UPGRADE radeon x600 to HD 4850

[gamerfantasy]

I have a Dell Dimension 9150 that I bought 3 years ago. I am gonna buy a new one end of this year but in the mean time i want to upgrade this one to play all the latest games in the market.

Here are my specs

Pentium D 830 3.0ghz 2mb L2 cache 800Mhz fsb
motherboard : dell DXP051
(2 X 512 cards)1gb ram ddr2 533 (i think so, i dont know hw to find out, nothing said on the ram)
ati radeon x600 256mb hypermemory
psu is dell's one, 375 watts

so i was thinking to
- add another 2 512mb ddr2 ram cards(hw do you find out ur ram type?)
- change my graphics to hd 4850
- change psu to a 450watts one

Please comment on this, i really need your help in deciding whter to do so.

Problems im afraid of
- will my motherboard bottleneck the new gpu
- do i have to change psu, is 375watts sufficient?
- is upgrading my ram gonna help, and hw to find out what type of ram am i using.

Thanks alot. I really really appreciate it.


EDIT ::

here is the list of gpu sold in a shop here...help me choose pls...theres diff brands not sure which one/

 

[delluser1]

DDR2 533, 667, or 800 will all work. If the ram you purchase is faster than what is already installed it will automatically downclock to match. 2x1g is fairly inexpensive and the least I feel you should get. Stick with ram rated for 1.8 or 1.9v, I have had no problems with Kingston value ram and several other well known brands.
PCWizard 2008 will give you some information about your machine, Google it.
You're psu is capable of powering a 4850 and an upgrade to 450 watts would be more of a replacement than an upgrade.
The motherboard isn't going to bottleneck the video, the cpu is, without upgrading to a newer C2D system there's nothing you can do about that.

 

[gamerfantasy]

.

 

[gamerfantasy]

DDR2 533, 667, or 800 will all work. If the ram you purchase is faster than what is already installed it will automatically downclock to match. 2x1g is fairly inexpensive and the least I feel you should get. Stick with ram rated for 1.8 or 1.9v, I have had no problems with Kingston value ram and several other well known brands.
PCWizard 2008 will give you some information about your machine, Google it.
You're psu is capable of powering a 4850 and an upgrade to 450 watts would be more of a replacement than an upgrade.
The motherboard isn't going to bottleneck the video, the cpu is, without upgrading to a newer C2D system there's nothing you can do about that.

thanks delluser1 im glad u replied =)

would the cpu bottleneck the gpu alot, or is it still ok?

the program u told me says this
DDR2-SDRAM PC2-4300 (266 MHz) - [DDR2-533]
so which is mine ddr2 - 533 then?

and which ram would you recommend for my dell
ddr 553 , 667, 800 or a dd3 1333 - i dont get this numbers and ddr s...


sry if im troubling u alot, im just newb in this stuff, well most girls are, blame the genes...haha xD

p.s. sry 4 double posting...wantd to reply to dell user

 

[delluser1]

would the cpu bottleneck the gpu alot, or is it still ok?

the program u told me says this
DDR2-SDRAM PC2-4300 (266 MHz) - [DDR2-533]
so which is mine ddr2 - 533 then?

and which ram would you recommend for my dell
ddr 553 , 667, 800 or a dd3 1333 - i dont get this numbers and ddr s...

It would hamper the performance of the card quite a bit, but I've never let that stop me from upgrading ( I have an OC'ed 8800GTS 512 being pushed by a PD 3.0 )

No DDR3, DDR2 only, pick whatever is least expensive ( 533, 667 or 800 , doesn't really matter much in the Dell )
Here's one option http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146526

PS; I have a 6 year old grandaughter visiting for the summer, answering this is no trouble at all

 

[gamerfantasy]

ok then

ive decided to go with
2 X corsair CM2 1GB 800 Mhz with heat sink = $30

so shud I take out my previous 2 X 512mb ddr2 533 cards or leave them. As you said the faster one would downclock, do i loose performance if i keep the cards.

 

[gamerfantasy]

and shud i get the hd 4850 or the hd 4850 OC version.

 

[coozie7]

Sorry to butt in on this boy/girl thing

See how much space there is between the RAM chips, if they are too close together they could overheat and cause stability problems when the machine is stressed.

This is a nice card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161244

 

[gamerfantasy]

thanks coolie, is there difference between the normal 4850 and the Overclocked one? cuz the price is the same.


