Help with graphics card upgrade please!

[skillza]

dell insipiron 531
amd athlon 64x2 dual core 5000+ 2.61 ghz
2.0 gb ram
32bit sp2 vista
dell SE198WFP monitor
brought in aug 2007 .
nvidia 8300gs ( currently not working)

hello everyone i'm new to this forum and not a complete computer novice.
I'm looking to upgrade my current graphics card which has failed. i don't play computer games and i only use it to browse for movies and other media.
They are quite expensive but i've sort of narrowed it down to the nvidia 8800gs.
http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php?products_id=45587
will this be sufficient or is there a better version? will this work on my system?

please any help,direction, pointers will be appreciated

 

[hang-the-9]

The link is for an 8400, not an 8800. I'd go up a few levels in the card for future use. Even for movies you may want a better card to handle hi def items. You'd be happier with this http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php?products_id=105141

Just make sure your power supply is at least 250 watts and it should handle that card with no issues.

 

[skillza]

The link is for an 8400, not an 8800. I'd go up a few levels in the card for future use. Even for movies you may want a better card to handle hi def items. You'd be happier with this http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php?products_id=105141

Just make sure your power supply is at least 250 watts and it should handle that card with no issues.

thank you very much for your reply and sorry for the typo, it was the 8400 gs i was looking at and not the 8800.

according to my spec sheet, my psu is @300w,
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/inspd531/en/om/appendix.htm#wp1149549.

the 8300gs came as an oem with the computer. I've not changed anything from the time i brought it because it's been working fine until now.

Because it is almost a 4yr computer i didn't want to spend so much on it incase it breaks down again and money is a bit of a constraint.

I'm quite impressed with your recommendation but my question is will i get the most out of it with my current spec 2.0 gb ram or will i have to get an upgrade on anything else?

thank you once again

 

[hang-the-9]

thank you very much for your reply and sorry for the typo, it was the 8400 gs i was looking at and not the 8800.

according to my spec sheet, my psu is @300w,
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/inspd531/en/om/appendix.htm#wp1149549.

the 8300gs came as an oem with the computer. I've not changed anything from the time i brought it because it's been working fine until now.

Because it is almost a 4yr computer i didn't want to spend so much on it incase it breaks down again and money is a bit of a constraint.

I'm quite impressed with your recommendation but my question is will i get the most out of it with my current spec 2.0 gb ram or will i have to get an upgrade on anything else?

thank you once again

2 gig is fine, even for running many games. If the PC does break down, you can move the video card to the new one, it's pretty modern. So don't worry about overspending, that video card will be good for movies and games for a few years at least.

 

[skillza]

thanks for all the help, final queries:

Would a low profile card work on inspiron 531, reason i ask is i have seen this one and it looks better built than the gigabyte version and has 2yr warranty
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-121-HT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=

does it make a difference to the manufacter brands e.g HIS,msi,asus,saphhire,gainward,gigabyte(all radeon 4650). if so, which one would be best.

also noticed my max resolution on dell monitor is 1440x900, would that be a problem.

thank you

 

[hang-the-9]

Low profile will work fine, it has the large bracket on it also. All of the major brands are good, HIS is as good as the others.