Trying to pick out a new graphics card

[CorrTerek]

I have a refurbished Dell Optiplex GX520 and am trying to upgrade from the integrated chipset. According to PC Wizard my mainboard is an OXG312, and my chipset is an Intel i945G/GZ. The mainboard has no PCIe slots from what I've read, but according to PC Wizard and the Intel documentation, the chipset has three, one x16 and two x1. Can I install a graphics card to the chipset's PCIe slot, since the mainboard apparently doesn't have any? And, if so, are there any cheap video cards you'd recommend?

[aedipuss]

wow. chipset = motherboard. they are basically the same thing. a chipset i.e. a set of chips is used to make a motherboard.

open your computer up and see what it has for slots on the motherboard yourself. post a picture if you'd like help identifying the slots.

[CorrTerek]

I've opened up the case and taken a look inside (again) after taking a look at some documentation for the Optiplex GX520 small form factor. According to the diagrams, my PCI slot is to the left. However, on my board I have a longer slot next to the PCI slot (a little over 4 inches, compared to the PCI slot's 3 1/2 or so). Both slots are black. The longer one is labeled Slot 2, and both Everest and PC Wizard say the PCIe x16 slot is in Port 2. Have I found it?

[johns0]

According to http://www.intel.com/Products/Desktop/Chipsets/945G/945G-overview.htm the mb has a pci-e x16 so you can put in a pci-e video card.

A 9800gtx would be a cheap decent video card to put in that mb.

[CorrTerek]

I saw the documentation, I'm just trying to get confirmation since other sources seem to say that the mb doesn't have PCIe slots. Additionally, from what I've read, I'll need a "low profile" graphics card, since I'm using the small form factor version? I am trying to find out as much as possible beforehand, since even purchasing a $35-$50 video card from a place like Newegg will be a bit of a financial setback if it turns out I can't use it.

[johns0]

Open the case and see,i saw a pic of the mb on google images and it has a pci-e 16x slot,there are a few low profile cards.Is your case a slim model or just the mb is small?

[aedipuss]

if the case is standing upright, is the cd/dvd drive horizontal or vertical. there are 3 different gx520 models. 2 are slim and one is full size.

[aedipuss]

here's a picture - only the gx520 model the left has a pci-e video card slot. is that the one you have? the other 2 have low profile pci slots that use other low profile pci vid cards like these.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600007853&IsNo...=1&PageSize=50

[CorrTerek]

If the case were standing upright, the CD drive would be vertical. I thought it was the SFF version, but on closer inspection (and measuring with a tape measure) it appears to be the desktop version.

[aedipuss]

the power supply is really tiny, i'm not sure 220 watts is enough to allow the addition of any video card.

[CorrTerek]

That was my other concern. I had come across these two cards, and was wondering if they or similar cards would be worth the purchase. Does passive cooling require less power?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131350

Again, my main source of confusion is the fact that Dell claims that the Optiplex GX520 doesn't have a PCIe slot, yet the documentation for the 945G/GZ chipset says it does, and both PC Wizard and Everest claim I have a currently unused PCIe x16 slot. And when I open up the case, next to the PCI slot that Dell's documentation shows, I have a second, larger slot.

So I'm not really sure what I've got. I bought the computer refurbished -- it was being advertised as a "gaming" PC, though I mainly bought it for the hard drive space -- and I have no idea what, if anything, was changed beyond upgrades to the RAM and hard drive.

[edDV]

the power supply is really tiny, i'm not sure 220 watts is enough to allow the addition of any video card.

A gaming card will take more than 220W by itself.

Looks like a new video card also triggers a new power supply.

[aedipuss]

only if you have the desktop version is there a pci-e slot. the slim ones only have pci slots. the docs say something about one of the slots is a special one for use with a riser to create 2 pci slots out of that one.

is this the inside of yours?

[CorrTerek]

It looks similar, though I'm missing the triangular piece at the bottom there. You'll have to forgive me, as the computer I'm trying to upgrade is the one I'm using now. The slots I'm talking about would be at the bottom of that picture, I believe, though I do not have that white slot (PCI?) that's under the triangular piece. All of my slots are black -- I don't know if that makes a difference.

[edDV]

This mobo shows the three types of slots in newer computers. Color doesn't matter.

At the top is a PCIe x16 slot intended for a display card.

Below that are two PCIe x1 slots

Below those are three standard PCI slots.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express