Curse

Lavey · Jan 01, 2009, 07:23 AM // 07:23

Hey guys, i got a dell xps 400. I need to upgrade my ram to 3gigs and my old gpu to something better that can play the latest games decently with an affordable price.

PC specs.
1. Pentium® D Processor 930 with Dual Core Technology (3GHz, 800FSB)
2. 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
3. 256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache
4. Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005

I don't know what motherboard and PSU it comes with(i checked the email they sent me last time but no mobo and psu info). Do i have to remove the old 1G and get 3 new ones?

Hopefully you guys can enlighten me what's a good buy for my current set-up. Thanks and Happy New Year!

Elder III · Jan 02, 2009, 03:26 AM // 03:26

I think that you have a PCI-E x16 slot int hat so you can install a newer GPU, but your PSU is only 375 watts (if it's stock anyways) so you will be hard pressed to find a decent one that will operate on that small of a power supply. You ought to get 3 GB of new RAM, as mixing RAM types or even brands is not a good idea.

My personal opinion is that you should just build a PC from scratch.... your CPU is an antique, your PSU is so undepowered that you will have to replace it anyway, and your mobo is not all that great either.... To play the latest games decently it's going to take upgrades that your cannot handle with your current "base of your system" $ 5-600 will build you a very nice computer that is brand new and adequate for what you want to.

Lavey · Jan 02, 2009, 04:20 AM // 04:20

Thanks for the info elder, eventhough i really like to build a pc from scratch it's not possible for me because of the limit of knowhow(cpu installation, wirings, HD installation) hence i got a prebuilt one. (Memory and GPU i'm abit capable of installing)

I guess i'll just have to save more for a prebuilt again.

Quaker · Jan 02, 2009, 05:31 AM // 05:31

For Ram, the system can use dual-channel RAM. To utilize dual-channel, the RAM needs to be installed in pairs. Your simplest way to increase it to 3gigs would be to add 2 x1gigs of DDR2-533 to the 2 x 512megs that are in it (it has 4 RAM slots).
If you want to speed the RAM up to 667Mhz (or maybe even 800), you should remove the RAM that's in it and get 2 x 2gigs instead.

For a GPU, an ATI 4550 based card would be a great improvement over the 7300LE.

Lavey · Jan 02, 2009, 06:04 AM // 06:04

Hmmm... is there anyway i can check if my mobo and OS can support those 4gigs 667mhz RAM or upto 800 from the bios? I forgot where i put my manual for the mobo(the pc is almost 2yrs old).

As for the GPU, i hope if my PSU is really the stock 375 watts that elder suggested then i might be able to get the ATI card if it can handle it. This can really save me alot of money than to buy a new prebuilt one.

Thanks Quaker!

RotteN · Jan 02, 2009, 01:32 PM // 13:32

if you have a 32bit OS it will not be able to use more than 3Gb RAM.

(for example, i have a MacBook Pro and in OSX i use my 4Gb RAM but while running my XP Pro through bootcamp i can only use 3Gb because i have the 32bit version)

I'd buy a whole new PC aswell, Dell's aren't worth upgrading, and learning how to build a pc isn't hard.

Quaker · Jan 02, 2009, 03:39 PM // 15:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lavey

Hmmm... is there anyway i can check if my mobo and OS can support those 4gigs 667mhz RAM or upto 800 from the bios?

You can always Google the manual, like I did.

The manual says it can take up to 4 gigs of 400, 533 or 667MHz RAM. The use of 800Mhz RAM could be chancy, so for simplicity, get either the 2x1gig 533, or 2x2gigs of 667 - whichever is easier/cheaper to get.
Note - even though it can take up to 4gigs of RAM, the OS will only see a bit over 3gigs of it.

Manual: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...m/WD741A03.pdf

Quote:

As for the GPU, i hope if my PSU is really the stock 375 watts that elder suggested then i might be able to get the ATI card if it can handle it.

The recommendation for the HD4670 was based upon two factors. One, AMD/ATI recommends a 300watt (or better) power supply. Two, at the mid-range price/performance point, ATI generally outperforms nVidia, although they can be close.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...hics,2086.html

Elder III · Jan 03, 2009, 12:36 AM // 00:36

you can take off the side panel and look at your Power Supply, it should be the box in the top left corner... it ought to have a sticker that says the maximum power output...