Replacing graphics card

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Darktan2112

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My GeForce 7300 LE is dying. I'm starting to see pink and green dots and stripes all over my screen when the card starts to work harder. I'm don't have enough money to buy a whole new computer, so what's the best replacement for my four-year old setup without bottlenecking it? Can I get a non-integrated card? I don't care how much it costs, as long as it doesn't over-perform for my system.

CPU - Dual Pentium 4, 3.06 MHz
OS - XP Pro service pack 3
Monitor - Dell E177FP 1280 x 1024 @ 60Hz 5:4
Motherboard -Dell 0WG864
Power Supply - Dell DM061
RAM - 512mb + 512mb

Anything else you'd need to know?
 
That would be the power supply model number, I need the actual model of the dell system, not the model of the motherboard either. Is it a dimension? Do you have a service tag number?
 
Looks like you got a pci-express slot for a dedicated card. What kind of games do you play and what would your budget be?
 
Either the ati 4600 series or nvidia 9500 series. Look on newegg.com or tigerdirect.com or anywhere local in your area.
 
No it should work well with that system. Quite an upgrade from a 7300le you should be happy.

BTW what do you mean by ''dual pentium 4'', there's no such thing as a Pentium 4 dual core. Do you mean your CPU has hyper threading?
 
I would suggest that this is not your graphics card dying but your PSU!

Dell's PSUs are widely considered to be poor quality, or at the very least only designed for orginal specs for 4 years.

The graphical annomolies that you describe are more commonly caused by underpowered systems. This can cause overheating and then graphics glitches.

Please borrow and carefully install a different PSU of reasonable quality and wattage into your machine to test this. This will tell you if you need a new graphics card or PSU, or both.

In terms of your graphics card question

This is $3 more, you get Direct X 11, higher clocks and a better card. This HD4670 will give you the latest Direct X capabilities at a speed similar to the 8800GT at your current monitor's resolution. That will play Cryisis respectfully if asked.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814141114

Its all pretty irrelevant though as you need a new PSU whatever crappy card you choose. Good luck man!
 
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First of all, a 4670 is NOT direct X 11. And Nvidia drivers are much easier especially since he already has a Nvidia card. Sometimes having both drivers on a PC can cause issues.

Second, I doubt it's his PSU since the card is purely powered by the motherboard and does not have an external 6 pin connector. Also, a 7300le draws almost no power at all.

And third, higher clocks mean absolutely nothing when comparing different cards. A gtx260 only has a 576mhz core clock, but would absolutely DESTROY a 4670 in any and all tests.

That all being said, that 4670 is actually a good deal. But it is $10 over his budget after shipping. And also I'm not sure he's experienced enough to wipe all the Nvidia drivers and install ATI drivers affectively. ATI drivers are not for novices.
 
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87dtna said:
First of all, a 4670 is NOT direct X 11. And Nvidia drivers are much easier especially since he already has a Nvidia card. Sometimes having both drivers on a PC can cause issues.

Second, I doubt it's his PSU since the card is purely powered by the motherboard and does not have an external 6 pin connector. Also, a 7300le draws almost no power at all.

And third, higher clocks mean absolutely nothing when comparing different cards. A gtx260 only has a 576mhz core clock, but would absolutely DESTROY a 4670 in any and all tests.
Click to expand...

Apologies for the DX11 call, i meant 10.1, however, its a step up from nVidia. The HD4670 will spank the 9500 any day of the week.

Current nVidia usage means absolutely nothing with a driver uninstall. Then use driver sweeper (http://downloads.guru3d.com/Guru3D---Driver-Sweeper-(Setup)-download-1655.html) to completely uninstall nVidia drivers. Shutdown. Install new ATi card. Restart. Install drivers. Done.

A PSU's 12V rail amperage availability is irrelevant to whether a card has a 6 pin adapator or not. The computer's 12V power requirements stays the same (or higher due to heat) but the PSU's efficiency and ability drops over time. Especially in shit quality units like the Dell. An indicator of this is termed Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) in hours. This is the amount of hours before the PSU goes out of ATX spec at 25oC. It is usually 80,000 hours or less at 25oC. Most PSUs run at much higher temps, shortening the MTFB. Quality MTFB ratings are given at 40oC.

The problems relate to capacitor ageing and component quality of the Dell PSU. This PSU could be as low as 50% efficient now. That means it could need to draw around 140W from the wall to deliver 70W 12V DC to your graphics card, CPU (old hot) and other components (12V rail). Add the effects of heat, dust, capacitor age = PSU fails to provide sufficient 12V rail amperage or stability. No active PFC, low efficiency, low MTFB rating, no overvoltage protection. This may all be on a US 110V system making it significantly more inefficient without PFC!

This is common as hell and can definately cause the symptoms reported. The card may not be faulty. If the PSU is faulty and you put the Geforce9500 or any other modern card in it it - bang or smoke, or fire.

Then you lose the lot.

Go for it.
 
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There's no REAL difference between 10 and 10.1. There's nothing you can do with 10.1 that you can't do with 10.0. It was simply an ATI sales tactic. A 4670 is closer to a 9600gt in performance, an 8800gt is slightly stronger. But yes it is stronger than the 9500gt, BUT is more expensive. If he's been fine with a 7300le, a 9500gt is gonna be worlds better while retaining the maximum ease of installation.

One other tidbit, his board may not work with a 4670 anyway. A 4670 has a 60w TDP, his board only has a x16 1.0 slot which is only capable of delivering 50w of power. A 2.0 slot can deliver 75w so it's normally not a problem. A 9500gt is simply the safest solution all around and fits his budget perfectly.

A driver uninstall does not whipe the drivers completely.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea replacing the PSU. Do dell's use a standard ATX PSU?
 
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