Upgrading Dell Dimension 9150

[MadMan0]

Looking to upgrade my desktop which is around 10 years old.
Was top spec when I bought it DDR2 memory
Dual Intel VIIV processor 3GHz & 2.99GHz...
Motherboard supports upto 3Gb RAM DDR2
Current GPU is dead, was NVIDIA P280.

The desktop has no restrictions on it (software wise) so you can use it to do anything you like, unlike the machines we can buy today

Will only be using the desktop for the next few months I think; so have a soft limit of £200 to spend. Looking for graphics, maybe new mother board also...
Any suggestions?

 

[colin79666]

You would be better off just buying a new machine IMHO.
[ame]http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_nr_p_36_1?rh=n%3A340831031%2Cn%3A428651031%2Ck%3Azoostorm%2Cp_36%3A428447031&keywords=zoostorm&ie=UTF8&qid=1404661438&rnid=428432031[/ame]

 

[2668GRIFFIN]

Another £150-200 will get you a great computer running windows 8.1 for example.
LUIGI

 

[MadMan0]

New PCs will not run as I want them too, as such I am looking to upgrade the graphics and possibly the CPU in this one. As far as I understand, any graphics card will work in this system but they just won't work to there full potential? Is this right?

 

[ChrisUK]

Depends on the slot / motherboard. I highly doubt the 8-10year old power supply would be strong enough to feed a modern graphics card.

In my professional opinion you'd be throwing money down the drain.

Personally I'd just buy a cheapo graphics card (£30-£50) and get it working again.

 

[jrkitching]

Personally I'd just buy a cheapo graphics card (£30-£50) and get it working again.

Or just buy another secondhand nVidia P280 from ebay. There were several listed today for around a tenner.

 

[Eklipze3k]

The desktop has no restrictions on it (software wise) so you can use it to do anything you like, unlike the machines we can buy today

I'm not sure I get what you mean here? If you're worried about a new PC having a restricted OS, you could just buy one without an OS and sort that for yourself - http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=Zoostorm

 

[MadMan0]

Thanks for the posts;
I've found a new graphics card which is a fair price and should work in my desktop:
[ame]http://www.amazon.co.uk/VTX3D-Graphics-Express-CrossFire-Technology/dp/B00BHAXKU4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405875274&sr=8-1&keywords=Radeon+HD7750[/ame]

I have never bought components from Amazon before; has anyone done bought from them before? did the parts arrive in one piece?

 

[Stu DemonD]

I buy from Amazon on a nearly daily basis, never had any complaints. You just need to read the listing properly.

 

[custard]

strange thread

http://www.ebuyer.com/643319-zoostorm-desktop-pc-7260-8000

 

[Gli Azzurri]

To be honest, if your budget is only 150 quid or so then it's probably best to upgrade. The machine has a PCI Express port which means a fair few modern graphics cards will go in the machine BUT that dell model only has a 375w power supply, so you'll need a card that doesn't need too much juice.

The Radeon HD 5450 is an entry level card in terms of gaming but it's onlytwenty quid and will use little or no power.

That PC has a Socket T CPU slot, so if you want to upgrade look for a high end Pentium 4 extreme edition, or have a look for a socket t dual core cpu.

Any DDR2 memory will fit as long as it's for desktops, although be aware some motherboards have a maximum capacity.

BE AWARE though that motherboards and processors also have a lifespan, and if ur graphics card has died, those two probably aren't far behind. Would suck if you paid for the upgrades and then the rest of it died. Motherboards usually only last 10 years at best

 

[ChrisUK]

Motherboards usually only last 10 years at best

Tell that to the Pentium 133 rig I've just setup to do some retro gaming. 7th Guest and Grim Fandango! Love the classics .

 

[Gli Azzurri]

Tell that to the Pentium 133 rig I've just setup to do some retro gaming. 7th Guest and Grim Fandango! Love the classics .

Christ i remember grim fandango. And well, they only last about a decade if they are used every day. I think the average board will have 50,000-75,000 life hours. Then again, that doesn't mean it willl die

 

[MadMan0]

I went with the "Radeon HD 7750" 1GB DDR3 memory, with HDMI outputs and will also work with PCI Express 3.0.

Works great without any problems. The card appears to top out at 58 DegC when playing "Payday 2" on highest graphics settings. The game runs smoothly

Paid £50 total I think, including postage.

And yes, the DDR2 RAM for the Desktop is limited to 3.5 GB. 4 GB installed.

 

[Gli Azzurri]

That's pretty close to the 7790 that i've got. Decent cards for the price

 

[Stu DemonD]

I tend to refer to this quite a bit:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

 

[ChrisUK]

I went with the "Radeon HD 7750" 1GB DDR3 memory, with HDMI outputs and will also work with PCI Express 3.0.

Works great without any problems. The card appears to top out at 58 DegC when playing "Payday 2" on highest graphics settings. The game runs smoothly

Paid £50 total I think, including postage.

And yes, the DDR2 RAM for the Desktop is limited to 3.5 GB. 4 GB installed.

Quite impressive given the spec. I'm assuming not in 1920x1200?

 

[MadMan0]

Quite impressive given the spec. I'm assuming not in 1920x1200?

Not quite, my TV is limited to 1080p. But the graphics card says it can go higher but at a risk to the TV?

Either I'm happy with it :-D cheaper than a new PC