Well I cant take it anymore. I NEED a new graphics card. I'm tired of getting 10 fps on a lonely grid. I have a dell dimensions 4700 computer and I have no clue about upgrading to a new card. I was looking for something 100 FPS with a few cars on the road (don't laugh, I just want a good card). My KDS supports HDMI so along the lines of that would be excellent. Any more information you need, just ask

Does your system support AGP or PCI?

How much are you willing to spend?

Just a few questions people will ask

Quote from wild :

Does your system support AGP or PCI?

How much are you willing to spend?

Just a few questions people will ask

PCI-E iirc

my budget is $300 ? (I dont know what is good for what budget)

What is the rest of your system like? PSU, CPU, motherboard, etc.

First off, you can get 100 fps in lfs for much less than $300. Now, this may be bottlenecked by your CPU at a certain fps, though.

305 watts cant handle a graphics card, so you oughta upgrade that first.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16817256032

Then a good graphics card:a bit more performance than you need, but your CPU isn't the best so this will take a lot of use; it will also future-proof your computer for a few years.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16814161244

But you can also go for the cheaper route:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16814130424

Heres what CPUz told me

Quote from MijnWraak :

First off, you can get 100 fps in lfs for much less than $300. Now, this may be bottlenecked by your CPU at a certain fps, though.

305 watts cant handle a graphics card, so you oughta upgrade that first.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16817256032

What are you talking about? I have a Dell 4600 with a 200watt and something power supply and it runs my:

-1gig of ram
-2 hard drives (internal)
-1 usb hard drive (external)
-and a 256 ati agp graphics card just fine.

Also something to think of is lots of older Dell comp. will not except a regular ATX power supply. You need special connctors and stuff. These Dell power supplies cost more as well.

Quote from Toddshooter :

What are you talking about? I have a Dell 4600 with a 200watt and something power supply and it runs my:

-1gig of ram
-2 hard drives (internal)
-1 usb hard drive (external)
-and a 256 ati agp graphics card just fine.

Also something to think of is lots of older Dell comp. will not except a regular ATX power supply. You need special connctors and stuff. These Dell power supplies cost more as well.

an old AGP graphics card doesnt take much power. Newer ones require a good dedicated rail and 350+ watts.

Quote from imthebestracerthereis :

Well I cant take it anymore. I NEED a new graphics card. I'm tired of getting 10 fps on a lonely grid. I have a dell dimensions 4700 computer and I have no clue about upgrading to a new card. I was looking for something 100 FPS with a few cars on the road (don't laugh, I just want a good card). My KDS supports HDMI so along the lines of that would be excellent. Any more information you need, just ask

You might get away with this ...

psu 460W
460W Power Supply Compatible for your Dimension 4700

9800 GTX
9800 GTX Graphics Card

Run over the specs just to make sure and that should be a great upgrade for under $300.

Pay particular attention to the voltages etc. quoted in the minimum specs of the graphics card. And more importantly check the length of this card (9" long) to make sure it will fit into your Case, allowing enough clearance for power plugs, hard discs etc..

I just checked the power issue and it definately should work, plus this one is a little cheaper and has a HDMI port (you still need to check the physical length of your PC case!)
9800GTX with HDMI port

I posted this because if you have the stock ram installed with the dimension 4700, which is 512mb you need to upgrade that too.

If you are running Windows XP, get 3 of these
Ram upgrades

If you are running Vista get 4

If you get the cheaper graphics card, this should still fall under your budget of $300

This will get your frame rate where you need it

Good luck!

Quote from tongey :

And more importantly check the length of this card (9" long) to make sure it will fit into your Case, allowing enough clearance for power plugs, hard discs etc..

Seconded, if you do get the 9800GTX. There's quite a big chance it won't fit into your Dell case. Mine barely fits into my case (when I say barely, I had to remove the tabs that hold the PCI cards in just to squeeze it in that last bit), and this case is far bigger than my last Dell. The Google pics for the 4700 show it has the same case as the 8300, which is what I had, in which case the 9800GTX will not fit.

If you want a decent upgrade, you'll probably end up replacing almost everything. The CPU (3.0Ghz P4 according to Google) is enough for LFS, but in anything that supports multi-core you'll be bottlenecked by it. It also has a 305W PSU, which won't really power any decent card. And of course, Dell PSUs are pretty much built into the case most of the time, which makes it a fair job to replace them with an aftermarket one without bodging a giant hole in the rear of the case to accomodate it.

So really, you'll need to replace almost everything just to get a new card

Dougie, The PSU mentioned in my post is a Dell Compatible replacement for the dimension 4700

You are probably right about the 9800 gtx not fitting though, which is why I mentioned it. Was not 100% sure

I am wondering though, could a Dell system just be moved to a new/bigger case? - I know it is not an ideal situation but surely less expensive than replacing EVERYTHING

Thanks for the info Tongey, ill look into that.

E: Because my CPU (processor?) is integrated, it can't be upgraded?

Quote from tongey :

Dougie, The PSU mentioned in my post is a Dell Compatible replacement for the dimension 4700

You are probably right about the 9800 gtx not fitting though, which is why I mentioned it. Was not 100% sure

I am wondering though, could a Dell system just be moved to a new/bigger case? - I know it is not an ideal situation but surely less expensive than replacing EVERYTHING

I have a feeling Dell motherboards are rarely ATX form factor, they have different mounting points at least. Not sure a transplant would work.

