Upgrading my video card?

Question

Upgrading my video card?

Answer 1

you do not improve a video card, you purchase a sparkling one. The RAM question relies upon lots on your working gadget, which you do not point out. uneven video additionally makes your internet connection suspect. you are able to keep your previous video exhibit, keyboard, mouse, and so on., and only get a sparkling "container" for a pair hundred dollars. Your problems would be solved. If that's not achievable, start up with including RAM. What you will discover although, is older RAM is expensive and you do not possibly get the "bang" to your dollar. do not even evaluate PAYING somebody to try this artwork for you. the cost of areas and labor will exceed the "purchase a sparkling container for a pair hundred" concept mentioned previously. suitable of luck to you. OH, I seek for suggestion from on the area for human beings paying for desktops. I build them. i'm a gamer. I spend way too lots money on my computing gadget that i'm constantly including to. I continuously have the quickest video card, RAM max'd out, quickest processor, and a dedicated 768k line to my living house. I nonetheless get the occasional uneven sign from google, youtube, and so on. you will by no ability fix which will the kit you very own. the themes there upward thrust up interior the WWW generally, problems your internet provider provider, and various situations from the source.

Answer 2

You need to post what model of Dell computer you have, and is it a desktop, or notebook?



A few years ago, 2GB of RAM was plenty, but this is not the case today. You need at least 4GB, and most folks now prefer 6-8GB, especially if they game at all. However, if you are using 32 bit version of Vista instead of the 64 bit version, your max will be 4GB. But regardless, you need 4GB.



There are three things you have to know when considering upgrading your graphics card. The first is your power supply unit or PSU. A graphics card is the most power hungry component in any system, and if you do not have an adequate PSU, you wont be able to get a decent card. This is the most important thing you need to know. And if it's an older Dell, you likely have a weak PSU. Most of the time, a PSU can be upgraded, but in older Dells and HPs, they cannot. These companies used proprietary connectors which ensured that you cant use regular PSUs that are easily obtained. If your Dell is newer (3-5 years old), it probably uses a regular type, size, and shape (called ATX form factor). If so, you can get a new PSU for $60-80 bucks and that issue will be fixed.



2nd point - if you find that your have at least a 450-500 watt PSU already, then you might be able to go ahead and upgrade your card. But the second point to consider is your CPU. If you have an older CPU (such as the one you listed), you cannot get too good or fast of a graphics card, or the CPU will be trying to play catch up to it all the time, and this will slow down your system immensely. This is referred to as a "bottleneck." Its not good, and it's often necessary to upgrade your CPU just to get a decent card. (I know - not good).



3rd point - if you have a decent wattage PSU (450- 500 watts), and you only want a low-mid range card, then you need an open PCIe slot on your motherboard. You may have an older graphics card already, so you can check the info on that card and see if it's a PCIe card (it likely is), and then you would just remove that old one and put the new one in the same slot.



After that all that you do is install the latest drivers for the card and off you go.



A good mid level card for you if you meet all the requirements would be the Radeon HD 5670. It doesn't require any connection to the PSU like most cards, and will work off a 450 watt PSU (It draws its power from the motherboard but you still need at least 450 watts).



Good luck- here's a link to that card-



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150535



This card will do great playing just about any current game on low-med settings.



Just remember- if you get to the point where you are spending more than $300 to upgrade, then it's time to consider getting a whole new computer.

Answer 3

Even with a good graphics card your GB and your processor will just kill it. Open the case on the side of your computer if you're brave enough and check how many watts you have on your computer. The watts should be labeled on your Power Supply the thing you plug your computer into for it to turn on.



Then find a graphics card in bestbuy that fits your power supply that way it doesn't just fry because your power supply outputted below requirements for your graphics card.

