Solved Dell XPS 410 Graphics Card Question

[kev0]

Hey guys! It's been a while since I have been on here. Recently I have been having an issue with my old Dell XPS 410 that I have traced back to the graphics card. This is my current setup.

It's a Dell XPS 410 running Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit with Service Pack 1, 2.66ghz Q6700 Core2 Quad, 8gb DDR2 PC2-6400 Ram, Two identical 7200rpm 500gb Seagate Barracuda Hard Drives and an Nvidia GeForce GT 120 with 1gb DDR2 for the graphics card. I have never had any trouble with this set up, but have recently been getting blue screens and believe the graphics card is the cause.

I don't do any major gaming. Emulating Gamecube games (That I actually own but am too lazy to play on the actual Gamecube system) is about as far as I go, so the Nvidia GeForce Gt 120 has actually worked very well for me up until now. Here is a picture of my exact card.

I have been told that the best card that I can currently upgrade to will either be a ATI HD 7750 or an Nvidia GTX650-E. I did a comparison, and out of the two I like the Nvidia better for my own personal reasons.

I'm sure it's probably much more than I actually need, seeing as I don't do any real gaming, but if you can't tell from my current set up, I like the biggest and the baddest. This computer definitely did not come with a Q6700 Core2 Quad in it, and it's definitely more processor than I need.

Anyways, getting to the point. I was told that the Nvidia GTX 650-E was the best my computer could handle because of my power supply. I have the stock 375 watt power supply that came with my system.

I understand that this isn't a very good power supply, but I really don't see much need to upgrade. I know the wattage is low, but the main reason I was told that I could only go with a ATI HD 7750 or an Nvidia GTX650-E is because these are the most current Graphics cards that don't need a 6pin power connector, which everyone says my computer doesn't have. However, I was snooping around in my computer and found this.

Now, call me slow, but isn't this a 6pin graphics card connector? I know quite a bit about computers, but I am still learning. Basically I was just wondering if this was indeed the connector that I need for most of these other graphics cards out there, or if I do just need to stick with the Nvidia GTX650-E which I'm sure is more than capable of doing what I want it to do. It's just against my nature not to at least check into the best that my computer can handle before making a final decision.

Let me go ahead and say one more thing before I sign off. I know that the Dell Xps 410 does not actually support more than 4gb of ram or a Q6700 Core2 Quad. But, if you look hard enough online, you will find that it can support my current setup with the current BIOS update, which I have done. I have been using this exact setup for 4 years now, when I upgraded to Windows 7. The processor and ram work great with my Xps 410. My graphics card is just starting to show it's age and needs to be replaced.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

-Kevin

 

[fireberd]

Your power supply does have the PCIe power connector. I had a "cousin" of the XPX410, a Dimension E510 which was also BTX style. The XPS line was the top line Dell consumer models back when they were sold.

The general consensus on the Dell forum by the techies on there was that Dell also tended to underrate power supplies in that era, thus your 375 watt is more like a 400 or 415 watt commercial power supply.

I used to do a lot of support on the Dell forums, thus my familiarity.

As far as what video card to get, you can get many suggestions on that. I've had systems with NVIDIA cards (I currently have one with a GTS450 OC) and ATI Radeon cards. Both worked well. But, I'm not a gamer.

If you want more specific Dell help, here is the link to the Dell Desktop hardware forum, which is mostly users like this forum.
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/

 

[kev0]

I decided to go with a EVGA Nvidia Geforce GTS 450 because of I found a few fellow XPS 410 Users on the Dell Forums that confirmed that it worked in my system and that it was the best bang for my buck. Thank you to Fireberd for showing me the Dell Forums.