# Video Card Upgrade - Dell Optiplex GX280 SMT



## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Hi, I've got a Dell Optiplex GX280 SMT, recently I bought Sims 3 which I really want to play but it says that the in-built graphics card isn't good enough. I want to upgrade my graphics card - preferably one on this page: http://www.thesims3.com/game/systemreq. 

I realize that I need to upgrade my PSU, is this okay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-DELL-350W...66:2|39:1|72:1683|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50 ?

Please recommend a graphics card soon, and if it is possible to find one of those cards which just work with the normal 250W PSU.

Thanks :grin:


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

it's pcie if you start adding graphics card you will be up here

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004&Tpk=corsair+550w

which will be a problem if it is not a normal size atx psu


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

post your budget.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

My budget is no more than £60 or $83


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

that will only cover the psu


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

No that budget is regarding just the graphics card, which of the ATI radeon series or Nvidia Geforce series will work and fit in my GX280 SMT with a 350W PSU?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

bottom line pcie starts at quality 550w


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

You might manage a 9300GT or something... But I wouldn't recommend it. If you want a decent card you really need a new power supply as well, 350 watt Dell PSU won't run crap. It's probably just barely enough to power the machine as it is.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Can you send me the link for an official dell 550W PSU which will fit and work in my computer thanks


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Since it looks like Dell uses a standard ATX PSU, there is no reason to get an "official Dell PSU" since they are, quite frankly, junk. As in, it'll probably die shortly after the warranty ends and won't deliver the full rated power while it still works. If your computer *needs* an "official Dell PSU", as in the hardware isn't ATX compatible, I'd say get a new computer before trying to upgrade. Dell pulls all kinds of ****. By the way if they say you "Must have" a Dell PSU, chances are you must have it, but if they say they "recommend" a Dell PSU it just means that they want you to buy their product rather than someone else's.

Try this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004&Tpk=Corsair 550


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

Actually the power supplies they use are atx , but they specifically design the back plate to only work with their power supplies. You actually just have to saw off the proprietary back plate to fit normal power supplies. I've had to do this to dells before and it's not too hard.










http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703017

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102800

That's about the cheapest setup I can recommend. Just barely fits into 80$


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Which one of these GX280's does yours look like?
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx280/en/ug/index.htm


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

SMT = small mini tower


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Please can you recommend which Nvidia Geforce or ATI Radeon would fit and work in my computer, with the 550W PSU thanks.


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

With the corsair 550? For under 83$? You could try and nvidia 8600 or and ati 2600. Other then that I would not attempt to run a pci-e 2.0 card on this machine. Oem machines have a reputation for pci-e 2.0 cards not working in the 1.0 slots.

The machine specs will also pretty much bottle neck anything higher end.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Can't you run the Nvidia 8600 with a 350W PSU?


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

No , bare minimum would be a quality 400w/450w or higher with 26 amps on the 12v rail. this is the cheapest I'll recommend.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703017


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Will it even fit into my PC? Does the Dell GX280 SMT have a PCI express slot to insert a graphics card?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The card will fit, for the Power Supply you'll have to modify the case a bit as shown above.
Or use the PC Power & Cooling Dell replacement unit.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703016


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Can anyone show me where I need to insert the card with a picture or a detailed description thanks.

Just to confirm, this card will definitely fit: http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-8600GTS...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246177597&sr=8-2


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Yes it will fit.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Which part do I fit it in?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The PCIe video slot in the tower.
YouTube - How to remove and Install a Video Card! Computers!


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

I don't think my computer has a PCIe slot only 1 PCI slot being the Dell Optiplex GX280 Small Mini Tower...


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

says here it does

xpansion Slots Total (Free)
1.0 ( 0.0 ) x Memory - Full-height , 3.0 ( 2.0 ) x PCI Express x1 - DIMM 240-pin , 1.0 ( 0.0 ) x PCI - Full-height , 4.0 ( 3.0 ) x PCI Express x16 - LGA775 Socket , 1.0 ( 1.0 ) x Processor


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Could anyone post a link for a PSU that can be delivered in the UK and is suitable for UK electricity that is above 400W and is suitable for my computer and the card thanks


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?CSR-VX550
But you'll have to modify the case.

Try doing a search for "PPCS500D" see if you get any UK hits.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Would a 400W PSU be enough for the card?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

dai said:


> bottom line pcie starts at quality 550w


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Won't such a high wattage PSU fry the components and motherboard as there will be too much power?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

No. "550 watts" means "up to 550 watts". You cannot fry your computer with "too powerful" a PSU. A more powerful PSU just makes more power available for use.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

That's correct but too little power can be harmful.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

So by adding a 550W PSU and the graphics card above I can play Sims 3 flawlessly with excellent graphics? - as this was the only bit my computer wasn't up to scratch with


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

That's going to depend on the rest of the PC but yes it will play Sims 3.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

wrench97 said:


> http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?CSR-VX550
> But you'll have to modify the case.
> 
> Try doing a search for "PPCS500D" see if you get any UK hits.


