Need a graphics card upgrade Dell Vostro 200

[obiter dictum]

I have a spare old Dell Vostro 200 (Mid 2007) that i need to update on the cheap. (Nephew)

 

Itunes states the current manufactured installed Graphics card it is not powerful enough for video playback. Currently installed is a PCI Express x16 Graphics card

 

The memory has been upgraded to 2 Gig from 1 Gig

 

I have been told the ASUS AMD 6450 Graphics Card will do the job

 

It has to be a low profile Graphics Card

 

Can anyone give any help as to compatibility. I have been looking at this?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ASUS-AMD-6450-Graphics-Card-/391176520116?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5b13f001b4

[brassnecked]

Probably will do but check if it needs extra power of just draws it from the PCIe. What rating is the PSU (Power Supply Unit)? Dell are nortorious for underspecifying them, so adding extras can overload the PSU in a Dell machine.

[obiter dictum]

250 Watt power supply with--- --onboard Graphics, no Graphics card

[brassnecked]

250 Watt power supply with--- --onboard Graphics, no Graphics card

 

What spare slots has it got? That PSU seriously kills off any decent card,

[obiter dictum]

I have one spare slot left next to the modem, Ethernet card

[obiter dictum]

I have just purchased the Asus Radeon HD6450 off eBay for £21.00

 

 

If i need to get a larger power unit then so be it as some say i need a larger PSU, some say i do not and the current 250 Watt can run it. I will give it a go

 

Item specifics

 

 

Brand: ASUS Connectors: DVI Output, HDMI Standard Output, VGA D-Sub Output Chipset/GPU Manufacturer: ATI Memory Type: DDR3 SDRAM Chipset/GPU Model: AMD Radeon HD 6450 Memory Size: 1GB Compatible Port/Slot: PCI Express x1 Compatible Platforms: PC APIs: DirectX 11 EAN: 4719543381236

[obiter dictum]

This is the operating manual

 

http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_vostro_desktop/vostro-200_Owner%27s%20Manual2_en-us.pdf

 

[ploddertom]

Don't know whether they have changed but remember not being able to fit non-Dell parts in the past.

[brassnecked]

Might get away with that card if it is small, depends on the length of the backplate, you may have to shorten it if the tower is too thin

[Conniff]

If your nephew is not on dial-up or using a fax, then get rid of the modem, it's not required.

[tobyjugg2]

As a possible alternative, I have seen a number of installations which stated they required a certain spec of hardware to run, but didn't really, it was just recommended.

BUT the installation script refused to run if it figured out that the hardware wasn't 'the required spec'

 

A few times its been as simple as deleting or simple modifying some lines in the installation .ini file (which are usually just structured text) to get them to install and work fine.

 

Might not be the case here, but worth a look.

[obiter dictum]

I followed the advice of Conniff when installing the new Graphics card and removed the old fax modem card as it is no longer needed. (Power drain?)

 

Loaded the software and it works like a dream. I only have a 250 Watt power supply and i am experiencing NO power issues what so ever

[brassnecked]

I followed the advice of Conniff when installing the new Graphics card and removed the old fax modem card as it is no longer needed. (Power drain?)

 

Loaded the software and it works like a dream. I only have a 250 Watt power supply and i am experiencing NO power issues what so ever

Excellent, glad it is sorted.

[obiter dictum]

I have already stated this is for my nephew so he can do gaming etc. I have been having a look as the Logitech X-530 5.1 system to go with it an you can pick these up now for next to nothing with Great reviews

 

I myself would be interested as well in the sound quality but to get true 5.1 stereo sound you will need a 5.1 sound car for the computer. These are very cheap as well

 

The only PCI express x16 has been used up by the Azus graphics card so i am limited to either the two remaining PC1 slots, or the PCIE slot. With this card he can plug in the PlayStation etc for true 5.1 cinema sound

 

My budget is limited being on ESA and Ebay but would be nice for his birthday next month as i have been putting a little bit away each week

So my question has to be

 

What 5.1 or 7.1 sound card can you recommend that is cheap and has to be LOW PROFILE and fit in the remaining slots on the motherboard

[numbers666]

http://www.ebuyer.com/660600-startech-5-1-channel-pci-surround-sound-card-adapter-pcisound5ch2

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Creative-SB0220-Sound-Blaster-Live-5-1-Digital-PCI-Sound-Card-/311133189420?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

My old fav...

