video skpping / lag problem help plz

D

Denx

New Member
I bought a dell e521 about a month ago. It was having delay problems while runing games and I didn't know what was causing it. I asked on these forums and was advised that I might need more ram since vista is kind of a performance hog. So i purchased another GB of ram putting me at 2Gb. This increased its performance but im still getting the lag / delay problem while runing games.

The only other two things I could think of it being are #1: My wireless which usually has good stable connection and latency and I download things fast although its a possibility or #2 The video card I received in the comp is messed up. I know the video card is a lower end card but I didn't think it would cause the type of skiping im seeing. The skipping im seeing is a breif pause and then it skipping to the right time. I mean the only options it could still be are those right? The problem happens in multiple games from css to WoW to WC3 so its not a game issue. My next guess was gonna be graphics card but any second opions would be great.
 
Latency only has a small impact on applications. So it's not that. Can you tell us what your video card is? If you don't know how to find out Run "dxdiag" (without the quotes) from the start menu, go to the display tab and tell me what it says under devices.
 
<LI class=point_normal>256MB PCI ExpressTM NVIDIA® GeForce® 7300LE TurboCache7 <LI class=point_normal>256MB ATI X1300 Pro <LI class=point_normal>Integrated NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE graphic GPUhttp://www.dell.com/content/product...imen_e521?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=specstab

Do you know if it's ATI or NVidia there? If you are running the onboard that would explain quite a bit right there. The ATI Radeon X1300 Pro while being far from a high ender still runs games and multimedia here without issue. This is on Vista as well as the two 32bit versions of XP. The 7300LE is also a kind of low ender at this point which suggests a possible mismatch with the 1gb of memory added if different from what came with the Dell model there.

Another thing to note is that Vista is still in it's "infancy" as far as updates and driver support. You also have other preinstalled softwares and processes running in the background that can drag things down. Either of the two cards shown as being the default are sadly lacking for a Vista machine. But that's Dell sticking the low end crap in! Budget everything, budget video and sound, budget memory, budget this, budget that, budget......
 
Is a "video adapter" aka video card? Yes its a 7300le nvidia one of the options dell had for this computer that came from manufactor. So it seems most people think it is the graphics card is not up to par? I swear I don't understand why they would even have a computer that can't run things properly. I know i didn't buy a gaming PC but I payed a good $700 something and now prolly $800+ with the upgrades I put in it so far. I guess I will look into getting a graphics card and see if it fixes my problems. I was looking at a xfx 7900 on newegg for around $175 or $155 after rebates. Anyone know if this card will install without problems or me having to buy a new PSU aswell.
 
That's a loooowwwww end 305w model supply seen in that model according to the specifications on it. Talk about "low ending" that's less than the bare minimum advised by board manufacturers themselves where 350w or higher is the advice! I guess Dell has turned into nothing but a profit house to see a supply with the lowest bare minimum power to run the system there. The serious lack is the most likely reason for the lags and other problems being seen.

Gaming and multimedia alike will place power demands on the supply through the video card as well as installed sound cards or onboard. That model is one of their budget desktops with a second look at the specifications seen on it. Tell them you need a better supply in it. You need a 350-400w model just for the card you have there right now.
 
Is it really hard to install a new PSU if I purchase a new one? Feel free to provide links to newegg PSU that are compatible and whatnot and thanks for input so far I never would have figured the low power thing.
 
It will depend on how the supply is mounted on that model. Dell is noted for rearranging the bolt pattern so only "their" replacement supplies will fit. The smallest PC Power + Cooling model seen at newegg is the Silencer 610 610w model seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817703005&ATT=17-703-005&CMP=OTC-17exta6

If you are not looking for a heavy supply the Silencer 470 400w model is seen for $98 at http://www.eastluna.com/hardware/details.php?id=0488 That's about $20 cheaper then the usual $116 seen everywhere else.
 
ok I just got into a loooong argument with a Dell tech via chat. Of course they wouldn't admit to anything wrong on their part and tried to use everything from drivers to game incompatibility which is a croc because its happening with multiple games. They are going to call me tomorrow to further discuss the issue. At one point the tech tried to tell me dell didnt make over 305watt PSU so I sent him a link to a xps with a 700w psu and he changes it to well thats a multimedia blah blah blah dell makes everything. Point is it would really help if you could find a link to the specs of the 7300le needing a 350watt PSU. I found one that stated it needed it but it was from a site that I wasn't familiar with and I think it was selling them like ebay or something. Anything from tomshardware or nvidia about the reqs of the card will help my case greatly as this is basically my argument to them. Well that and the fact that I am having problems with my computer and dont think I should have to shell out another $200-400 to get it runing the way I think it should be in the first place.
 
The 350w minimum recommendation is not on video cards unless now seeing the power requirements for SLI or Crossfire where they advise 450w or higher. The advisement there is for the newer mother boards since the early Atholon and PII and PIII boards saw 250 or 300w supplies. The 7300LE and X1300 Pro are far from power hungry models. The vpus to start with are smaller tnen you would see on the 7900 and X1900 series cards not to mention 8600 and 8800 models.

Just look at a board manufacturer's specifications on the model board there. Look at the "recommended" 350w amount of power advised. One article discussing the need for an additional 75w of power for PCI-E however was found at http://compreviews.about.com/od/cases/a/ATX12VvATX.htm Does the remaining 305-75=230w ring any bells when board makers advise 350w?
 
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