Need a graphics card upgrade Dell Vostro 200

[obiter dictum]

I have just ordered this Power unit. It has the same dimensions as the existing 250 Watt power unit so should fit in nicely. Only £13.00 for a 500 Watt unit

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-500W-Black-12CM-Silent-Fan-PC-Power-Supply-ATX-Computer-PSU-500-Watt-SATA-/201257564181?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2edbe2b815

 

The Processor i currently have is

 

Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU E4500 @ 2.20GHz

[BazzaS]

Probably near limit for board and chipset,

 

Agreed. I think it is at the limit for board and chipset, based on what the link I provided earlier in the thread suggests for compatible CPU upgrades. That link also notes the need to update the BIOS BEFORE installing the new processor.

 

that 250 watt psu would be marginal at best already. Would be difficult to replace with anything beefier due to case. Could fit components into a new case so long as motherboard has standard ATX/MicroATX form, and not a bespoke Dell abortion. But again diminishing returns unless someone has a redundant tower with say a 450 watt PSU on gumtree or eBay cheap.

 

OP stated (higher up in the thread) that they were replacing the 250W PSU already with a 500W PSU.

 

I was thinking more along the lines of "is the incremental increase in CPU power worth it", and "is the OP happy removing an existing CPU, and inserting a new one while ensuring the new one has adequate heatsink / thermal compund.

Memory : easy install, within most people's comfort zone. CPU: not everyone's cup of tea!.

 

 

The Processor i currently have is

 

Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU E4500 @ 2.20GHz

 

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/592/Intel_Core_2_Duo_E4500_vs_Intel_Core_2_Duo_E8600.html

[obiter dictum]

Just throw cauthion to the wind,

 

All i wanted to do was upgrade this old DEll so my nephew can play games etc. The process has been so cheap i almost have a new PC and has only cost

 

 

Asus Radeon Graphics card (£21.00)

Memory upgrade (£10.00) now 4 GB Ram

Azus Zoner 5.1 sound card (15.00)

Power Supply 500 Watts (£13.00)

 

I virtually have a new PC for only £60.00

 

Looking on the Dell forums they are saying you might as well go for a new ATX Motherboard and APU Chip

 

They are really cheap, just end up with a totally new PC for a fraction of the price

 

What do you think people any best suggestions, i might end up keeping this for myself and give my nephew my current laptop

[brassnecked]

The result is none too shabby for day to day and some gaming, That PSU should be fine for what you are doing. AMD APU are looking a good option for the basis of a cheap general use rig, the onboard graphics are better than Intel in many cases, but the CPU is less powerful, but not too noticeably so in general.

[obiter dictum]

What are your views on this? Considering i already have a new Azus Graphics and 5.1 Sound card

 

I will have in effect a brand new top notch computer for £200 all in

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/M5A97-R2-0-Motherboard-PCI-Express-Socket/dp/B008RPZ5SC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436521422&sr=8-1&keywords=atx+mother+boards+and+chips

 

With

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-FX6300-Edition-4-1GHz-Socket/dp/B009O7YORK/ref=pd_bxgy_147_text_y

 

£144.00 for the both

[brassnecked]

Good board and a reasonable CPU for a budget build, however a note of caution, that RAM in the Vostro it will be DDR2 in all probability, so would not match that ASUS motherboard which would need DDR3.

[obiter dictum]

Thanks Brassnecked

 

My reasoning is now for the future upgrades options

 

I have had a nose and i can pick up 2X4 Gb of DDR 3 for about £40.00

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-FURY-1866MHz-Memory-Module/dp/B00J8E91T0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436523048&sr=8-1&keywords=ddr3+ram

 

So all in i am looking at a total outlay of £240.00 for a Brand New machine that will cost more than double that in the shops no doubt.

[brassnecked]

Thanks Brassnecked

 

My reasoning is now for the future upgrades options

 

I have had a nose and i can pick up 2X4 Gb of DDR 3 for about £40.00

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-FURY-1866MHz-Memory-Module/dp/B00J8E91T0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436523048&sr=8-1&keywords=ddr3+ram

 

So all in i am looking at a total outlay of £240.00 for a Brand New machine that will cost more than double that in the shops no doubt.

