Looking for quick RAM/Video card upgrade..

H

HLA0392

New Member
I am looking to just upgrade my ram and video card on my current computer and i had a few questions. I am not trying to go for anything as far as extreme performance goes, just a little more capabilities than i already have now.


I am running a dell dimension 9150 (yeah, i know how bad dells are...) and right now i have 2 gigs of DDR2 (i believe) RAM and a 256mb geforce 7900GS video card (PCIe)


Now my question is... can i just throw another 2 gigs of DDR2 ram in there and it will read as 4 gigs? I still have 2 open slots inside my computer.

And as far as video cards are concerned.. i was thinking something along the lines of this: here

Will that work? If so, is there something else you guys would recommend for the money/if it isnt compatible what should i do?

My power supply is 375 watts

Not running too many games on it... maybe battlefield 2142 occasionally and also the sims 3, as for right now battlefield runs fine but the sims is a tad slow/graphically glitchy, but i would really like more ram and a better vid card.


thanks alot!
 
HLA0392 said:
yeah, well eventually i will i just dont really want to spring for it just yet.... thanks
Click to expand...

which os are you running? in order to get all of the ram you need a 64 bit. 32 bit only lets you use about 3 gb of your total ram.

what brand psu is it? the minimum for that card is 400 w. you only have 375 but if it is a cheap psu then you might as well only have 300+.
 
idk the PSU is whatever dell comes stock with, and i am running windows XP media center edition, im guessing that it is 32bit, so should i only get another gig stick?
 
HLA0392 said:
idk the PSU is whatever dell comes stock with, and i am running windows XP media center edition, im guessing that it is 32bit, so should i only get another gig stick?
Click to expand...

yes, unless you get a 64 bit version of your os. if you don't know what ram you have, go to this:
http://www.cpuid.com/
the one you want is the first one, cpu-z. install that and go under the "memory" tab and it will tell you what ram you have. or i think you can just go into bios and look it up too...
 
I have 2048mb of DDR2 SDRAM... idk man my computer is just pretty slow and i have run numerous virus scans and adware/spyware programs and cleaned everything up.. its just slow.

As far as a new PSU, i suppose it cant hurt... what should i be looking at? im trying to spend the least amount of money as possible, along with another gig of ram and a new vid card
 
A new PSU is not an option if you are getting a new video card, it is a necessity.

You can get:

Power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131162

+ memory of your choice

Remember though, both the 9800gt you posted and that 4850 are fairly large cards, and also remember dell like to use strange sized parts, including the power supply, so you *MAY* have to get a new case also to fit it all in to. Do a little measuring before you commit to buying anything
 
alright thanks, ill take some measurements cause the last thing i want is a new case lol.


But for now I think im gonna wipe my hard drive (how exactly do i do this? I know dell's come with a cd that does it but i must have lost it...)


then get a new vid card and a new PSU and i think i should be good for a little while.


thanks
 
alright thanks ill take some measurements cause the last thing i want is a new case lol.


I think im also gonna wipe my hard drive out... (anybody know the way to do this on dells? i know they come with a CD but i must have lost it somewhere...)


and im gonna get a new vid card and PSU, hold off on the RAM just for a little while and see how it runs..


thanks for the help
 
is it just me but im i the only one that saw the 9800gt he originaly posted doent have any power connectors. if thats the case then i wouldnt worry too much on the power supply, although it would be a good investment...brand wise, i would say corsair or antec, just to name a couple. but isnt that weird that the 9800gt doesnt have any power connectors?...or am i missing something?
 
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