Upgrade my Dell XPS 420 graphics card? gtx 260/power supply?

[rufuz]

I have a question on what to upgrade my dell XPS 420 graphics card and power supply to? I mainly play Microsoft Flight Sim X on my pc but on medium to low graphics, but I would like to be able to max (or get close) things out (fps/graphics).

You'll have to excuse me, I'm not real graphic card/computer savvy individual , still learning! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Here is what I am currently running if it helps:
Dell XPS 420
Vista 64bit
Q9400 (2.66Ghz, 1333FSB) Quad Core
8 GB DDR2 RAM (800MHz)
375 W power supply
24" monitor (1920x1080)
running currently ATI Radeon HD 3870 (512)-not very powerful for this game
PCIe x16 (graphics): 1 slot

Price range: $300 max for power supply and card.

I was looking at the EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 superclocked 896MB ($188 newegg) and a Antec EA 650 (650W) ATX 12V ($99 newegg).

Would this graphics card even fit into my XPS 420? I think the power supply would fit and it looks like the wires would all match up.

I hope I'm in the same ball park by thinking of getting these products for my XPS 420. Any help or suggestions would be great.
Thanks ahead of time.

rufuz

 

[megamanx00]

If there's enough room for a 3870 then a GTX 260 should fit (it's a little bigger).

 

[rufuz]

Thanks for the help.

Do you think the GTX 260 is enough or should I upgrade to a more powerful card? Is there a better card out there that will give me better performance?

thanks

 

[invisik]

Before you go buying a new psu/gpu i would recommend overclocking the cpu and gpu. A modest boost to the cpu will give you much more frames since FSX relies heavily on cpu. You might not need a upgrade just yet.

 

[rufuz]

Interesting!
I have read posts where people have done this, how does one go about overclocking the cpu and gpu? Does it have any negative consequences for your pc?

Thanks

 

[rufuz]

Before you go buying a new psu/gpu i would recommend overclocking the cpu and gpu. A modest boost to the cpu will give you much more frames since FSX relies heavily on cpu. You might not need a upgrade just yet.

my motherboard is the standard one that came with my dell so I don't know if i can overclock it. would it be worth the upgrade $ to get the new gpu if I can't overclock my cpu?

 

[arunhn]

I have the an XPS 420 with the same specs as you do and I play FSX all the time on medium to high settings without any issues. Have you tried changing your graphics settings to the NVIDIA recommended settings? That helped my frame rate improve a lot. It went from like 15fps to over 30. Check out the link below and change your fsx settings to match these.

http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_fsx_techtips.html

Arun

 

[Izzy480]

So im think about doing something similar. looking a at 700w power supply, and the nvidea geforce GTX 260. to play battle field.
specs are:
windows vista
3GB Ram
quad core 2.4 ghz

what do you guys recommend i do. and will the GTX 260 fit in the box. or do i even need the 700 watt power supply? i found one for 98 bucks. let me know your input please


izzy

 

[rolli59]

So im think about doing something similar. looking a at 700w power supply, and the nvidea geforce GTX 260. to play battle field.
specs are:
windows vista
3GB Ram
quad core 2.4 ghz

what do you guys recommend i do. and will the GTX 260 fit in the box. or do i even need the 700 watt power supply? i found one for 98 bucks. let me know your input please


izzy

You should open a new thread instead of waking up an old one!

 

[arunhn]

You do not need a 700W PSU. For my xps 420, when i put in the GTX 260, i purchased a Corsair VX550 (550W) ATX. It works perfectly. The 550 provides more than enough juice on a single rail for the GTX 260 card.
And yes, it fits fine and works well. Been using it that way since November 09.

thanks
arun