How to upgrade a graphic card for a Dell Vostro200 desktop?

[Susan199]

Hello,
I have a five yr old Dell Vostro200.
I'm not well versed in computers so please excuse my ignorance but I can't seem to find an answer to this question.
I recently tried to download a program. The error read "It appears you have an old graphics card which is not capable of running this 3d program".
My question is...can I upgrade? I need the program for work but as I said it's 5 yrs old and can a novice (read ignorant) like me do it?
I tried Dell but my warranty has expired and googling the question but I'm lost.
Please be gentle. I realize I'm posting this question on a site where it seems most know a hell of a lot more than me.

 

[johnsonjohnson]

Hi. Yes it's possible but we need to know more information to know which card you need and whether you will need to replace your PSU (power supply unit). What is name of the program and what are the requirements? What are your system specs?

 

[shadow_city]

Hey as a matter of fact I had a a Vostro 200.

Anyway, the power supply was either a Bestec/Delta OEM unit (depending on which vostro 200, the lower ends had the Bestecs, the higher ends had the Deltas) with 18 amps on the 12v rail, 300 watts in total. I threw a 7750 in there as well as the original E8300, 2 hard drives, 3gb of ram etc all running on the Delta variant, no issues.

Here is how to install a graphics card in the vostro 200:

1. Open the left side panel by unscrewing the screws.

2. At the back of the case near the bottom on the OUTSIDE of the case, you will see a screw, unscrew that. This will release a piece of metal which is holding all the brackets in place.

3. Remove one or two of the backplates and install the graphics card into the PCIe x16 slot which is the longest one.

4. Reboot, install the latest drivers from Nvidia/AMD

Good luck and if you can state your budget, we can help find you a graphics card to suit your needs.