graphics card for dell

hi guys im looking at a geforce gtx450 or 460 for my dell 545s slimline, will it fit, or any other suggestions on cases,and what psu ill need any info would be great

The Inspiron 545s only takes low-profile cards. I believe that neither the 450 or 460 are available in low profile. (At www.newegg.com I see a low-profile 430, which probably isn't a fast card, but it is a Fermi series product.)

It also has a 250W PSU, which is lower than recommended for most add-in cards.

I'm not sure, but I don't think that a standard ATX power will fit in the case.

If you wish to move the motherboard to a standard case, be aware that the connector for the front panel stuff (power switch, power LED, drive LED, etc.) is a Dell proprietary design. That may not make it impossible, but it'd be more work than with an industry standard motherboard.

My advice: treat the PC an an appliance, as Dell intended. If you want a PC that uses industry standard components, build one. (It's what I've done since 1997.)

can you recommend a good board, processor, case and video card setup, i assume my hdd and dvd will be fine to swap

got about $1000 and want something that will handle top end games and be upgradable

novice13 said:

got about $1000 and want something that will handle top end games and be upgradable

I don't know what you want included in your $1k.

Here's a deal:

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

(I7-950 combination, $665, another $35 in rebates available. Only available through 2/26/2011.) This is a Socket 1366 system. You'd probably do better to wait and build a system with an I5-2500k (Sandy Bridge), but you may have to wait a month or two.

It lacks an optical drive, but you can get a good internal DVD burner for less than $20. You'd also need a graphics card. Something based on the nVidia GTX 460 chipset, or the ATI 6850, might be a good choice at the moment.

what would be involved in transfering to standard case (front panel stuff i mean) is it the motherboard that is non standard if i got a new board and case and kept my cpu etc and then purchase a video card would this solve my problem

Dell has fairly good documentation online:

Documentation

I'm not sure how nonstandard the motherboard is. It looks like it's a microATX form factor. I'm not sure whether the connector for the front panel stuff is industry standard or not, but in the recent past it was typical for that to be proprietary in Dells.

Maybe someone else who was impractical enough to perform the upgrade that you describe can provide additional details.

You'll need a new case and motherboard since both are Dell proprietary components. They have unique rear panel ports and the non-documented front panel connector. You'll also need a new copy of Windows as the Dell version is tied to the motherboard.