MauerPower Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I appreciate any help offered, just to preface this. Also, it is MVP-related because I use this computer to play all my MVP on. I am just wondering if a card I am interested in purchasing is compatible with the computer I currently own, and also if my computer has the goods to not "under-utilize" the new card. The card I am interested in is the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro All-in-Wonder, with 128 MB DDR memory, and AGP 8x/4x/2x support. The computer I am running is a Dell Dimension 8250 with a 2.4 GHz processor, and 512 MB ram. It currently has an nVidia GeForce4 MX 420 card. Thanks a ton for any help, and good luck with mods and MVP2005. I am also open to any suggestions (upgrade ram, add something else) to help improve the movie-watching on this computer. It is essentially my home theater, with the Klipsch 4.2 setup I have connected to it. Now I want to improve the graphics end. THANKS! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSpooge Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 As long as your Dell has an AGP slot you should be golden...the 9800 Pro will not be underutilized in any way with that CPU and 512MB RAM. The 9800 Pro AIW is a great card and would be a HUGE improvement over your current card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thome25 Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 dude u should be good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APR Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 My specs are so similar to your PC that it's scary, however, I went with a 6600GT and man am I happy! :mrgreen: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MauerPower Posted May 31, 2005 Author Share Posted May 31, 2005 How about power supply? The one that came stock is only 250W, should I go higher? And what about adding cooling to lower the heat buildup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eber Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 How about power supply? The one that came stock is only 250W, should I go higher? And what about adding cooling to lower the heat buildup? I think you'll definitely need a new PSU, but if I recall correctly, Dell computers have a proprietary PSU and the connectors might be different--so buying a new PSU might not be as easy as going to a store or buying from Newegg or a similar site. Be sure to double check this. Check out this link for a PSU wattage recommendation: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp Input your components and voila! Also, it's most likely similar to a 9500/9700 Pro and has its own connection to the PSU. According to that link, a 9800 Pro's peak wattage is 80 W. As far as cooling goes, it's probably not going to be a major problem, but if you don't at least have an additional exhaust fan (besides the PSU fan) I'd at least add that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eber Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 P.S. I missed the part about using it as a home theater, so, adding an additional exhaust fan will bump up noise levels. The card itself (I think) is not fanless and will also add some noise. Running the system without an exhaust fan should be fine...but I'd double check the system and CPU temps to be sure everything is fine. All cases are different and default cooling will be different for all of them. From what I know of Dell systems, the default cooling is good and the systems are usually whisper quiet. Upgrading to a new PSU and adding that 9800 Pro might add some undesireable "humming" to your home theater system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MauerPower Posted May 31, 2005 Author Share Posted May 31, 2005 Awesome, thanks for all the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MauerPower Posted June 1, 2005 Author Share Posted June 1, 2005 Got one more query. How can I tell if my computer is compatible with AGP 8X? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eber Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Check your manual? I'm guessing you're checking whether the card will be compatible with your computer--your AGP slot might only be 4x or even 2x but the card (a 9800Pro is rated as AGP 8x compatible) will still run fine. From what I've read, there isn't much difference in 4x vs. 8x as companies really haven't utilized the extra bandwidth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.