Good GFX cards?

stormy13 said:

Two things wrong with that card in that computer,

1. That Dell will severely bottleneck that card and keep it from running anywhere near its full potential. Really need a decent dual core (quad better) to get the most from a card like that.

2. You will definitely need a new power supply if you get that card as I really don't think the 350W in the 8400 is up to running that card.

1. Very true

2. 350 continious watts w/ 28amps on the 12v rails

HD5750 might be a better option (128bit bus)

The 4890s require a MIN of 500W PSU and 2 75W PCI-E connections FYI

they are very good cards, but as others have suggested, it would be severly bottlenecked even if you meet the power req.

The XPS shows :
Power
375 W standard
425 W available on select configurations

You might be OK with a 4670, but I do not know for sure. Depends what PSU you have.

If you m ust upgrade the PSU,, possibly consider just going with something like a 4850 ..

4670s recommend 400W
4850s recommend 450W and would offer better performance. Or the 5750 as suggested earl;ier .. same Power req.

xXINSANELOSERXx said:

well, thanks for all the information guys I love it =D here is another question that I have, I have a Dell XPS 420, Quadcore, 6 GB RAM, I think it is a PCI-E but are these good cards for it?:

Newegg.com - HIS H467PS1GH Radeon HD 4670 iSilence4 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.ca - HIS H467QS1GH Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.ca - XFX HD-467X-ZDF2 Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Let me know if those are good cards or if I could get better ones

Thanks

If you don't have a manual for the XPS 420, I suggest that you download it from support.dell.com.

The 420 has a single PCI-E X16 graphics card slot. (I suppose that it's not Version 2, but I doubt that's important.) It had either a 375W or 425W PSU. The 375W supply has a single 6 pin PCI-E power cable. The 425W has two.

The Radeon 4670 is a midrange card. It gets all of its power through the PCI-E slot. It should work in the XPS 420.

You may be able to use the newer Radeon 5770. It requires a single PCI-E 6 pin power connector. It appears to be a significantly better card than a 4670. (It also costs a lot more.) The 5000 series is the latest technology, though, and supports DirectX 11.

There are more powerful cards yet. The biggest monster at the moment is the Radeon 5970, which is basically two 5870 cards in crossfire in a package that fits in a single PCI-E slot. Like other high-end cards, it needs an 8 pin PCI-E power connector (specified to provide up to 150W), plus one 6 pin (75W). The minimum recommended PSU for one of these is 650W. It also lists for over $600US, and www.newegg.com is out of stock on all versions.

Another thing is that card may just plain not fit in your case. Last couple
of generations of cards, are on the large side for anything over entry
mid range level.

Never mind about the power supply's rated output; that's almost irrelevant... what you need to look for is high amperage on the +12 volt rail. If you want to run a modern graphics card, then don't consider anything under 34 amps on the +12 and don't bother with dual rail psu's. Choose a psu with a strong single rail and you'll be a happy camper.