 

That isn't too bad at all, the AMD Hexacore is a decent CPU,and that ASUS board is good also , but buy a standard tower case for about £15 to get rid of the Dell tower restrictions.

[BazzaS]

If you are going: ("new" meaning not from the Dell mini tower"):

New motherboard,

New CPU

New tower case

New DDR3 RAM,

New sound card,

New PSU,

And you have a Win 8.1 disk (depending if you have a separate license and don't need the Dell's license to use 8.1 as an upgrade .....)

 

Would you still use the Dell as a basic gaming machine for your nephew?

He'd still have a machine with 4Gb, a better graphics card, and a sound card.

 

You could then concentrate on your machine with a more upgrade able

[BazzaS]

If you are going: ("new" meaning not from the Dell mini tower"):

New motherboard,

New CPU

New tower case

New DDR3 RAM,

New sound card,

New PSU,

And you have a Win 8.1 disk (depending if you have a separate license and don't need the Dell's license to use 8.1 as an upgrade .....)

 

Would you still use the Dell as a basic gaming machine for your nephew?

He'd still have a machine with 4Gb, a better graphics card, and a sound card.

 

You could then concentrate on your machine with a more upgradeable motherboard, your less limited CPU, a better (but still inexpensive) graphics card, and DDR3 RAM.

You could use Win 8.1 (and then move to Win 10).

It'd mean buying a new hard drive too, rather than using the one from the Dell, but you could consider either a hybrid, or a small SSD for the OS / regularly used files, with a conventional HD for bulk storage.

Sure it is now paying for 2 machines, but you are freed of the fetters of the original Dell's limitations, and your nephew still gets his Dell back, upgraded?

[obiter dictum]

I agree totally Bazzas

 

Any way, the ASUS 5.1 digital sound card is in place as well as the ASUS graphics card. All up and running well.

 

I have not put them through there paces yet but what surprised me is that i am still using the original 250 Watt power unit at the moment and no issues. The new 500 watt power unit should be with me tomorrow anyway

[numbers666]

http://www.cclonline.com/product/167425/MZ-75E500B/EU/Solid-State-Drives-SSDs-/Samsung-850-EVO-MZ-75E500B-500GB-Solid-State-Drive-SATA-6Gb/s-2-5-inch-Internal-Basic/SSD0106/ not advertising but a good price avoid OCZ great tech support for RMA of drives... I've had 3 replaced in 18 months.

 

I build a basic fx4100 box but was able to over the year upgrade CPU to 8350 octo core then ram to 8gb 2133mhz overspeced for board, got a 780 ti.. Then got a couple of 2gb and run in raid for data, then the ssd for OS.

 

Then got a rog formula 5 MB... Transfered the bits, upgraded the PSU to 1200w, then added two more 780ti's , a few case fans additional.

 

I brought all the parts from either Amazon deals as customer returns ie the motherboard should have been 199.00 but I got it for 89.00 still with a full warranty. The PSU should have been 190, got for 80.

 

The 2gb hard d came from Argos!!! Were external USB drives, Seagate internals, only 49.00 on offer at Xmas. I took me out of cases....

 

The GPUs came from eBay. 1st one cost 300.00. Next two 210 and 150.00. Its a gamble but paid off.

 

I have 3 HP x2301 monitors on it. All off eBay, bout 80 quid. Not made since 2013 so rare as rocking horse....

 

What I am trying to say is plan ahead.... Get components that can be used in the future .....

 

I have from the spare bits a quad core 3.8ghz 12gb Linux box running on the end of infinity

2 a webserver hosting multiple sites, game tools etc. Also hosts my media for home use.

 

It is not in a case but one on my desk drawers, a motherboard, PSU, HDDs, and a cat5 plugged in !!!

 

All this to run bf4......