Upgrading my video card and...

Z

ZerOGoD

New Member
I have a dell dimension 8400 with a 3.0 ghz p4, 1 gb corsair ddr2 twinx xms2 ram, and 512 of the stock ram. I recently purchased a new graphics card because the stock ati radeon 300x se just isnt cutting it for battlefield and the like. I jumped on a buy it now auction on ebay and got an ati radeon x850xl pci-e for $200 dollars. I believe i got quite a deal seeing as how i have been seeing these retail for $400+, but I realized after the auction that it is a "OEM" package meaning its still brand new but only comes with the card and the neccesary power hookups. My questions are:

1. Am I going to need anything extra besides the power hookup in order to play with this card? i.e. drivers, setup discs?
2. Am I going to need a bigger power supply than the stock 350w that came in my dell?
3. If I do need a bigger power supply, are there any others compatible with pc other than the pc power and cooling ultra quiet dell 470 silencer, and possibly cheaper too seeing as that one is $165+ shipping?
4. Am I going to need any additional fans to prevent overheating from the video card and/or larger power supply?
5. How do I find out what kind of fan(s) or cooling systems I need if indeed I do need them?

I know this is a large post and im asking for a lot of input but im just a little overwhelmed and i just want everything to smoothly. Thanks a lot people.
 
1. you can download all the drivers from the manufacturer's website or places like omegadrivers
2. all depends on everything else you're running, my guess is probably not, but if you start getting symptoms of low power, then I guess I'm wrong
3. just look on newegg, you ought to find tons of them there, and unless its a micro size, they should all be about the same dimensions, give or take a couple millimeters
4. more fans are always nice, but the card comes with one on it and I don't know where you're going to mount any in a dell box, so I'd say just use what it comes with to start, if you get heat problems later on, maybe get a slot cooler
5. see 4, get a slot cooler or a fan mounting rack
 
basically just get a new power supply and make sure it has a pci-e power plug. as long as it fits in the case thats all you need to worry about... and no you wont need any extra cooling devices or anything, it should work just fine after you buy a nice power supply.
might i suggest an antec or an aspire?... or even thermaltake :)
 
thanks for the input guys. ive been searching for a nice power supply but the only one i can find that i know for sure is compatible with my dell dimension 8400 is this: http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S47D
which is a little more than i was looking on spending on just a power supply, but you guys say thats all i need? no fans or anything? im just a little paranoid about melting my pcs insides. thanks again.
 
typically any comp will be atx or micro atx, unless it's fairly old (much older than your dell), anyways if you get a case that will fit both of those, you are probably fine. And most any power supply should work, you might need to get a 20 to 24 pin converter or vice versa depending on the power supply and mobo, but other than that it shouldn't matter
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top