 

Less than a tenner Inc delivery if your case will take it

[brassnecked]

The Startech from eBuyer is the one most likely to fit the case, as it has the half height bracket, but that live on eBay is a great

 

Whichever you go for, disable onboard sound in the BIOS, once you have fitted it.

[obiter dictum]

In the end i ordered this from Amazon, should be with me in a few days

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003ZXDOL6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

 

 

 

What is your verdict?

[numbers666]

Its an Asus can't go wrong and half price... Nice.

 

Slightly biased to Asus kit.... Nice mb's nice GPUs even got an i3 lappy no problems with it.

 

And yeah I game 43 and not grown up...

 

Good choice imho

[brassnecked]

Good choice

[obiter dictum]

I might as well upgrade the power supply while i am at it. This is very cheap just upgrading an old computer. So far i have spent £20.00 on an ASUS AMD 6450 Graphics Card and £15.00 on a ASUS Xonar DG PCI 5.1 Audio card.

 

These dell machines are notorious for the difficulty in location after market spare. After doing some hunting it seems this will fit into the Slim Tower case for only £33.00 .

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-500W-PC-Power-Supply/dp/B00GP5Y6J0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436434698&sr=8-2&keywords=evga+600w+power+supply

[BazzaS]

I have a spare old Dell Vostro 200 (Mid 2007) that i need to update on the cheap. (Nephew)

 

Itunes states the current manufactured installed Graphics card it is not powerful enough for video playback. Currently installed is a PCI Express x16 Graphics card

 

The memory has been upgraded to 2 Gig from 1 Gig

 

I have been told the ASUS AMD 6450 Graphics Card will do the job

 

It has to be a low profile Graphics Card

 

Can anyone give any help as to compatibility. I have been looking at this?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ASUS-AMD-6450-Graphics-Card-/391176520116?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5b13f001b4

 

Good that you have since got the graphics and sound card sorted, and are looking to the PSU : it might run fine now on the current PSU, but that might not mean it'll be stable under 'full / sustained' load.

 

I note that you have gone to 2G of RAM. Did you buy a single 2Gb stick? another 1Gb stick (and if so, was it a matched pair to the existing 1Gb?)

The next (incremental) upgrade that might be worth it is to 4Gb.

 

(Folks, would it be better buying a 4Gb kit?, or instead adding a new 2Gb Kit [2 x 1GB]? The slots are 4 in total as 2 banks of 2.) Clearly the 2Gb kit is cheaper (at about £21).

 

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19325823 is a useful thread on upgrades (is it a Vostro 200 mini tower or slim tower?).

 

However, at some stage you'll reach a point of diminishing returns, where the cost of the next incremental upgrade isn't worth it due to the limitations (& age!) of the rest of the system - For example, Crucial's website helpfully "suggests" an SSD upgrade (!) : but if you were going to spend £100 on a small SSD or £300 on a larger capacity one, you might be better putting that towards a new system.

 

What OS is it running currently?.

 

BTW, Fortunate nephew!.

[obiter dictum]

Yep, i should have said, i got another 2 meg of ram for £10.00. I am now running 4 meg of Ram in 4 x 1 meg chips

All up and working fine

 

I have an 8.1 disc but it is currently running XP that is no longer supported by Microsoft

 

It is also a slim tower low profile machine

[brassnecked]

It might struggle with 8.1 what processor (CPU) is in it?

[BazzaS]

Would you be up for replacing the CPU?

If you are already close to the maximum spec CPU the benefit might be marginal, though.

 

E8600? (Available for £17!, used, on your favourite tat-bazaar site.......)

[brassnecked]

Would you be up for replacing the CPU?

If you are already close to the maximum spec CPU the benefit might be marginal, though.

 

E8600? (Available for £17!, used, on your favourite tat-bazaar site.......)

Probably near limit for board and chipset, that 250 watt psu would be marginal at best already. Would be difficult to replace with anything beefier due to case. Could fit components into a new case so long as motherboard has standard ATX/MicroATX form, and not a bespoke Dell abortion. But again diminishing returns unless someone has a redundant tower with say a 450 watt PSU on gumtree or eBay cheap.