Upgrade Questions

Dubba

Dell Inspiron 580 MT : Intel Core i5 Processor 760(2.80GHz,8MB)
Memory : 6144MB (3x2048) DDR3 Dual Channel
Hard Drive : 1TB Serial ATA (7200RPM)
Optical Drive : 16X DVD+/-RW Drive including Roxio Burn software
Integrated 7.1 channel audio
Software : MS Office 2010 Starter (Word Starter, Excel Starter)
Operating System : English Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
AntiVirus : McAfee Security Center 15 month subscription
Inspiron Desktop 580 Minitower Order - Ireland
Graphics :
1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5450
Power:
300 Watt Power Supply
€730 incl. VAT & Shipping


Hi there, great forum for info on pc specs, etc.

I made the jumps and ordered the above Dell as their monthly repayments option works for me.
Also I think it's not too bad price for the spec. but I'm far from an expert.
Looking to run old & new games & light apps, i.e. CAD, Revit, Photoshop & 3dsMax.

What I want to do is upgrade the gpu to something like a Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB(£195 on ebuyer.com) or a Gigabyte GTX 460 OC 1GB GDDR5 OC Edition Dual DVI HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card With H.A.W.X. 2 Game Voucher (£152 on ebuyer.com).

The 300w Power supply I presume also needs upgrading maybe a
OCZ Stealth Xstream II 600W PSU - 3x SATA 2x PCI-E (£52 from ebuyer.com).

I would appreciate if someone would look at the above build & proposed upgrade for any compatibility issues or any recommendations if I'm getting things wrong, thanks.

Skerries

yes the PSU is going to be a problem if you are going to put a better card into it
unfortunately because of the way Dell build their form factors they don't normally take standard PSU's and only have the basic amount of connectors, so you are limited by the spec that is currently in it
so unless you build one yourself there is not too much you can do with a generic Dell build

Dubba

Wow thanks for the heads up Skerries, I did not know that. :eek:
What I'll do so is see if the stock build will run COD Black Ops well (1st priority) and if not I'll get onto my companys IT fella.

Jonny7

Dubba wrote: »

Wow thanks for the heads up Skerries, I did not know that. :eek:
What I'll do so is see if the stock build will run COD Black Ops well (1st priority) and if not I'll get onto my companys IT fella.

I am certainly not the greatest expert on PSU's here, but I think that Dell PSU may be rated for 350 watt and actually be fairly efficient.. perhaps its more nowadays I haven't checked... when you get your PC open it up and check the sticker on the side of the PSU.

If this is the case, then you could either..

get something like an ATI 4770, which uses shag all power and, bloody hell, runs all games very admirably for a 2 year old card on a 22 inch monitor, would tide you over well (if its a pure 300 watt, you should still be able to run this card.. 60 euros second hand, if you can find them)

Or.. and I think this is possible..

Run an ATI 5770 with that Dell PSU if its rated 350/375 watt. These are low power cards, and the 5770 is standard recommendation here.

The card you got with the Dell? quite quite **** really.. check reviews on it if you dare.

Anyway check that sticker.. I am sure when we have the facts some of the PSU guys will recommend what is safe and what is risky.

Lu Tze

Skerries wrote: »

yes the PSU is going to be a problem if you are going to put a better card into it
unfortunately because of the way Dell build their form factors they don't normally take standard PSU's and only have the basic amount of connectors, so you are limited by the spec that is currently in it
so unless you build one yourself there is not too much you can do with a generic Dell build

I think dell moved away from proprietary PSUs a while back - i had an inspiron 530 (4 years old now i would say) and i fit a standard psu to it.

You will more than likely be fine. The slightly larger concern would be the case - mine small and had a micro-atx motherboard in it - just about fit a 4870 into it but it was extremely tight with little room for maneuver.

So when you get it, check whether you can fit your card of choice - and if not plump for a 5770 (i would still get a new psu) as they are much smaller

Dubba

Very much appreciate the advice lads

Dubba

I did a bit of Googling and found on the Dell Hardware forum the issue of the PSU upgrade being asked and reply was:
“The INSPIRION 580 Mini Tower does not use a Dell proprietary power supply.
The Dell Inspiron 580 Mini Tower can use most generic standard ATX power supply units, with either a 24-pin or 20+4-pin main motherboard power connector, with or without the on/off switch.”
and
“Antec True Power II 550 works fine”

So if I go for the Antec 550 and upgrade the gpu to a MSI HD5770 Hawk, I thinks that it sorted. :pac: