Questions about upgrading my Dell Studio XPS 435MT

[nebraskadan]

Hello,

I'm new here, so bear with me.

I have a Radeon HD 4850 RV770 which I purchased built into my Dell Studio XPS 435MT about 2 years ago. Recently I have been getting the dreaded "driver amdkmdap stopped responding" error when I start to play a game. Depending on the intensity of the game, it holds out between 5-15 minutes before failing.

I've troubleshot this the best I can, but I'm pretty sure my card is cooked. Any suggestions on what a good, cheap replacement would be? I plan on attempting to build my next system, so I just need something on par or a bit better than what I have now. My PSU is 300W

Thanks for any help you can give.

<<< System Summary >>>
> Mainboard : Dell 0R849J
> Chipset : Intel X58
> Processor : Intel Core i7 920 @ 2666MHz
> Physical Memory : 8192MB
> Video Card : ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
> Hard Disk : Western Digital WD6400AAKS-75A7B2 ATA Device (640GB)
> Hard Disk : WD 5000AAC External (500GB)
> DVD-Rom Drive : HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GH30N
> Monitor Type : PL1900-BK - 19 inches
> Network Card : Intel 82567LF-2 Gigabit Network Connection
> Operating System : Windows (TM) Vista Home Premium Home Edition Media Center 6.00.6002 Service Pack 2 (64-bit)
> DirectX : Version 11.00
> Windows Performance Index : 5.9 on 5.9

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Hello.
What resolution do you use ? You're sure it's only a 300W, i've seen a system like your's with 360W.
Anyway, both of them make your choice very restricted. I would buy a better psu and a 6870 or a 560Ti for that system. ( and get a index of around 7 )

 

[nebraskadan]

I looked again. You're right, it definitely is 360W.

That being said, I would like to update the PSU as well as the card. It would be good practice for my hardware replacement skills (or lack there of).

What would you recommend wattage wise if I were to throw a 6870 in there? I feel like my system could be good for a while if I do this upgrade, as I don't need cutting edge stuff to be happy. Correct me if I'm wrong.

My resolution is 1280 x 1024 almost exclusively. Thanks for your help.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Well, Dell psu are very good and you can count maybe 50-75 watt extra. But still it would be stuck at 400-450 top and using the 6870 would stress that psu.
Maybe ; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139027 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341016 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035

 

[nebraskadan]

Thanks very much for the advice.

 

[nebraskadan]

Best answer selected by nebraskadan.