Is my PC big enough for a new graphics card?

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doxq

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Jan 21, 2010
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I've been looking into getting a new graphics card lately, my current one is an ATI FireGL3400 which I've been told is pretty bad for gaming, and in my experience it has been. My computer is a Dell Precision Desktop 390, here's a picture of the inside of it:

cpupics002.jpg


The graphics card (As you can probably tell) is the red/black thing in the upper left corner. That one is pretty small for a graphics card.

What my question is, is how can I know if a certain graphics card will fit (physically) inside my computer case, without protruding or getting in the way of other components?

I haven't selected one specifically, but I like the look of this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130398

Side question: If anyone could recommend a better graphics card for me, that would be greatly appreciated. My main focus is gaming, and the game I play most is World of Warcraft at the moment. I'm willing to pay up to probably around $215.

Thanks in advance!
 
i'm not sure about your case but the size of GTX260 is 11.1cm x 26.7cm + dual slot. looking from the picture your case's inside is pretty much crowded. other than that you have to check your PSU as well. if i'm not mistaken GTX260 needs good PSU with 12v rail rated at 36A-37A.

btw isn't that ATI fireGL is more for graphic design card? it was never intended for gaming purpose
 
Wow, those GTX 260s have gone up in price. And it's not even the SuperClocked edition. I'm thinking the GTX 260 will fit but will be a very tight squeeze unless you remove that.... (is that an Intake fan?).

What size power supply do you have? That power supply looks proprietary. I don't know if a standard PSU will fit properly.
 
GTX 260 and up are quite harder to get these days so no wonder the price are high. the shops around my place GTX 260 and beyond are no longer available. the best 200 series around is GTS250 and they also start to disappear from the shelves.

however there are tons of G210 and GT220 around 😀
 
It has a 375W PSU.

Honestly for $215 I would wait until Feb 5th as the 5830 is coming out. It would be a much better buy than a GTX 260, hopefully. And consume less power.

Does your power supply have a 6pin PCI-E connector? I believe it does, but not 100% sure. Could you also check the 12V rating on the side of it maybe?

Chances are you will need to upgrade anyways, but just wondering. There are some really good OCZ PSU deals on Newegg right now with a $25 MIR.
 
I'm not sure if it has a 6pin PCI-E connector but from what I've been told you can buy one of those pretty easily. I can't check the 12V rating on the side because, as you can see from the picture, the side with it on it is facing inward into the computer case. Would it be possible to determine it just by knowing it's a Dell Precision 390, without any modifications other than a few RAM cards?
 
1) Are you certain that your current card is in a pci-e slot and not an AGP slot?

2) You must verify what your psu is capable of so you know your options on the video card.
I think all UL psu's must have a spec plate attached somewhere. You may have to remove the psu to find it. What you are looking for is the amps available on the 12v rails. Best to post a photo of the spec. If a psu does not have a 6-pin pci-e connector, it is usually not capable of using a molex to 6-pin adapter. Be prepared to replace the psu if you get a high powered card.

3) Consider the GTS250. It is a step slower than the GTX260, but it is built on a smaller 40nm process, and is more power efficient.
the EVGA version is 9.5" long. It wants a 450w psu with 24a on the 12v rails.
 
This is why you shouldn't buy Retail. You don't know what you're getting inside and you don't know if you can upgrade or not.

Also, I forgot to mention in my first post.....You should also blow out the dust bunnies there. That GTX 260 is gonna get eaten alive by them.
 


1) It says on Dell's website about Dell Precision 390: "Support for PCI Express x16 graphics cards up to 150 watts and with up to 512MB graphics memory"

2) How would I go about removing the PSU?

3) Would the GTS250 still be a large upgrade in FPS on a game like World of Warcraft (from ATI FireGl3400)?
 
1) good. pci-e cards are cheaper and better.

2) Unplug the psu from the wall.
There should be 4 screws attaching the psu to the back of the case.
Remove them and you should be able to lift out the psu and turn it so you can see the spec plate. There should be no need to unplug any leads.

3) I am not familiar with the firegl3400. But from the name, I deduce that it is an older card, perhaps 4/5 years old. Anything from that era is puny compared to today's cards.
I have little doubt that the GTS250 will be a great improvement. You will probably be limited by your cpu before the card becomes an issue. Some WOW players might have better input on what it takes for good gameplay.

The GTS250 is a dual slot card. That is good because the hot air that it generates is directly out the back of the case instead of recirculating it.
Verify that the width of two slots and 9.5" is available to you. It is not clear to me if the cpu cooling shroud will get in the way.
 
What's the rest of the stuff in your box....proc/memory/motherboard. What res do you game at and for crying out loud.... pull the cover off the processor and clean the dust off of it or you won't have anything to play on pretty soon. The card looks like a work station card or is it me ?.... what is on the sticker on the back of the card ?
 
From the looks of it the large black plastic part covering the cpu is going to block most dual slot cards and I think you also need one with a single bracket output for that case although it's hard to be sure from that pic. More pics from different angles would help.
Anyway, if both of those are the case and assuming your PSU can handle it or you replace it with one that does you should look at this card;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131328
512mb unfortunately but it's likely the best you can use without modding or replacing that case. Much better buy than a GTX 260 for over $200 anyway.
 
I was unable to get the PSU off (I didn't see any screws that attached it to the side of the case), but found this information on the top sticker along with the wattage:

"Max combined output current on 12VA & 12VB Output is 30A"

Measuring from the left edge of my current graphics card there does seem to be 9.5 " available, though I would have to adjust some of the wiring inside it. Vertically I'm not sure.

From the looks of it the large black plastic part covering the cpu is going to block most dual slot cards and I think you also need one with a single bracket output for that case although it's hard to be sure from that pic. More pics from different angles would help.
Anyway, if both of those are the case and assuming your PSU can handle it or you replace it with one that does you should look at this card;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814131328
512mb unfortunately but it's likely the best you can use without modding or replacing that case. Much better buy than a GTX 260 for over $200 anywa
Click to expand...

Again, would that provide a sizeable upgrade in FPS compared to my current one? I think it might because as a few others have said, the FireGL3400 is both very old and not meant for gaming at all.

Thanks for everyone's help so far with this matter and thanks in advance.
 
30a is plenty for a GTS250. From a graphics point of view, you would get a good boost in fps. If the cpu will then hold you back, I can't say; probably not.

The height of the card should not be an issue. Verify that a card that is two slots wide will be able to fit next to the cpu cooling shroud for the full 9.5"
 


No, it is about 2cm per slot about 1.6 inches. It occupies the space of two slots. Take a straight edge and put it between the second and third slots.
 
Hey all,

I picked out and ordered one that I think should work nicely. Now it's a matter of installing it. That said, I can't figure out how to safely remove my current card without damaging the computer. I don't see any tabs or screws that will obviously do it. Anyone know how I would go about removing the current card so as to install the new one?
 
Looks like it's held in by that blue bracket. Looks like if you pinch the 2 blue things together, it might allow you to get a the card? Dell's cases are known to have some sort of tooless design. There' gotta be a way to slide off that blue thing covering the PCI slots.
 
The pci-e slot on the motherboard will have some sort of locking mechanism. It is located at the end of the slot, towards the center of the motherboard(away from the monitor attachment end). You may have to pinch it or pull on it to release the lock on the card. Only then can you lift the card out of the slot.
 
I have a Dell Precision 950 I have to remove the brander how can I remove the back side so I can remove the screw the one cant come lose the andere sight how can i deze remove :bounce: :bounce: :fou: :fou:
 
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