Dell Dimension 4550...

[Alarria]

is the computer my wife is using, and she has a Geforce 4 and 512 of DDR ram. Basically we are looking for what the best video card would be she could use in that machine, with whatever motherboard her comp has, and how much and what type of ram to get. I BELIEVE it holds up to 1gig, but 1gig of what im not sure.

Thanks for any advice!

edit: sorry for not being specific with her comp specs, we're both computer newbies when it comes to hardware =(

[Fozzik]

What is the intention of the upgrade, and how much were you hoping to spend?

Some more specs would help, like the type and speed of the processor, and if possible, the wattage of the power supply.

[rabb1t]

...Geforce 4 and 512 of DDR ram...

Gah! :eek:

Fozzik

Spaz. Search on teh Intarweb.

Specs - Sept 2002 (http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_Dimension_4550_series_for_home/4507-3118_7-20478986.html?tag=sub)

2.66 Pent 4
256 base ram @333 MHz (PC2700)
Intel 845PE chipset
PSU - no mention of it, but with those specs I'd put bets it is 250w or less

In all honesty it would not be worth the $ to upgrade that. It would serve you better to just get a new entry level system, such as Foz's $1,000 system.

We may also be able to squeak you into the ~$850 range if we build on an AM2 base with a single core CPU. (Which you could upgrade at any future time.)

[Alarria]

well, we are on a majorly tight budget, and thought if we could upgrade it to at least 1 gig of ram, which i think is the most the motherboard can even use, and a decent video card, we could get away with maybe 300-400 bucks.

i recently got a Dell XPS400 for 450$, which has these specs (except my harddrive is 160, not 250). Pretty sure i could upgrade it fairly well, any suggestions?


thanks for taking the time to help some computer newbies here.

[rabb1t]

thought if we could upgrade it to at least 1 gig of ram, which i think is the most the motherboard can even use, and a decent video card, we could get away with maybe 300-400 bucks.

You most certainly could get more ram and a vid card in that range. However, I really wouldn't expect it to manage current games over the bare minimum speeds at 1024x768.

Kingston Value Ram 1 gig 2x 512 kit (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141434) $113 - assuming you only have 2 slots on the board, which is likely the case.
Evga 7800 GS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130269) $266

Total = $379

However compare this to the following...
(mix of stuff I'm pulling outa my *BEEP* and Foz 1k suggestions)

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103633) AM2 socket $90
Asus M2N-E (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131022) $93
Patriot 2 gig DDR-667 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220095) $180 - check around to be sure of compatibility with the MB
Evga 7600 GT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130017) $132 after rebate
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250 gig Sata 3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701) $78
Cooler Master Centurion 5 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119068) $45
Antec Truepower TPII 550w (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931) $90
DVD burner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827151121) $31
Mouse ? - Use old?
Keyboard ? - Use old?

Total = $739

Yeah, this is a fair bit more, but it is a very significant upgrade and gets you current on all parts (save for being a single core, which you can replace later with a dual core.)

[rabb1t]

i recently got a Dell XPS400 for 450$, which has these specs (except my harddrive is 160, not 250). Pretty sure i could upgrade it fairly well, any suggestions?

*looks around* um... what specs?

Looking not at yer post I seea HardOCP article with some specs (http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=OTI0) and it seems like that is fairly recent and would just need GPU upgrades and a boost to 2 gig.

[Alarria]

sigh, forgot to include the link =\

http://www.dealtime.com/xPF-Dell_Dell_XPS_400_Desktop_Computer_for_Home_DXPS40 0F1

[rabb1t]

*wince*

GPU, Ram, core is meh, but you can't really up the CPU to current gen as its a 945 chipset. (I'm pretty sure, but not 100% sure, that 945 can't run the C2D line.)

I suppose it isn't terrible... with those changes you may be able to squeak a couple more years out of the system. That 2.8 gig (32-bit single) core could hit a wall fairly quickly though. Looking at the costs on that core type though... again I'd just recommend above compared to upgrading the existing system. Yeah, you would spend twice as much, but you'd be free from all limitations for about 4 years vs. maybe 2 or so.

Sorry... I tend to be a bit (lot?) more pessimistic than most in terms of PC upgrade paths / longevity. :p

[tennex]

The Dell 4550 is just not even worth investing anymore money into. My old pc is along the the same time frame and also a dell. I upgraded the video card to a radeon x1600 and the ram to 1 gig and I am having trouble selling it. Hope you get something newer up and running for her, good luck.

[Alarria]

thanks guys for all your help. we are looking at getting something around the 800ish specs you posted, and upgrading my ram to 2gigs and a new card. how they are now are fine, since we're just using them for WoW, and its not that bad. vanguard will be a different story i guess =\

[rabb1t]

Just remember, the AMD core ratings are ~ what they are in 32-bit speed. So, a while ago when Brad mentioned unofficially that you want to look at a 32-bit 3 gig core or faster, the 3500+ core above would be faster than that. :D

The above system should be fine for VG. May not run it at high settings, but it should be fine.

As always though, I recommend waiting till you have actually played something first hand before upgrading specifically for it.