Answer 4

I suggest getting a new computer with windows vista being a bad OS, im not sure what your budget is but you can get a pretty decent computer for around a 700-1000 bucks.



best buy has some pretty good computers take a look at this one should suit your needs



http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Essentio+Desktop+/+AMD+Phenom%26%23153%3B+II+X6+Processor+/+8GB+Memory+/+1TB+Hard+Drive/1243364.p?id=1218240378508&skuId=1243364

Answer 5

Couple things will help me. First off I would like you to download and install then run this http://www.piriform.com/speccy/download . THis will show us what you have in there. Give us a better overall picture. After that I would like you to go here http://speedtest.net/ and click Begin Test. PAY ATTENTION TO WHICH BUTTON YOU CLICK. Click Begin Test. When it is done please click on share then click on copy. NOT FOR THE FORUM. Just click copy for the URL and then paste the link in your add details section along with a copy and paste of your Speccy summary page. If you do it right we will see a list of info like this



Operating System

MS Windows 7 64-bit SP1

CPU

Intel Core i5 2500K @ 3.30GHz 29 °C

Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology

RAM

8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-25)

Motherboard

MSI P67A-G43 (MS-7673) (SOCKET 0) 32 °C

Graphics

DELL 1704FPV (1280x1024@60Hz)

COMPAQ FS7600 (1024x768@85Hz)

1280MB GeForce GTX 570 Classified HD (EVGA) 38 °C

Hard Drives

78GB Western Digital WDC WD800JD-00MSA1 ATA Device (SATA) 20 °C

977GB Seagate ST31000528AS ATA Device (SATA) 25 °C

Optical Drives

ATAPI iHAS124 Y ATA Device

Audio

Realtek High Definition Audio



and a link like this http://www.speedtest.net/result/1581442835.png . We will then be able to have a better idea what's really going on and the best way to go about upgrading .We also need a budget. Lastly what games are lagging?





EDIT: WOW!!!! That CPU is hot.



Well with the info we can rule out your connection. That is SCREAMING fast relative to most of the residential connections. Suddenlink, Comcast or Time Warner is probably your provider. Your ping(43ms) is low enough so that it won't affect online gaming so regardless of the game your connection is fast enough so that it won't negatively affect your gaming.





Yes it is sorta your RAM's fault. That is DDR2 RAM which is slower than modern DDR3 RAM. This however is decided by your board so unless you can afford a new computer we will have to deal with that.



Do a search for "AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2.5GHz 2x512KB Socket AM2 Dual-Core CPU" over at Amazon. That is an archaic CPU but faster than your current one and if you try and buy a brand new AM2 right now they will be insanely expensive.



Your CPU is hot but not in the dangerous area of hot. However unless you are doing some MAJOR gaming while your asking that question your CPU should be a LOT cooler. With a stock cooler maybe around 50°C. You didn't give a total budget so take a look at these AM2 CPU coolers http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000574&IsNodeId=1&Description=am2%20cooler&bop=And&Order=RATING&PageSize=20 . Those will keep your CPU cooler and that usually equates to longer life.





Below are some choices. I would reallystay away from higher end cards like the 570 even if you do have the money because that CPU will hold back the gfx card. A system needs to be balanced and unless you upgrade your CPU as well your upgrade option will be more limited.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150560



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103122 With that $30 MIR this is a good deal.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130696 has a $20 rebate and it is superclocked which is VERY nice.



I really wouldn't go too much higher. Your old dirt road RAM and your CPU will hold up traffic.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013&Tpk=550W%20PSU%20XFX is more than enough SAFE and EFFICIENT power to power your card and the rest of your system. I wouldn't go ANY less than this power supply. Absolute minimum for those cards is 500W so that 550W will be perfect.



Should you opt for a new computer please do NOT go for a hex core . The Pheom x 6 or FX 8 core need to be avoided like the plague when gaming. The 980 BE will be plenty powerful enough and is more task oriented than the hex or 8 core processors. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2 is a good site to compare processors side by side . They show many tests including many gaming benchmarks.