Everyone, I've been trying to do as much research on this topic as possible, but I still don't have a definite answer. Your help is appreciated in advance. I have a Dell Optiplex GX755 Minitower, that came with a Q6600 processor, 4GB of RAM, and an ATI Radeon 2400 Pro. That latter is what I want to upgrade. I had bought an nVidia 8800GT at one point, but the issue was that I don't have the option to provide external power to the card as my PSU doesn't support it. Frankly, my Dell PSU is only a 305W power adapter. So, in a nutshell: what is the best possible video card I can put in that machine? I had looked at upgrading the PSU, but since Dell uses proprietary connectors and has a BTX motherboard, I'd rather not mess with it. Supposedly the PC Power and Cooling Silencer 500 is an option, but it's not a direct swap and needs some modifications to the box. I had looked at the ATI Radeon 4670 for example. But there are so many variations of it, it boggles my mind which one to choose!!! THANK YOU!!!
P1et, If you're not into gaming, just a regular 9600gt or lower end cards will work. Most of them do not require power. As for the power adapter, if you have a spare molex, get a molex to pci-e adapter
Thanks Minh! Can you send me a Newegg or Tigerdirect link to a card that would work in my PC? I am not sure if I have spare molex, but I will check. Question: I am looking at pictures of most 9600GT cards and they all the the power connecter plug in the back. Does that mean that it has to be powered, or is that just an option?
Good luck with your upgrade P1et! After owning a HP, I decided I'd only build my own computers so there aren't any proprietary components to deal with. My 478 P4 is still running after 6+ years!
Thanks, this stuff is confusing! I love my GX755, just want a little bit of a better video card. One day it would be fun to build my own though!
Well if you ever need help with building a PC P1et, I'm sure there are a few of us that are willing to help out!
305W is going to be the biggest issue. Many of the "better" video cards require dedicated power and that often means that by the time you add up the needs for the processor and the drives there is precious little left for a more powerful video card. One example would be the ATI Radeon™ HD 4800. The specs for that card: 450 Watt or greater power supply with 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express® power connector recommended (550 Watt and two 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode). So your 305W supply would not even work. Just make sure you meet the requirements before you open the package and cannot return it.
This will help you... http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/optix/en/opti_755_techspecs.pdf 18A on the 12V rail means you're going to have a tough time finding something compatible. Can I ask why you want to upgrade the video card?
Thanks for the help so far chaps. Much appreciated. I am doing a bit more Photoshop lately, and have been editing photos. I also like to play the occasional game, and don't feel like my current graphics card is what is bottlenecking my setup.
The 9400 GT draws 50W (minimum system PS = 300W). When you calculate your current capacity do you have 50W available? eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite
According to the calculator, I have 92W available. After some research, it looks like the ATI Radeon 4670 would be a good fit, supposedly the best video card that does not require external power. And low power consumption to boot. What would be a good video card brand? MIS? Sapphire? I'm not sure.
From AMD/ATI site: 400 Watt or greater power supply (550 Watt for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode) is recommended ATI Radeon™ HD 4600 Series - System Requirements You can get away with using slightly lower power supply ratings sometimes but it's a bit of a crapshoot. 95W is not an insignificant amount either so I wouldn't recommend it. While you might find it boots perfectly normally and is fine for browsing/documents etc any GPU intensive apps would likely cause it to shit the bed...
8800 GT >>>>>>> 9400 GT You can try something like this (Ultra Power Partner 5.25” Bay 325-Watt ATX Power Supply ULT40063 at TigerDirect.com) Instead of getting the lower end cards witch is much slower than the higher end models form earlier generations
Thanks for the help everyone! I went with the ATI Radeon 4670 and so far, so good! Fist perfectly in the box, even though the cooling fins are rather large. Had it up and running in less than 15 minutes. I chose the 4670 because it's the most powerful card that can be bought without needing external power. Also, the power draw is very low. Something around 59W I believe. How can I monitor my temps?
I would have to see if your motherboard has a sensor, but try SpeedFan. If you need a hardware device, it can be as simple as THIS or you can get really carried away with something like THIS. Lots of options.
Very cool. But your gut tells you I probably should be fine, right? I used your power usage tool and I'm at about 232W currently.
Power wise you should be good to go. Monitoring temperature is just a safeguard to keep everything from melting down.
I hooked up my PC to the Kill A Watt P4400 and at idle, I'm seeing around 90W and cranking everything up, it never got above 140W. Looks like I'm good to go!