So ive decided to add

- 2 X corsair CM2 1GB 800 Mhz with heat sink
- a hd 4850 card (not sure a oced one or normal one)

to my system
Pentium D 830 3.0ghz 2mb L2 cache 800Mhz fsb
motherboard : dell DXP051
(2 X 512 cards)1gb ram ddr2 533
ati radeon x600 256mb hypermemory
psu is dell's one, 375 watts


so pls tell me shud I take out my previous 2 X 512mb ddr2 533 cards or leave them??? delluser1 said the faster one would downclock, do i loose performance if i keep the cards.

 

[apache_lives]

WTF? Get 4gb into that sucker - dont waste your time with 1gb - RAM IS SO GOD DAM CHEAP! and dont bother with fancy ram either - your using a Pentium D - its not going to care or become better with that extra $$$ wasted - get kingston or any other good brand's basic ram, and yes - DITCH THE OLD RAM.

That Pentium D *will* hold back any new video card but it will be an improvement regardless.

 

[coozie7]

@ Gamerfantasy: I would leave an overclocked card alone, they can cause all sorts of problems: Being overclocked it uses more power, this produces more heat and can lead to cooling issues, unlike the card I linked to: It rejects its heat outside directly instead of dumping the heat back inside the case for the case fans to deal with.

Delluser is totally correct on the memory, the 800MHz chips you have bought will be slowed to match your current 533 speeds.
This will only have a tiny, tiny impact on 'normal' tasks-Video playback, surfing, games etc and is only going to cause a small drop in performance in even intense data crunching. So no worries there.
Assuming the new chips fit and do n't block the 512s' then go for that configuration, a 32 bit operating system can only use a maximum of 4Gb of address space anyway and some of that is taken up by the video card, sound card etc. FYI my rig has 4Gb but can only use 3.5 and that will drop further when I finally get some cash together to replace me ageing 256Mb graphics card.

A word of caution: Installing the memory chips can require a fair bit of force and the chips themselves may have sharp edges, you might want to wear thin gloves.

 

[4745454b]

If your smart about this, you can start buying your new computer now. You might as well if your spending the money to upgrade.

Get a good card. Don't worry about the CPU holding you back, your new computer will be able to handle it. Seeing as you don't need to buy the PSU, might well try to get the 4870. You should be able to find them for around $150. Next, get 2x2GB for four gigs of ram. You should be able to find this for $50.

The card will carry over for sure, the ram will only carry over if you get a C2D/C2Q Intel setup, or an AM2+ AMD setup. The new i7/i5 and AM3 system all require DDR3. I would try to get an AM2+ board, and a Phenom x4. You'll be able to reuse both of the parts you buy now, making your next upgrade a bit cheaper.

 

[gamerfantasy]

thanks alot guys. and yea 4745454b i was planning to bring over my gpu to my new comp when i buy it and also buy another gpu to do a crossfire. im keeping my ram here though cause i may get the new i5 chip when it comes out and it uses ddr3 yea?

 

[coozie7]

Who says girls can n't do tech stuff?

 

[jyjjy]

I wouldn't upgrade that thing at all. Maybe spend $10 to double the ram and look for a really cheap video card on ebay($30 or something.) It will still be world's better for gaming than what you currently have and you can put the rest of the money towards getting that i5 system sooner. You aren't going to playing the latest games on that system with acceptable performance even if you throw in a fancy card.
Also people are recommending you spend $150 to upgrade that thing and for about $200 you could get a new motherboard/cpu/ram and video card that would crush what they are recommending in terms of performance.

 

[delluser1]

for about $200 you could get a new motherboard/cpu/ram and video card that would crush what they are recommending in terms of performance.

Would also need a new case, the BTX 9150 won't accept ATX motherboards.
And a new psu, the Dell 375 is taller than standard and won't fit most ATX cases.
Oh, and a copy of Windows, unless willing to do things illegally.
Now we've just raised the cost significantly and by your standard's ( $200 for 4 major components ) still have a fairly low end video card.

 

[gamerfantasy]

heres a list of gpus sold in a shop here..
the currency rate is 1 $ = 3.3 RM
(last row is the price in RM)

help me choose which brand of gpu hd 4850 shud i get

thanks ppl

 

[jyjjy]

Just get the cheapest one. If they actually have the HD4770 as listed(doubtful) you might want to consider that instead. It's smaller, cooler and more power efficient and only very slightly less powerful.