PC Upgrade Advice

I am looking for some upgrade advice.

I have a Dell 9200 Dimensions PC.
It has an E6400 Duo Core CPU
4 Gig Ram
GF9600GT Graphic card
20" Monitor 1680 x 1050 native res
Using Windows 7.

I have some cash available to upgrade (im from the UK)

My main choice was a PSU and Graphic Card upgrade, but what one?

Is there a better option?

Got around £200 available so not looking at top end GPU

Not upgraded for a while and feel a little out of the loop/confused so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Does the 9200 take a standard ATX power supply? And who’s the best e-tailer in the UK, so that we can figure out pricing accurately?

How much room is there in your Dell - can you fit a dual-slot video card or are you stuck with single-slot cards only? What’s the wattage on the power supply?

Get some 650W 80% efficiency PSU for like $70 (Antec makes one, Earthwatts, that’s a good value). If you can’t fit a dual-slot video card, then you’re boned, but you most likely can.

Yeah the PSU is a standard one it’ a 400w atm but it’s not a dell special jobby thankfully. The case seems big enough for a dual slot card as well.

www.scan.co.uk
www.dabs.com
www.overclockers.co.uk

Are all pretty good online retailers, not sure of anymore though.

Thanks for the help.

Check for PSU reviews and then find something you want (650W is more than sufficient if you plan on keeping your case and upgrading components over time). My recommendation is the Earthwatts 650W:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015&cm_re=earthwatts--17-371-015--Product

Might be able to find a better price. Reviews seem to point to it being fairly loud, though.

Your PSU is probably fine. Get a radeon 5770.

Gotta be wary of the power requirements on the graphics cards - I called up the maker of mine before I installed it so I could be sure to know how much power they recommended.

This would work, in my opinion. You’d only need to get nervous about the power supply if you went with something high end (Ati 48xx/58xx, Nvidia 275, 280, 285, 295): those suck up to 200W, while the 5770 is rated for a 110W peak consumption (generally you’ll be well below 100W). And the good news is, you don’t need something faster than a 5770 with a 1680x1050 monitor.

See http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd5770-hd5750_5.html#sect0 for power consumption charts.

I’d guesstimate your PSU can safely handle up to an HD 4850 or 5770 - i.e., anything with only one PCIe power connector on it. I’d go with a 5770, as it’s faster and uses less power, but you might be able to find a really good deal on the 4850 these days (no idea what video card prices are like in the U.K.). You could go higher-end, but then it becomes iffier if your PSU is powerful enough (and a replacement PSU eats into your budget) and I don’t know what’s available for under £200 that’s better. And I think you’ll find the 5770 plenty fast compared to your 9600 GT.

Thanks for all the help. Think i will pick up a 5770 over the xmas period as a treat along with a PS3.