Could I upgrade video card

[firecat318]

Hi everyone - I have a Dell Inspiron 530 desktop, that came with a Intel G31/G33 chipset. Lately I have been wanting to play more games but I noticed that my video card (or lack thereof) is keeping me back from playing a lot of games. My question to you people is this: would my computer allow me to buy a new graphic/video card and install it even though I have an integrated chipset in my computer already?

And if it is possible, could someone please recommend a good card for a cheap price...

 

[PharmrJohn]

What is your budget and how much RAM do you have? .....and yes, you would be able to define another, better, GPU that will override the integrated unit. That is not a problem. However, I think you will be limited by your G31. It is a good entry level chipset, but not for high end gaming.

How old is your rig anyway?

 

[firecat318]

I have maybe $200 to spend, possibly a bit more. It has 4 GB of RAM. It is 1 year old. Running Vista 64 bit.

 

[sniperviper21]

I cant find the specific PC specs. but what i have read in the last few mins, it has a Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz Proc, and it will probably have a PCI E 2.0 card slot on the motherboard.

what size monitor are you using?
and how good of graphics do you want?
how big is you Power Supply Unit?

 

[firecat318]

I cant find the specific PC specs. but what i have read in the last few mins, it has a Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz Proc, and it will probably have a PCI E 2.0 card slot on the motherboard.

what size monitor are you using?
and how good of graphics do you want?
how big is you Power Supply Unit?

Using a 17" monitor. I just want a decent enough graphics card so I can play games like Flight Sim. X without severe lag and games like Medieval2: total war, Empire:total war. The card doesn't need to be that advanced.. just better than what I have now.

 

[sniperviper21]

anything is better then you got now.

but to get a decent card you need atleast a 450W PSU, bare minimum 350W.

without a good one, your pretty stuck.

you could get a 550W Cooler Master PSU for 50$ and then get a HD5770 for 164$

with that PSU, and that Card, you'd easly be able to play FSX or any other game max on your monitor. Yes it is very over kill for your size screen, but its a good future proof product.

 

[JogaBonito1502]

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022

(if you choose to go with the HD5770)

I think you could get away with a 9800GTX+: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339&cm_re=9800GT-_-14-130-339-_-Product

 

[shozzking]

you probably wouldnt be able to play fsx that much better because by what i've read it seems to be really CPU limited

 

[foothead]

You will be CPU bottlenecked if you go with anything higher than a 4850 or a 4770 for anything like flight simulator. It depends what your resolution is.