What kind of video card will fit a dell dimension e520

[kkwilk]

Hello,I have a Dell dimention e520 and my video card went bad so I need to replace it,so I got on ebay and orderd one but it wouldnt fit,so I need to know what Im looking for,I just need a cheap one to do the work of my old one,but not sure how to know if one will fit or not now..thanks

 

[jednx01]

I would go with a gt 430. Since you only have a 305w power supply for your computer, your options of video cards is limited. On the e520, you do not have extra power cables, so you will need a card that draws power directly from the motherboard. The gt 430 will cost you maybe $10 to $20 more but will have MUCH better performance than the 3450 and 4350... If you want to boost your performance further (if you have less than 1.5GB of ram right now), I would upgrade your ram as well. You can get good ddr2 800 ram for very cheap right now. I would make sure that you have at least 2 gb of ram. You could upgrade to as much as 4gb, but if you have a 32bit operating system, you will be unable to use more than 3.5gb of ram.

Video Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162067&cm_re=gt_430-_-14-162-067-_-Product

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134797&cm_re=ddr2_800_2gb_desktop-_-20-134-797-_-Product

For instructions on how to install the components: see the manual. Here's the link:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dime520/en/OM_en/NH730A01.pdf

The RAM installation instructions are on page 70. Video card instructions are on page 77.

 

[will306finest]

you can fit almost any single slot card in you E520, just look at the power supply requirements of the Graphics card before buying it as the e520 Power supply is 305w so your limited to that unless you upgrade the power supply, which you can

MY BUILD

Dimension E520
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66GHZ CPU
MSI GTS 450 OC Single Slot Graphics Card
Corsair GS600 Power Supply
8GB Crucial Ballistix PC-6400

 

[krondoemike]

you can fit almost any single slot card in you E520, just look at the power supply requirements of the Graphics card before buying it as the e520 Power supply is 305w so your limited to that unless you upgrade the power supply, which you can

MY BUILD

Dimension E520
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66GHZ CPU
MSI GTS 450 OC Single Slot Graphics Card
Corsair GS600 Power Supply
8GB Crucial Ballistix PC-6400

how did u get the 8gb to work on the dell e520 I thought it was 4gb max was it the Q6700 that made the motherboard allow more ram?

 

[will306finest]

how did u get the 8gb to work on the dell e520 I thought it was 4gb max was it the Q6700 that made the motherboard allow more ram?

The Dimension E520 specs state that only 4GB ram max was allowed because they never offered or tested the PC with a 64bit operating system which recognizes more available ram! In order to go from a 32bit to a 64bit, you must do a clean install! and you might as well use Windows 7, because it works perfectly on mine. make sure that the bios is updated to 2.4.0, which you can download from the Dell support website if you need it.

 

[esrever]

a slim card will work, check the power supply numbers.

I would suggest a 6670 if your psu is over 280w. a 6450 if its lower.

 

[krondoemike]

cool I already upgraded to the beta windows 8 64-bit so that should work fine for me thanks for the reply