Best compatible vid card for an Inspiron 530S

[Belial]

I am looking to get a new video card for the update and I have a Dell running windows vista.  My tower is kinda thin and I have read it is limited on the cards it will accept.  Does anyone know what cards would be good and compatible with this model?

[BaldEagl]

You'll probably need a low profile card but more importantly you'll need the power to run it.  We'll need to know the model number of your computer to detrmine what type of expansion slots it has and what type of PSU is installed.

[1701E]

The Specs for that model mention; One (1) PCI-E x16 Unused.  Seems every one of these things use different PSUs, but one that seems about average is:



All I can find on the PSU right now.

[Fulmar]

If the case is thinner than normal PCs, they probably use a non-standard ATX PSU (can't recall what they call them).  Anyways, they're smaller and it makes upgrading them to a more powerful PSU (to allow better video cards) very difficult.

[Getback]

Is this somewhat of a backup machine for gaming? Just curious.

[BaldEagl]

If 1701 is right on the PSU he could get a low profile 9500 GT.  I would fit both the case and the PSU.  And that's only if he already has a 300W PSU with 18 amps on the 12V.  Anything more than that would require a PSU upgrade.

[Belial]

I dont know anything about computers my brother does and was trying to help me find the right one.  As far as the model number i'm not sure what to tell you other than the  Dell Inspiron.530S.


I'm guessing I will need a low profile card and power supply.  I think that my power supply is 250.


The card I have says this
total graphics memory=286MB
system video memory=128MB
shared system memory=158MB

Intel(R)GMA 3100
Intel(R)G33/G31 Express Chipset Family

I dont know what any of that means that help at all?           8600GT  I saw a few places saying this card may be correct I am clueless<

                                                                           
 <NM GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card>this looks like a low profile<

[BaldEagl]

The bad news is you only have a 250W power supply so to upgrade your video you're also going to have to upgrade the PSU.  The good news is your case fits a standard ATX power supply.

Since you neglected to let us know how much money you have for this upgrade, here's a selection of cards that would fit your case in prices ranging from $40-110.  As the price goes up the cards get better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=Property&N=2010380048&StoreType=-1&CompareItemList=N82E16814102829%2cN82E16814162016%2cN82E16814187063%2cN82E16814150335%2cN82E16814187061&OEMMark=0&PropertyCodeValue=4195%3a30408%2c4195%3a31894%2c696%3a9641%2c696%3a33099&bop=And

You'll need a minimum  300W PSU with about 18 amps or thereabouts to run the lowest end card on this list and a 400W PSU with about 26 amps to run the best one.  Here's a list of power supplies ranging from $50-80.  Any of the three higher end PSU's will run any of the cards above.  Buy the lower end PSU only if you get the lowest end card on the list.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=Property&N=2010320058&OEMMark=0&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A14176%2C1314%3A14175%2C2954%3A18939%2C4097%3A43843%2C4097%3A43844%2C4097%3A30089%2C4097%3A43845&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=False&CompareItemList=N82E16817151074%2CN82E16817151057%2CN82E16817139003%2CN82E16817151035

[Belial]

nice bald this looks close to what I needed to know thanks <S>

[katanaso]

FWIW, I put the Sapphire 4650 into my 530s, without upgrading the power supply, and it runs very well.

I'm running Vista 64-bit, 4GB RAM, and two HD's in RAID1, a fast 4GB thumbdrive for ReadyBoost, along with the 4650, and I haven't had any issues with the power.

In playing AH, the frame rate is usually bouncing between 59 and 60 at 1280x1024, only slowing down in large furballs.  It ran higher res fine too, but I had trouble making out the details since things were so small.

It's this card:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102829

The card also overclocks pretty well without getting too hot, so that's a big plus since the 530s case has mediocre airflow.


mir