upgradeing dimension e510

[dpsolo]

Im fairly new to dealing at all with computer parts so i may be going about this the completely wrong way. i have a dimension e510 as bare as it was shipped and want to upgrade it. i planned on adding a corsair 550 watt power supply and a radeon hd 4850 graphics card. what im not sure of is, does the mother board have all the right ports and whatnot to accect them both. And also, this seems like a fairly stupid question but they both seem to have fans on them but is more cooling necassary.

If it turns out those parts dont work or there is a better way them im all ears, i just dont want to have to get an entirely new computer.

Again this is comeing from someone who had no idea what ram was until about 2 weeks ago... thanks for any help in advance.

[RicheemxX]

Here are the tech specs of that system Documentation you might want to double check them to make sure they look right.

Here are few thoughts:

1) what is your goal here, better gaming I assume? What kind if budget do you have for all your parts total?
2) if you are running an old P4 then adding in that 4850 is going to be a waste. The card will be seriously slowed down by that older chip. If you've got a reasonable budget ($300-400) you would be better of building or buying a new system.
3) if none of that sounds good and you do want to upgrade you need to make sure a) that the psu will fit in the case and b)you'd probably be better off with a lower powered lower price GPU since you want be able to utilize the full power of that one

[KarmaKiller]

Hi and welcome to TechIMO.
Looks like you have a PCIe slot, which is good, because that's what any decent graphics card is anymore.
So the combo you have picked out should work great.
(and it's also a extremely nice combo you have picked out, or else I'd say something about that)

[RicheemxX]

Hey KK do you not agree with my assesment that throwing that card and PSU into that old system would be a bit overkill? I don't think I'd throw $200+ at it, but that might just be me...

I guess the one upside to buying those parts is if you aren't satisfied with the match to the old system you could re-use them in a newer build

[KarmaKiller]

Well I agree with you Rich, but the OP said they didn't want a new PC, so I was saving them the speech that it sounds like they already heard.

@OP,
Just so you know, if you added another $200 or so, you could start fresh with a modern, up to date system. The main reason we say that is because you older CPU will bottleneck the new GPU, so you won't be getting as much performance as you should.

[RicheemxX]

Psshh you know I have selective reading skills and don't read the entire post, I just skip those parts that I don't wanna see...

[dpsolo]

The thing is i want to build a new system in the future, but just cant do it right now. (probably should have mentioned this before...) i kind of wanted parts that when i did get around to fully redoing my pc, could be moved over rather than needing to buy another set of componants.

[KarmaKiller]

Then I still think the combo you have picked out is fine.
That's a very nice PSU, and the GPU should be more then enough to handle most games.


Just a side thought. Have you thought about trying to sell your current system now, and use that money for the new system? You can probably pick up a couple hundred off you current system (depending on who/where/how you sell it) and then use the money your looking at spending already? That would probably be 350-$400, which can get you a newer up to date AMD setup.
Just another option.

[dpsolo]

thanks or the advice everyone.

Also, Karma, are you sure about how much i could get for it cause the computer that superceeded it only sells for about 400 new...

Also, this is probably somthing i should justy check out but should space in the case be a problem to look out for with the new power supply? And what about extra cooling? Is it necassary?

[KarmaKiller]

Extra cooling isn't really necessary. I mean, the more fans in your tower the better, but it's probably not gonna be needed.
Space won't be a issue with the PSU, but you may open up your tower and make sure that nothing is gonna be blocking the GPU. Normally they are as long as the motherboard, so if your HDD cables, heatsink, etc might be placed around the same area. Those cards are about 9" long, so may double check that.

As far as the price on your current system, that really depends on where you sell it, who you sell it to, etc.
Obviously someone "in the know" of PC's isn't going to pay top dollar for it. But if you put it up on craigslist, or maybe sell it to a family member, you could probably get ~$150-$200 for it. (in my mind, if the pc works, and has legit OS on it, it's worth at least $150, no matter the hardware)

But really that will vary by the person.

[dpsolo]

Thats kind of what i was thinking if someone really klnows what the parts are worth than i wouldent get much, but its a decent pc.... it just cant game for crap.

[Networker4321]

Then I still think the combo you have picked out is fine.
That's a very nice PSU, and the GPU should be more then enough to handle most games.


Just a side thought. Have you thought about trying to sell your current system now, and use that money for the new system? You can probably pick up a couple hundred off you current system (depending on who/where/how you sell it) and then use the money your looking at spending already? That would probably be 350-$400, which can get you a newer up to date AMD setup.
Just another option.

KK,

I notice you specify AMD, just curious. Bad experience with Intel or something I don't know? My enterprise clients won't touch any server with AMD which has almost turned me into a mouthpiece for Intel.

Just curious....

[RicheemxX]

KK's not an AMD Fanboy or anything if that's what you mean for budget builds AMD provides a little more bang for the buck. Or I should say most of the time they do..

[KarmaKiller]

KK's not an AMD Fanboy or anything if that's what you mean for budget builds AMD provides a little more bang for the buck. Or I should say most of the time they do..

Yes, this^

I'm actually a "bang for the buck" fanboy. Whatever you can get the most performance out of for the cost, that is my fav. And hands down, AMD has the "budget" market on lock. Not only are the CPU's cheaper, but the motherboards also.
And I'd be checking into AMD more now. They have very good "bang for buck" value with the performance slowely creeping towards Intel's neck of the woods.

[Networker4321]

I work for a large reseller so we sell a mix of both, many clients don't ask when we architect the Bill of Materials ( BOM ) and we are doing a Statement of Work ( SOW ).
the reason I bring that up is I can get product for near cost for me and friends. This is not an advertisement, it's an offer for people getting ripped by retail stores. ( Of course, where do I go for cables, fans and STUF ?) Radio Shack, Wal-Mart and Best Buy! ) Except for Cisco, we're a gold reseller so I get 42% off list. Best price in the world. I love my job.

[dpsolo]

Ok so i called a dell tech line adn he said something along the lines of my system wouldent handle the card well and recomended the 3850, i wasnt really sure what he was saying . Also, he said my computer has a 305 watt now and could handle the 3850 which the ati site says needs a minnimum of 450? Was he going along the lines of what richee was saying about downgradeing the card or what?