Trying to find compatible components!

[tstramathorn]

Hello,
I recently bought a Dell Optiplex 740 that I was hoping to upgrade a bit for my girl friend as she likes to game, but nothing super high end. So I was hoping I would be able to upgrade the graphics and memory a bit, however I don't know exactly what the motherboard is called and therefore what's compatible! Any help with this would be great! I wanted to get something with at least 2gb of memory for GPU, but I didn't know if this was possible of not....

 

[Aeacus]

Did some searching and is this the build she has? -> https://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/optix/en/740_customer_brochure.pdf
(Brochure includes images and specs.)

 

[tstramathorn]

Yeah, I saw that, but also saw that some people had video cards up to 1gb at least at that say only 256 mb...so I was wondering if I can perhaps find one that's 2 gb that would be compatible.

 

[Aeacus]

First of all, what OS is used? I assume either WinXP or WinVista. And is it 32 or 64 bit?

For selecting a GPU, you must make sure that GPU drivers support the OS.

As far as GPU goes, ATI Radeon HD 7770 Ghz Edition (1 GB) is a great upgrade for her computer. Provided that you can find one. (Took me more than a 3 months to finally find mine.)

A comparsion too, provided that she has Radeon HD 3470 in it (the best Dell did offer for that model back then): http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=796&gid2=164&compare=radeon-hd-7770-1gb-gddr5-vs-radeon-hd-3470

And as far as RAM goes, her system supports non-ECC shared dual channel DDR2 SDRAM system memory (667MHz and 800MHz) up to 8GB. In short: DDR2 667/800 Mhz.

It may take some time and effort to find old DDR2 667/800 Mhz RAM sticks.

I hope that was helpful.

 

[tstramathorn]

So it's actually Windows 7, but only 32 bit and that only supports 4 gb of memory. That kind of sucks, but she has a laptop right now and before she bought it I told her to let me help her find one, which she didn't of course, and ended up getting one that's kind of slow. So the Mobo in the dell has an integrated cared it's like nVidia 6150 or something close to that, which is crap, I hate integrated. So I wanted to probably just upgrade her card. The speed of her CPU in her laptop is like 1.7 ghz ane a duel core, but the Dell has a 2.0 ghz duel core, which I know isn't great especially now days, however she just play like the Sims 3 and stuff like that so nothing too high end. Do they make a 2gb card for that HD you're talking about? I bet I could find one somewhere. i appreciate the help! It's jut hard when you don't really know the mobo that well.

 

[tstramathorn]

Do i need a card that is DDR 2 then for its memory?

 

[Aeacus]

As far as Dell Optiplex 740 goes, that one does need DDR2 RAM since it's system is old.

And about Radeon HD 7770, there are 2 GB editions of it.
Here's all i could find:

Asus Radeon HD 7770 Dual-Fan 2GB (HD7770-2GD5)
link: https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/HD77702GD5/overview/

Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 OC 2GB Rev. 2.0 (GV-R777OC-2GI)
link: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4682#ov

HP Radeon HD 7770 Giraffe 2GB (680255-ZH1)

Dataland Radeon HD 7770 Dual Cool 2 GB

Dell HD 7770 GHz Edition 2 GB

 

[tstramathorn]

Okay cool, I'll search around and see what I can find. Though the power supply is only 280 watts, however these older cards might not suck up as much juice as newer GPUs. Thanks for your help!

 

[tstramathorn]

Also, I have noticed that the memory on the Asus card you have posted above shows it has GDDR5 memory, would that be a problem? That's where I'm becoming confused.

 

[Aeacus]

Also, I have noticed that the memory on the Asus card you have posted above shows it has GDDR5 memory, would that be a problem? That's where I'm becoming confused.

All GPUs use their own set of memory that is installed on the GPU itself. GDDR5 is the type of RAM specifically designed for GPUs and used only by GPU itself.

Rest assured, GPU RAM won't conflict with your motherboard RAM.

As an example:
My Mobo is: ECS A750GM-M v.7.0 AM2+ and it supports DDR3 1333/1066 Mhz,
while my GPU is: Club3D Radeon HD 7770 Ghz edition (1GB) that uses GDDR5.

As far as PSU goes, i suggest you upgade it aswell. Even though suggested PSU for HD 7770 is 150W on 12V rails, it can go higher, especially under heavy load.

Here's a PSU calculator: http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator
I put my system in the calculator and got recommended PSU wattage: 354W
But since it's only rough estimate and to be on the safe side, i'm using a 520W PSU.
If you're interested then here's link to the PSU i'm currently using: https://seasonic.com/product/s12ii-520/

 

[tstramathorn]

Cool, yeah that's what I thought, but it's been awhile since I built my own rig! Thanks for the info, it's much appreciated!