like a power supply to connect to the card? What I'm getting at is that as far as i can tell apart from updating the drivers from the Nvidia website, its not a straightforward procedure installing a new graphics card: you can't just slot it in, update it and :D.

So to conclude: which version of 8800GT should i get, if i can get an overclocked version what does that mean and why is it better, and finally what extras do i need. And is there anything else that may mean that the card either doesn't run or isn't running as well as it should (believe me if it was running at 50% performance i probably wouldn't know).

Regards, Tim. (ignore my stupid username i typed randomn stuff in frustration that all the good usernames were taken up)

Overclocked means it just has a higher core/mem clock speed than ones that are not overclocked. Higher clock speeds = more performance. However, better results from an overclocked video card will depend on the speed of your processor and ram. As long as you have a pci-e slot you can get whichever you want.

You may want to check your power supply; 1. amount of watts and/or amps on the 12v rail, 2. pci-e power connector

Your processor is a bit slow but I guess it'll be fine.

Wow i really am stupid the power supply in my PC you mean. Ok well tbh i fon't know: i cannot find it anywhere under Device manager. I was thinking of getting http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001.

Its a OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V which seems to be able to run the 8800GT fine from what people say.

Only problem is the motherboard. I read somewhere that Dell motherboards would overheat with this kind of power supply and that you can only upgrade your motherboard with their own brand which are expensive (and probably a bit balls).

So another 2 questions:

1) Where can i find my power supply my pc uses atm under control panel and device manager etc.

2) Where can i find my motherboard so that I can work out whether that will explode or not.

Wow i really am stupid the power supply in my PC you mean. Ok well tbh i fon't know: i cannot find it anywhere under Device manager. I was thinking of getting http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001.

Its a OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V which seems to be able to run the 8800GT fine from what people say.

Only problem is the motherboard. I read somewhere that Dell motherboards would overheat with this kind of power supply and that you can only upgrade your motherboard with their own brand which are expensive (and probably a bit balls).

Don't know if this helps at all

System:

Manufacturer: Dell

Model: Dimension DM061

Rating: 4.2

Processor: Intel Core 2 CPU 4300 @ 1.80GHz 1.79GHz

Memory: 2046 MB

System Type: 32-bit Operating System

So another 2 questions:

1) Where can i find my power supply my pc uses atm under control panel and device manager etc.

2) Where can i find my motherboard so that I can work out whether that will explode or not.

Sorry to bump again it seems people don't enjoy helping me out as i'm rather dumb when it comes to pc's and prefer to talk about 6000-8000$ ones.

I found this article: "It seems that starting after September of 1998 Dell defected from the cause of industry standardization and began using specially modified Intel supplied ATX motherboards with custom wired power connectors.

An even bigger crime than simply using non-standard power connectors is that only the pinout is non-standard, the connectors look like and are keyed the same as is dictated by true ATX. There is nothing to prevent you from plugging the Dell non-standard power supply into a new industry standard ATX motherboard you installed in your Dell case as an upgrade, or even plugging a new upgraded industry standard ATX power supply into your existing Dell motherboard. But mixing either a new ATX board with the Dell supply or a new ATX supply with the existing Dell board is a recipe for silicon toast.

I spoke with one of the engineers at a major power supply manufacturer, and asked if there was a valid technical reason (maybe some problem in the ATX specification) that would require Dell to use unique connector pinouts. Of course the answer was that, no, the only reason we could imagine they did this is to lock people into purchasing replacement motherboards or power supplies from Dell. In fact what makes this worse is that Dell uses virtually all Intel boards in their systems. One I have uses an Intel D815EEA motherboard, which is the same board used by many of the other major system builders, including Gateway, Micron and others. The same except for the power connectors that is. The difference is that Dell has Intel custom make the boards for Dell with the non-standard connectors. Everybody else gets virtually the same Intel boards, but with industry standard connectors.

If you do decide to upgrade the motherboard in your Dell system (purchased on or after 09/98)_then there is a simple solution, just make sure you replace both the motherboard AND power supply with industry standard ATX components at the same time. That way nothing gets fried, and you'll be back to having a true industry standard ATX system. If you want to replace just the Dell motherboard, you're out of luck unless you get your replacement board from Dell. On the other hand if you want to replace just the power supply, you do have one alternative. PC Power and Cooling now makes a version of their high performance 300W ATX power supply with the modified Dell wiring for about $110. Note that the internals are identical to their industry standard high performance 300W ATX supply (approximately $84), only the number and arrangement of wires has changed.