I've ordered the XFX Nvidia Geforce 8600 GTS, I just need to get a PSU, I really don't want to cut anything out so would it just be possible to send me a link for a PSU available in the UK that will supply enough power to this card as well as have the adequate cables to the appropriate computer components and fit in my computer at the same time. Thanks.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

There is only one made the PC Power & Cooling PPCS500D It's only direct Dell replacement I know of, If it's not sold in the UK any more then I don't know what to tell you.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

wrench97 said:


> There is only one made the PC Power & Cooling PPCS500D It's only direct Dell replacement I know of, If it's not sold in the UK any more then I don't know what to tell you.


Will it contain the appropriate cables to the components of my computer?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Yes it is a standard ATX supply other then the power switch and AC cord placement.


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

It's really not hard to remove the piece of metal that's in the way though , it also opens up more power supply options.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-550...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246523257&sr=1-1


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

dai said:


> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-550...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246523257&sr=1-1


Regarding this PSU, does it contain all the cables for my computer components?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

you can look at the cables here,just click on the cable icon on the left

should have more than enough

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004&Tpk=corsair+550w


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Would this be a suitable PSU for my computer and the card: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...ower+&+Cooling+SILENCER+470+?productId=31341? 
Also does it contain the usual cables for the computer components thanks.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...Power+&+Cooling+SILENCER+470+?productId=31341 even


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The first link is bad, the second for the PC P&C 470 is too small and you still would have to cut the case.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Here's a quick update, I've bought the card but I'm not going to put it in yet because I'm ordering the Dell Silencer and Cooler 500W PSU from Newegg as I'll be in the USA from thursday this week. Thanks for everyones help.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Let us know how it goes.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Ok here is the update, I've bought the PSU now and I've installed both the PSU and Video card with no problems. I downloaded the drivers for the CD, but I've had major problems as I'm having severe moniter issues, the display is very uncoordinated and the nothing shows up after the windows bars have loaded. I have therefore removed the card and am relying on my previous card at the moment.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Have you uninstalled the old drivers?
Go into device manager expand Display Adapters, right click on the old adapter and select uninstall,`Shut Down the PC, Install the card boot tapping F8, select VGA mode from the list Disable any Antivirus/Malware programs install the new drivers reboot normally.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Also the card came with a power dongle with had a PCI express male part connected to two white 3 pin male connectors, I didn't install that also it came with a long black cable with the two ends both having the same round connectors. I didn't use that either do I need to use any of these?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

You'll need to hook up the power to the card the PSU should have a 6 pin connector to power the card eliminating the need for the adapter ("PCI express male part connected to two white 3 pin male connectors").
Long black cable I believe is an Svideo cable to hook up a TV if you wished.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

I uninstalled all the drivers and inserted the card as you've said - however when I run it I still get the same screen problems and it doesn't load after the windows starting up. Please help.


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

If you were using onboard video before go into the bios and make sure it's set to use pci-e video cards.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

How do I access Bios?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

When the computer is stating up it will probably show a "splash screen" with a big Dell logo before booting Windows. That splash screen should say something like "Press [key] to enter BIOS", only instead of [key] it will say what key you need. Usually it's one of the function keys (F12, F8, etc), delete, or tab.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

F2 on a Dell


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

I've just accessed bios - on the integrated devices > PCI slots and it says that it is on (accepts PCI devices) so I think there is another problem?


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

The current video card I am using is integrated it is: Intel 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family if that makes any difference...


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

Check for a video output setting , or a pci-e setting.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Under Video set the primary Video adapter to PCIe



> Video
> 
> Primary Video
> 
> ...


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Must I add the graphics card before I access Bios?


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

and do I still have to uninstall the previous video card's drivers?


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

I have just accessed BIOS - in the video section - primary video and it has given me two choices which are: Auto and Onboard, do I change it to Onboard as the default setting is Auto?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Setting it to onboard will force it to use the motherboard's integrated graphics. Auto will let it choose whether to use the onboard or PCI graphics, and if you have a PCIe card installed it should automatically choose PCI.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Was that with the card installed or uninstalled?


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

That was with the card uninstalled - but the default setting is Automatic


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

At this point I would check the card in another PC or another PCIe card in this PC.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Do I have to uninstall the previous card or the drivers before I install the card?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Yes to both.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Ok, so I think that was my mistake not uninstalling the previous card. However, if the new card fails to work, what will I have back to fall on?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

When you uninstall the drivers you will have the generic windows VGA drivers, but if you have no output at the Bios level(the first splash screen you see when starting) then it is not a driver or windows issue, more then likely a hardware issue.


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## Nimai (Jun 23, 2009)

Shall I just get my computer taken to a specialist computer consultant to try and fit the card?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

I think the card is bad as a guess but you would have to test it in another PC to know for sure.


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