Quote from tongey :

Dougie, The PSU mentioned in my post is a Dell Compatible replacement for the dimension 4700

You are probably right about the 9800 gtx not fitting though, which is why I mentioned it. Was not 100% sure

I am wondering though, could a Dell system just be moved to a new/bigger case? - I know it is not an ideal situation but surely less expensive than replacing EVERYTHING

Ah, so it is, didn't look at the PSU

I'd doubt that a Dell motherboard can be moved, they seem to be a completely different shape to new ATX ones. You could probably bodge one in to a new case if you were determined enough though

a normal psu will not work with a dell motherboard as dell makes them different for this reason. they want you to buy there dell psu upgrade witch is a rip off. the motherboard will not go in another case either as what others said the holes are different. it would be good just to do an entire upgrade

this would work with your current processor, ram, harddrive, cd drive

motherboard that will work for you - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16813186102 - $54.99 or 34.99 after mail in rebate
good psu for the money and 580w - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16817709011 - $19.99
ok case nothing special - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16811147109 - $19.99
and a pretty good video card use to have one of these - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16814127328 - $77.99
and to keep that cpu cool - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 - $26.99
and thermal paste for the cpu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16835100007 - $5.99

with a total of about $200 and add $10 or so for shipping and you have a machine that will play almost all game on a pretty nice setting. but order before the 24 that video card cuz it ends then. and the speed from the 8800gts 320mb and the 9800gtx are pretty much the same. good cheap computer and you get the good feeling of building it yourself witch isnt hard

Quote from imthebestracerthereis :

Thanks for the info Tongey, ill look into that.

E: Because my CPU (processor?) is integrated, it can't be upgraded?

No problem, your welcome. I would not mess around with your CPU though, its not worth it.

If the video card fits in the case, the upgrades I mentioned will do you fine. If not, its a case of a whole new PC, or starting from scratch like the others are saying

Good luck !!

Quote from tongey :

No problem, your welcome. I would not mess around with your CPU though, its not worth it.

If the video card fits in the case, the upgrades I mentioned will do you fine. If not, its a case of a whole new PC, or starting from scratch like the others are saying

Good luck !!

there is nothing hard about changing the cpu it just pops out of the board after you take the heatsink off you flip the lever and your cpu is out. not to mention he would have a nice computer with what i just posted for $100 under his budget to save him money and everything would work good. and why would he buy 3 stick of ram do you even know what your talking about. he has enough ram and doesnt need to upgrade it. either run 2 or 4 stick for dual channel. and if he did buy the setup i posted he would only be using the 2 1gig sticks of kingston he has and not the 512 stick.

Quote from natedog420 :

........and why would he buy 3 stick of ram do you even know what your talking about....

Quote from natedog420 :

........................and the speed from the 8800gts 320mb and the 9800gtx are pretty much the same.......

And you are asking me what I am talking about with comments like that

What I meant by not messing around with the CPU was. He does not NEED to change that part, to do that would require changing
the motherboard and everything else that goes with it, which is just too expensive to warrant at this stage.

Anyway, to clarify.........

firstly, the Dell dimension 4700 has 512mb of ram stock, so at $12 per 1GB, I recommended he buy 3 at that price and throw the 512 away. DUH!

secondly, the PSU you posted will not run the 8800GTS due to the lack of a 6 pin power connector needed

Please do your research (if you know how) before making such comments.

Quote from tongey :

And you are asking me what I am talking about with comments like that

What I meant by not messing around with the CPU was. He does not NEED to change that part, to do that would require changing
the motherboard and everything else that goes with it, which is just too expensive to warrant at this stage.

Anyway, to clarify.........

firstly, the Dell dimension 4700 has 512mb of ram stock, so at $12 per 1GB, I recommended he buy 3 at that price and throw the 512 away. DUH!

secondly, the PSU you posted will not run the 8800GTS due to the lack of a 6 pin power connector needed

Please do your research (if you know how) before making such comments.

funny if you would have looked at his cpuz txt file he has 2gb of kingston so he doesnt need it so....(and if running 3 stick witch is stupid because it makes the ram run at single channel and not dual channel like 2 or 4 sticks would run meaning dual channel is faster) the psu will run it cuz the videocard comes with a 4 pin molex to 6 pin and will work with a psu with a 6 pin or no 6 pin. and about the motherboard and cpu thing i showed him a setup that was $100 under his budget that will perform great and get what he needs to get from it meaning more than 100fps in lfs plus not to mention other good games with great graphics he can get. shows how much you know and the research you did lmfao

edit: the 9800gtx is close to the 8800gts 320 in performance. unless your talking about the 9800gtx+ witch is faster than both by a bigger margin

Quote from natedog420 :

funny if you would have looked at his cpuz txt file he has 2gb of kingston........................

Have to admit, I totally missed that part

natedog, you truly are the master. Therefore, I must bow down to your greatness :spyoda:

However, I am bored with this now. I have given the original thread poster my opinion and I stick with it (minus the RAM lol)