NVIDIA Geforce GT 220?

Sorry, but you said your PSU had the following:

+12v/ 18a
+5/17a
+3.3a/22a

If you calculate the wattage, there is no way it should be 160W. My 305W PSU has these exact same amps, just as I said before. I think you should purchase the GT 240 and try it out. I am 90% sure it will be fine because I have the same card here too. If it becomes unstable, then spend the money on the PSU later if you need to (don't think you will) instead of buying it now.

Sorry, but you said your PSU had the following:

If you calculate the wattage, there is no way it should be 160W. My 305W PSU has these exact same amps, just as I said before. I think you should purchase the GT 240 and try it out. I am 90% sure it will be fine because I have the same card here too. If it becomes unstable, then spend the money on the PSU later if you need to (don't think you will) instead of buying it now.

If a PSU becomes "unstable" that usually means it's wreaking havoc on the more sensitive parts in which case you might need more than just a new PSU.

Yes, that could happen and I agree with you, I am just trying to make it so the guy doesn't need to spend on a new PSU. I REALLY THINK he got the wattage wrong because:

V * A = WATTS

12V * 18A = 216W
5V * 17A = 85W
3.3V * 22A = 73W

Total = 374W

I think the OP should take a look at his PSU one more time just to be sure. Sometimes there are a lot of different things written on there and he could have got confused and wrote the wrong thing.

Name and type will us more.

Shouldn't it have been drakaina, then?

Hmm, perhaps so but I prefer Dragon

Okay, opened it up again and here's what I found;

below the details I posted earlier excluding the 160w part was:

+5v + 3.3v = 160w.

And next to the details I posted earlier excluding the 160w part was 300w.

My apologies, I just looked for the first thing ending in w and the PSU isn't really my area of expertise.

So is it the 300w part and the 160 part together? Or just the 300w part?

Was there no name and type on the PSU? It'll erase a lot of doubt.

The 300W is either the combined output (3.3, 5 and 12) or just the output for the 12V line. I'm guessing the former, though.

So is it the 300w part and the 160 part together? Or just the 300w part?

The 300W part is combined, so you should be good getting the GT 240 (like I said I have the same 300W as you and it runs the GT 240 well), but that's about the limit in terms of performance. I know it probably says 400W or something on the site, but that's just in case the power distribution is different (gives the company some leeway). Really the only thing that matters is that there is 18A of 12V.

The 300W part is combined, so you should be good getting the GT 240 (like I said I have the same 300W as you and it runs the GT 240 well), but that's about the limit in terms of performance. I know it probably says 400W or something on the site, but that's just in case the power distribution is different (gives the company some leeway). Really the only thing that matters is that there is 18A of 12V.

No the minimum requirement is listed as 300W on the Nvidia website.

I took the liberty of calculating the PC's power consumption. However, I am not entirely sure as to what components are currently installed so based on Dell's (possible) specifications for the Inspiron 530 I filled out the form on http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine and ended up with a 362-Watt consumption. (90% TDP and 20-30% capacitor aging)

In all fairness, I did select the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 which is unlikely to be present but if I pick the oldest Core 2 Quad in the list it's actually 372-watt.

This is including the videocard chosen by Dragon.

I still stand by my point that the PSU needs to be upgraded if the videocard is to be installed.
I guess we could do a recalculation based on her exact specifications but in my professional opinion, 400W of a decent brand is the absolute minimum for a gaming machine.

like I said I have the same 300W as you and it runs the GT 240 well

Okay, I opened up my computer and this is what I found;

160w MAX

+12v/ 18a
+5/17a
+3.3a/22a

Wattage rating means little, but this is how they calculated it:
(5 * 17) + (3.3 * 22) = 157.6W
Just use it & see what happens.

sorry, i didn't reply. I couldn't log in for some reason. Then I got onto a different browser and it worked, thankfully.

So, em, did you say you need my specs?

It's 3 months later, probably not that important to you?  No, don't need any more info.

It is important. It's just I figured since maybe I couldn't log in, maybe nobody else could so I went to the chat but nobody could help me so I waited to see if it would resolve itself then someone suggested changing the browser and it worked.

So am I to get a PSU with a cooling fan and minimum of 400w then it will support it?

Wattage rating means little, but this is how they calculated it:
(5 * 17) + (3.3 * 22) = 157.6W
Just use it & see what happens.

12V@18A might be enough depending on the card you get.

I was thinking of getting this http://www.coolermaster.co.uk/product.php?product_id=6801 along with my Geforce GT220 but I'm wondering if the PSU will be compatible with my inspiron 530?