Will this Ram and Graphics Card Work with This Dell e520 Computer?

blobert

Hello,

I've just got a Dell Dimension e520 as per the offer in Bargain Alerts.

Here is the basic spec of the computer:
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_e520?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=specstab

In terms of Graphics cards it says the following:

Expansion Slots
PCI: 2 Slots
PCIe x1: 1 Slot
PCIe x16 (Graphics): 1 Slots

I got it with no card but the one Dell supply is the 256MB PCI ExpressTM NVIDIA® GeForceTM 7300LE TurboCache graphics card.

Anyway I'm looking to get a cheap card with DVI, something like this: http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=48QL&CategorySelectedId=11137&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11137,43990000

I'm not sure if it will work as there is some talk on the other thread about this Dimension using non standard graphics cards. Any advice would be much appreciated.

There is also currently 1gig of Ram (2x512mb), according to the spec, this is Dual-Channel DDR2 SDRAM (533MHz)

Now if I buy this RAM (cheap on eBay) will it work in the computer:

New Micron 1GB ( 2 X 512MB ) DDR2 667 PC2-5300
* PC2-5300
* DDR2-667Mhz
* CL5
* Un-buffered
* Non ECC
* 240 gold pins
* 1.8V

The speed seems to be different so I'm not sure will it work with the other pair, any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Robert

8T8

Yeah the graphics card will work though you may as well just get this one & save a few bucks if all you need is a DVI port.

If you are buying from Dabs you may as well buy the RAM as well. Get some Crucial ram as Dell's almost always accept this type of RAM, the fact that it's DDR-2 667 wont make any difference it will clock down to DDR-2 533.

blobert

Thanks for that, I'm bidding on the above ram on eBay so will hopefully get it for cheaper than buying from Dabs, we will see.

Re the graphics card, I'm getting a 22" monitor with the Dell that supports DVI so I figure its worth getting a cheap graphics card with DVI to support this, hopefully it will give a better image. Not going to be gaming so no need for a fancy card, I assume 2gig of Ram and a cheap graphics card will be good enough to run Vista Ultimate Edition with all bells and whistles?

Anti

I have the 22" dell monitor you are on about. It comes with a VGA cable too. So infact there is no need for a graphics card if your pc has a onboard VGA port.

blobert

Thanks, I know I can connect the monitor up using the VGA cable but thought I would get a better picture (for watching movies etc) if I used DVI (which I would need a graphics card for). Am I wrong about this?

I won the gig of Ram for a mere €20 including postage by the way on eBay so now just have to get a graphics card.

I'm not going to be gaming so no need for a fancy card, I assume 2gig of Ram and a cheap graphics card will be good enough to run Vista Ultimate Edition with all bells and whistles?

Anti

I see no difference between VGA and DVI to be honest.

astrofool

DVI gives a sharper image, and colours are usually more accurate. I notice a difference, some people don't, others claim they don't because they don't have it and others claim they do because they do have it

RAM should be fine, the graphics card is probably at the low end of what is supported by Aero, but should be ok. Might be worth pushing up to an X1300 for Vista, you get AVIVO that way as well, which is perfect for watching movies et al (ATI have far better Vista drivers currently).

Gadgetman496

That card you are looking at only has 128MB RAM & has DDR2

blobert

gadgetman496 wrote:

That card you are looking at only has 128MB RAM & has DDR2

I know its a basic card, like I said I'm not a gamer and am just looking for something to run Vista Ultimate with Aero on etc and DVI out to work with my monitor.

I've just ordered this card, I'm assuming it will work fine?

http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=48QL&CategorySelectedId=11137&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11137,43990000

Thanks

Gadgetman496

blobert wrote:

I know its a basic card, like I said I'm not a gamer and am just looking for something to run Vista Ultimate with Aero on etc and DVI out to work with my monitor.

I've just ordered this card, I'm assuming it will work fine?

http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=48QL&CategorySelectedId=11137&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11137,43990000

Thanks

You can see the Spec for Windows Aero here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa905075.aspx

blobert

Thanks for that, looks like I'll be fine with 2 gigs of Ram and a 128mb graphics card.

Will probably turn off most fancy features anyway after about 2 minutes:)

TerrorFirmer

http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=4124&s=8

Some nice general info and tests there.

blobert

Thanks for all the help guys, its much appreciated

blobert

Hello again, my card has arrived and I've noticed its PCI-E.

There is also a slot for PCI-E x16 graphics cards on the computer and I've seen that there is a similar PCI-E x16 card on dabs for the same price:

http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4HPG&SearchType=1&SearchTerms=7100GS&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0

Is PCI-E x16 superior to PCI-E (I believe it is a newer technology) and is it worth swapping the card?

Thanks,
Robert

Gadgetman496

blobert wrote:

Hello again, my card has arrived and I've noticed its PCI-E.

There is also a slot for PCI-E x16 graphics cards on the computer and I've seen that there is a similar PCI-E x16 card on dabs for the same price:

http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4HPG&SearchType=1&SearchTerms=7100GS&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0

Is PCI-E x16 superior to PCI-E (I believe it is a newer technology) and is it worth swapping the card?

Thanks,
Robert

You're fine Robert,

That card you bought is a PCI Express X16 so it's spot on for your board.
Just follow your own link & look at the Spec for the card on Dabs. They gave it a title of PCI Express but most are x16 these days anyway so they probably assumed you would know that, it is clearly defined in the Spec though.

blobert

Great thanks for that, I'll put it in later today along with the Ram.