Does this mean that i can only get a new power supply and motherboard from Dell, because that would be awful. I woke up today wanting a new graphics crad, now i need a card, a new power supply, a new motherboard and they have to be from Dell.

DO i really need a new power supply and motherboard or do you think as my PC is fairly new (last year) that i can avoid it?

THANKS :) i'll open up my PC and try and work out whether my PSU is fast enough. The bad thing is that the GT8800 won't fit: is there anyway i can tell by taking measurements?

Also what do these dell PSU's look like: http://search.euro.dell.com/results.aspx?s=dhs&c=uk&l=en&cs=ukdhs1&k=power+supply&cat=prod. Is the 700w one good enough for the GT8800 assuming i do have enough space?

Ok well thats depressing but nonetheless i need to get my PSU sorted first before i even measure the innards of my PC but thanks v much for the warning.

Did some rummaging and after coughing due to the dust (btw does this affect my pc?) i found this:

Model Number: L305P-01

Dell P/N: NH493

DC Output: 305w

Input: 100 - 120V

(insert Japanese symbols) 200-240V / 4.5A (maybe irrelevant this line)

Output: +5V / 22A MAX

(insert Japanese symbols) +12VA 18A MAX

And the 8800GT i wanted wasn't overclocked or anything just the standard model: link posted at the top.

Ok well thats depressing but nonetheless i need to get my PSU sorted first before i even measure the innards of my PC but thanks v much for the warning.

Did some rummaging and after coughing due to the dust (btw does this affect my pc?) i found this:

Model Number: L305P-01

Dell P/N: NH493

DC Output: 305w

Input: 100 - 120V

(insert Japanese symbols) 200-240V / 4.5A (maybe irrelevant this line)

Output: +5V / 22A MAX

(insert Japanese symbols) +12VA 18A MAX

So if a 8800GT (or slightly worse if it turns out the latter won't fit) needs around 600W i assume my PSU isn't good enough, so then what was http://search.euro.dell.com/results.aspx?s=dhs&c=uk&l=en&cs=ukdhs1&k=power+supply&cat=prod looking like as an official PSU as therefore i wouldn't need to replace my motherboards surely?

And the 8800GT i wanted wasn't overclocked or anything just the standard model: link posted at the top.

if the 8800gt says its overclocked it just means the manufactor has incressed the clock speeds and then charge large amounts extra for a few mhz so don't buy them unless they come with a good game are are the same price as stock clocked cards.

you should be able to put any pcie gpu in a dell but you may need a better power supply since the dell wasn't designed for gaming so probably has a weak p/s, for a 8800gt you will want a power supply with around 20a on the +12v rail and it will need to have a 4 pin pcie contector. you might get by with less than 20a but my old p/s with 18a wasn't enough to run a 8800gt stabily

Ok well thats depressing but nonetheless i need to get my PSU sorted first before i even measure the innards of my PC but thanks v much for the warning.

Did some rummaging and after coughing due to the dust (btw does this affect my pc?) i found this:

Model Number: L305P-01

Dell P/N: NH493

DC Output: 305w

Input: 100 - 120V

(insert Japanese symbols) 200-240V / 4.5A (maybe irrelevant this line)

Output: +5V / 22A MAX

(insert Japanese symbols) +12VA 18A MAX

So if a 8800GT (or slightly worse if it turns out the latter won't fit) needs around 600W i assume my PSU isn't good enough, so then what was http://search.euro.dell.com/results.aspx?s=dhs&c=uk&l=en&cs=ukdhs1&k=power+supply&cat=prod looking like as an official PSU as therefore i wouldn't need to replace my motherboards surely?

And the 8800GT i wanted wasn't overclocked or anything just the standard model: link posted at the top.

hdhdhdhasajkalk

there is no way that will run a 8800gt, you might be able to just run a 8600gt on it. does you mob have a standard 20/24 pin atx power conector?