graphics card

[maryhigginsrice]

Hi everyone.  I would like to upgrade my Dimension E310 with a new graphic card.  It is the Evga e-GeForce 8400 GS 512 MB DDR2 PCI Graphics Card.  The tech specs said that it is compatible with my PC, but it uses 350 wattage and my dell PSU is 230W.  Will it fry my system if I use it?  Also my PC is five years old.  Could the age of the system be a problem?  Should I upgrade my PSU to more wattage?  Any help will be appreciated.  Thanking you in advance.  maryhigginsrice.

Dell Dimension E310
WindowsXP Home Edition SP3
Philips DVD+RW DVD8801
HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR81643
1.99 of Ram
Nvidia GeForce FX 5200
2nd HD
56K PCI Data Fax Modem
Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.06GHz
Home Network
Belkin Wireless Router

[Accessless]

It looks like you are correct in assuming compatibility with the new graphics card. You should be able to just swap the cards around however, Dell have supplied you with the bare minimum power supply. If you replace your graphics card without upgrading the power supply you risk burning out your current power supply (possibly damaging other components).

So I would recommend getting at least a 300 watt power supply or go for the graphics card's recommended 350W there shouldn't be much price difference.


I will also state that it is not a guaranty that the new graphics card will burn out your current PSU just a risk. Personally I've had a bad experience doing this with a Tiny PC so I would go for a PSU upgrade (I was lucky, I didn't loose any hardware).