Video Card help.

[xwewx]

Hi! It's me again haha. Well, if I were to get a  EVGA 256-A8-N542-T2 GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Video Card, would I need to upgrade my OEM Dell PSU? It's 250W I read the review on this card and some people said they needed to upgrade to a 600w PSU and others said they upgraded to a 350w PSU. Does anyone know which PSU would be compatible with my compatible with my computer? I have a Dell Dimension 4600. I heard that Dell has been known to use proprietary parts. Also with this upgrade of video card and or power supply, would I need to upgrade my Motherboard or CPU? Or even the case? Because some of the PSU's havea  fan on top and my Dell doesn't have an opening on the top for a fan. I'm running 512MB Ram, 3 GHz, Intel Pentium 4 Processor, Windows XP.   Thanks!

[dirtmaster88]

As for the 7600 GS, this is what EVGA's webpage says:

Requirements
 Minimum of a 350 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 18 Amp Amps.) 
 An available 4-pin Molex hard drive power dongle


Every geforce 6 series and up to my knowledge requires at least a 300-350 watt power supply. The older dell computers don't allow an aftermarket power supply as they are wired different (propriatary). You should take a look at the wire/pin colors on your power supply and compare them to the power supply you want to purchase. From the information I gathered, this is the diagram of the wiring for your current power supply:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4600/en/4600i/sm/techov.htm#1084976

This matches up with the colors of the standard ATX power supply:
http://www.helpwithpcs.com/courses/power-supply-basics-inc-pinouts.htm

According to this information, I would think it would be safe to install a new power supply if that is what you are looking to do. Another option may be the geforce fx series cards.

On a side note... have you considered upgrading your ram at all? It is a quick and cheap way to give your computer a huge boost in speed. The manual for your motherboard that I liked before for the power supply says what type of ram and how much you can have.

[xwewx]

Ohh, I see thanks.

If I did upgrade my RAM, how much do you think I would need. Up to 1 GB total?

[dirtmaster88]

1 GB would work well for Windows XP. Adding another 512 mb stick would make a world of a difference. Make sure you buy the right kind to match what you have in there right now. It will either be PC2700 (333-MHz) or PC3200 (400-MHz). My guess is that the speed of your ram right now is PC3200.

Kingston is a fairly well known brand. It is $29.99 after a $10 rebate.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1430963&Sku=K24-4909

[xwewx]

When you say matching, it could be any brand name right? Just the same speed? Because I read up on this and some people bought a brand new 1 GB stick of memory and completely replaced and took out their old ones.

As for the power supply.. I'm looking some up on newegg, and would my computer be compatible with ATX type PSU's or ATX12V ones. I am kind of a picky person, but I like the PSU's with the LED's lol.

Also, I really am sorry about asking all of these questions, because I'm new to upgrading computers, but is it entirely possible to buy a new computer case and just transfer all of the Dell Dimension 4600 components to the new computer shell?

[dirtmaster88]

When you say matching, it could be any brand name right? Just the same speed? Because I read up on this and some people bought a brand new 1 GB stick of memory and completely replaced and took out their old ones.

If you have multiple sticks of ram, the speeds need to be the same. You could buy a 1 GB stick if you wanted to but 1 GB total should be fine. I have 1 GB of ram in my system and I can play all my games and everything just fine.

As for the power supply.. I'm looking some up on newegg, and would my computer be compatible with ATX type PSU's or ATX12V ones. I am kind of a picky person, but I like the PSU's with the LED's lol.

Not sure what you mean on the ATX12V? Could you post some links?

Also, I really am sorry about asking all of these questions, because I'm new to upgrading computers, but is it entirely possible to buy a new computer case and just transfer all of the Dell Dimension 4600 components to the new computer shell?

I'm not too familiar with the newer dells but I don't see why you couldn't get a different case as i'm sure the motherboard is the standard size. Then again, it is dell so i'm not sure. Someone else could help you out better here.

[xwewx]

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=58&name=Power-Supplies

On the left hand side under type, there are different types of PSU's. ATX, ATX12V etc.

[honvetops]

Apevia  makes  great see thru psu's  with the  led's   

[dirtmaster88]

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=58&name=Power-Supplies

On the left hand side under type, there are different types of PSU's. ATX, ATX12V etc.

I just did a little reading and ATX12V is the newer standard for PCI Express compatibility. I have yet to upgrade my AMD XP computer yet so I don't know a whole lot about this. Here is the page I was looking at.

http://compreviews.about.com/od/cases/a/ATX12VvATX.htm

[xwewx]

Cool, thanks for the recommendation.

Oh.. I dont have PCI-E