New heatsink for CPU or single slot graphics card.!!

saddare

Hi board,

I bougth a really cheap dell advertised on the boards here (dimension E520) and was planning on upgrading in nice graphics card so i left it out.. the dell stuff was expensive. Also a low card.. now i realise why.

Anyhow i opened the box and it looked like lots of room but when i went and bought a HISx1950xt 256mb card i found it wouldnt fit due to a nasty design of the cpu heatsink.

So now i need to either exchange the card for a single slot card or rip out the heat sink and replace it with a different uber one that will keep it cool but no take up that much space.

Can anyone recommend a mega single slot card? I cant find a 7950gt anywhere local or in uk and it seems pretty sweet.

Any one changed a heat sink in a dimension E520?
What did they use?

Anti

can you take a pic of inside the case, as i have a feeling this is going to be a intel/dell btx design. Which can be a absolute nightmare.

saddare

IMG_3242.jpg

Oooh that was fun to learn.
Very good feature that.

Here is the heat sink opened.. it is on a hinge structure. You can see the detail and size of plastic to hold the sink in place.

IMG_3237.jpg

Cheers.
Basically if a different heatsink can be used here i will keep card.. if not i have to ship it back to uk asap

Chip is a Core 2 Duo 1.86GhZ.
The second pic is a bit fuzzy yell if you want a better one.

Anti

Thats what i was affraid of. BTX. Which means...ghey. The problem is BTX isnt really going to take off for a while, so no one is really making BTX coolers.

http://www.pc-look.com/boutik/Prod_Thermaltake-CPU-Cooling-Kit-BTX-Safari-BX01-CL-P0030-03__6430_en.html

Thats about the only one i can find. But uses the same mounting clip as what you have now. So its still gonna be in the way. The best option would be to change the motherboard for something else. And change the case. As there is hardly any room for a bigger card like a 8800gtx as the hdd cage is in the way.

saddare

?? Can i ask dell to change the motherboard?

Not really i dont think.
Then if i buy a new motherboard and a new case.. and keep the graphics card.. its all good to go?

I bought the dell cos it was a complete kit.. dont really fancy building up the case and mobo and installing a system as i am not too sure of the process of doing all that. Did one years ago.. an awful headache.

I am probably just going to find a single slot for now and it will do me for 2 years.. hopefully.

One last question.. this came with vista premium.. does that mean i HAVE to get a dx10 card?
Edit.. second.. what about a watercooling kit for the cpu? good bad in your opinion?

Thanks for your time.

Anti

Building pc's these days is very easy. Its just like lego really. And to answer your questions.

1. No you dont need dx10card, you can happily use a dx9 card with no problems at all.

2 if you fitted a waterblock to the cpu then you could get away with a dula slot card. But i would be worried about 2 things..

a. you with have to bastardize your case to get it working. and there is only 1 BTX watercooling kit out http://www.pc-look.com/boutik/Prod_Thermaltake-Full-WaterCooling-Kit-BIG-WATER-735-CL-W0075__4151_en.html

It has got decent reviews, and will no doubt do a better job cooling the cpu then the pos that dell/intel use. But the rad will have to be mounted externally, which will kill the looks of the pc.

b. I noticed your dell does not have a very high rated power supply, so i would be concerned that the psu has week 12v rails. or more then likely rail in the case of your psu. And since its a dell and a BTX case/mobo you might not be able to change it. And to fit a new one would mean taking a dremel to the case

Best thing you can do now is contact dell and find out about the powersupply, and what is the highest spec card tested with that pc.

But, if it were me i would sell the pc and build your own, its not nearly as daunting as you think. And if you get stuck there are loads of us here willing ot help.

Grim.

agreed it'll just end up causing you more hassle than its worth and as anti said its prety easy to put pcs together these days

extra-ordinary_

Anti wrote:

The problem is BTX isnt really going to take off for a while, so no one is really making BTX coolers.

Now prescott is dead, BTX will probably die too.

saddare

OOh, ok... the PSU issue is a problem.. could you explain.. i just assumed i could up it to a hiper 500w or some such with modular leads. (as in my existing medion 8083).

The reason I was asking about the water cooling is because there is an amazing single slot 8800gts that is water cooled


So sweet card... nice cpu cooler and just up the PSU.

So i cant change the psu?

Now it is a lot of money for a graphics set up on a 1.86 dual core ghz processor so fairly unrealistic.

Next question.. what if i wanted to in upgrade the cpu in a year how tough would it be with a dell machine?

As Anti said... i will probably just see what is the highest single slot card useable in this machine is. Will do me for two years, unless everything goes dx10.

Then build a new one from scratch.. Thanks.

Start looking for a 7950gt or a 1950pro

Anti

The problem with the psu is Dell do not make standard size'd psu's. They are a completly different shape. So that means you have to go back to dell and pay through the nose to get a new one. And thats if there is one availible. Upgrading the Cpu is easy, remove the cooler, remove cpu, put in new cpu, add thermal compound to the cpu, clean off the cooler, and put it back on. Its as simple as that.

saddare

Thanks all.