Dell inspiron 546 upgrades, please help!

[aidanklenk]

hello, i was wondering if anyone knew of a psu and graphics card that i could get for my inspiron 546? my graphics card is being really stupid. i know i will need a new psu if i get a new graphics card. i dont really know what i'm doing computer wise.
my budget is about 130 combines for both. i want it for gaming, on medium setting, high if possible. games like WoW and LOTRO.
thanks!

also, i would like to know if the cpu on this computer is upgradable?

 

[tsnor]

AMD Athlon II X2 215 processor, 4GB of DDR SDRAM, a largish 640GB hard drive, and DVD burner. The system's ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics ... has a PCIe x16 card slot for upgrading the system's graphics, as well as a pair of PCI card slots (one occupied by the modem), and a PCIe x1 slot. Windows 7 Home Premium. from: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2355586,00.asp

With a $130 budget I'd stick in a $70 HD6670 card in the box and save the rest of the money for a new machine in a few years. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how well it games. 4GB memory is plenty. Athlon II X2 215 is not that bad.

I couldn't find any details about the case. Will it hold a full size PCIe card or do you need a low profile card? A low profile hd6670 costs a bit more, maybe $85.

EDIT: If you take a full size video card than an HD7750 would be a bit strong card that uses a bit less power but costs more like $100-$110. It will also run with your current power supply. But you need to be able to take full height PCIe card. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=hd7750&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=100

 

[bigtuna91]

Hello tsnor! I actually just got an AMD Sapphire 6670 card today, and am struggling to install it in my Dell inspiron 546.

It has all the same specs as you point out, including AMD athlon II X2 215 processor, 4gb ram, ATI Radeon 3200 onboard graphics.

It doesn't quite fit flush, it's crooked. But when i turn it on, the fan spins. There is no hardware detection when i power up, and after installing drivers there is still no indication of its presence. My friend suggested i try to fit the card in more flushly, but I'm pretty certain it won't fit any better than how I have it.

I'm beginning to wonder if Dell 546 is meant to have upgraded video, because it's only been a headache for me. (I've tried other cards with varying levels of success, also a variety of strange issues)

 

[tsnor]

Hello tsnor! I actually just got an AMD Sapphire 6670 card today, and am struggling to install it in my Dell inspiron 546.

It has all the same specs as you point out, including AMD athlon II X2 215 processor, 4gb ram, ATI Radeon 3200 onboard graphics.

It doesn't quite fit flush, it's crooked. But when i turn it on, the fan spins.

This happens all the time. The MB was not perfectly mounted in the case, The video card thin metal front plate got a little bent from trying to get eh card in anyway. The card wasn't inserted all the way in and once it's on an angle it will *not* push down.

Tp fix, remove the card. You need to release the catch at the back of the video card to get it to come out. Put the card back in. It will (eventually) seat correctly in the slot. (just last week I was installing 2 dimms memory in an old HP AMD PC, first was fine, 2nd one I couldn't get it to fit in flush. Finally ended up pulling out the optical drives so I could drop the memory straight down - that worked. Sometimes this stuff is just a pain. )