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Need video card replacement for Dell Vostro 400

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Hi. I have a Dell Vostro 400 that came stock with a GeForce 8800 GT video card. The power supply say it's 350 watts. I need to buy a new card because mine went bad. Which *compatible* card(s) do you suugest I get? I don't want to spend a fortune, but want a good *quiet* reliable card.

I say the card went bad because my monitor started getting blocks and all kinds of other junk on it. I was getting blue screens and NV4_disp endless loop messages. I uninstalled and reinstalled drivers in safe mode as I could not see anything in a normal boot. I tested the monitor... I hooked up another tower to this monitor and all is well. My conclusion is the video card is bad.

Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!
 
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Have you made sure the card is removable and that the psu isnt complete shit. I helped a friend upgrade a dell with basically new everything but it was a pain in the ass. Ended up having to buy a new PSU cause the one in the case was shit and put out nowhere near what it said.
 
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I'm assuming your PSU, besides being able to deliver 350 Watts (thereabouts), only has one 6-pin power plug. Well that limits you to a GTS 450, a HD 5770 or a HD 6850. Unless you can get a cable that has one plug on one end and two on the other end. Then your choices will improve a little, but not by much. The GTX 560 Ti would be the top, I think. Over that and you need a new PSU, yours is not going to cut it.
 
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Have you made sure the card is removable and that the psu isnt complete shit. I helped a friend upgrade a dell with basically new everything but it was a pain in the ass. Ended up having to buy a new PSU cause the one in the case was shit and put out nowhere near what it said.

Hi. Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure exactly what you mean... it's not on board video so yes it is removable. The power supply isn't the problem. It's a 350 watt Liteon. Sure not the big name some are, but it's fine, and always handle the card. The 8800 GT came with the computer so the power supply was compatible. I've always read and been told that the power supplies Dell uses are usually underrated.
 
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Hi. Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure exactly what you mean... it's not on board video so yes it is removable. The power supply isn't the problem. It's a 350 watt Liteon. Sure not the big name some are, but it's fine, and always handle the card. The 8800 GT came with the computer so the power supply was compatible. I've always read and been told that the power supplies Dell uses are usually underrated.

Liteon's arent bad. Maybe I jus got a bum PSU who knows.

But some prebuilts make it hard (read impossible) to upgrade. Not sure how often this happens anymore.
 
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I'm assuming your PSU, besides being able to deliver 350 Watts (thereabouts), only has one 6-pin power plug. Well that limits you to a GTS 450, a HD 5770 or a HD 6850. Unless you can get a cable that has one plug on one end and two on the other end. Then your choices will improve a little, but not by much. The GTX 560 Ti would be the top, I think. Over that and you need a new PSU, yours is not going to cut it.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not looking for anything special. I'm not a huge gamer. I just want something that's going to go in with no issues... something that is going to be compatible. Just easy Plug n Play. I would like something that is quiet and hopefully reliable. The ones you mentioned... do they fit my needs for sure?

Would a 9800 GT be crap? I don't know much about video cards. I can troubleshot, take them out and replace them as long as I have something that is compatible. :) LOL

P.S. There's a 6 pin yellow/black wires coming out of the power supply that ran to the 8800 GT if that makes a difference.
 
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9800GT is the same as 8800GT. Be aware that a lot of cards are dual slot these days, if your 8800gt is a single slot card you need to make sure you have room. I would go for a HD5770, they are fairly cheap and perform well. They also tend to use less power than nvidia's counterpart when not gaming. I gather the majority of the time you won't be gaming.
 
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The cards I listed are compatible with what you have, software and hardware wise. The 9800GT is not a bad card, it's essentially a 8800GTX with less heat output.
 
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9800GT is the same as 8800GT. Be aware that a lot of cards are dual slot these days, if your 8800gt is a single slot card you need to make sure you have room. I would go for a HD5770, they are fairly cheap and perform well. They also tend to use less power than nvidia's counterpart when not gaming. I gather the majority of the time you won't be gaming.

Very good point Mafia... mine is a single slot card. I did post a link to it and a description of the size. I do not want a card that takes up two slots. I looked just now and I believe that would give me problems. So your suggestion for a single slot card would be? Thanks!!!
 
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that's small compared to this generation of GPU's.. And yes that is a single slot cooler...

Yep that seems to be the case... mine is single slot! Hmm I have to be certain I get something that is exact/compatible. I will probably buy from Newegg unless any of you have other suggestions. Would anyone be so kind as to give me a direct link to one they know is compatible and good for my use? I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!
 
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Yep that seems to be the case... mine is single slot! Hmm I have to be certain I get something that is exact/compatible. I will probably buy from Newegg unless any of you have other suggestions. Would anyone be so kind as to give me a direct link to one they know is compatible and good for my use? I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

From what I can see in the pictures, getting a dual-slot GPU shouldn't really be an issue - there should be room for it.
As was pointed out above, though, the length of the replacement GPU might be a bigger problem..
 
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From what I can see in the pictures, getting a dual-slot GPU shouldn't really be an issue - there should be room for it.
As was pointed out above, though, the length of the replacement GPU might be a bigger problem..

Hmm length I'm not so sure about. I think it's the width that would be an issue? In this case a card taking up 2 slots instead of mine that takes up 1 currently. Unless I am confused... The other poster talked about dual slots and that would refer to width, not length. Correct?

The length of my current card is 9 inches long. It's 9 1/2 inches long if you count the DVI ports.
 
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Hmm length I'm not so sure about. I think it's the width that would be an issue? In this case a card taking up 2 slots instead of mine that takes up 1 currently. Unless I am confused... The other poster talked about dual slots and that would refer to width, not length. Correct?

The length of my current card is 9 inches long. It's 9 1/2 inches long if you count the DVI ports.

Well, the only reason I made that statement, is because the pictures show this system as being in a mini-tower, with four expansion slots at the back. This means, in theory, that a double-slot GPU shouldn't pose a problem (unless there's something in the way on the mobo itself, or the other slots are taken up by something already?).
 
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Well, the only reason I made that statement, is because the pictures show this system as being in a mini-tower, with four expansion slots at the back. This means, in theory, that a double-slot GPU shouldn't pose a problem (unless there's something in the way on the mobo itself, or the other slots are taken up by something already?).

Oh I see what you mean. Yes there are four slots and one of those is for the video card. The other 3 are not being used. So you are probably right... a two sot card may fit. I would still feel safer making a purchase of a single slot card... just to be sure. I hate returning things in the event it would not work/fit. :)
 
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Oh I see what you mean. Yes there are four slots and one of those is for the video card. The other 3 are not being used. So you are probably right... a two sot card may fit. I would still feel safer making a purchase of a single slot card... just to be sure. I hate returning things in the event it would not work/fit. :)

Understood ;)
Well.. pretty much any of the above-made suggestions would do nicely as a replacement (including the 9800GT), but it'd be worth getting the latest GPU you can get, where you won't run into an issue with width or power-usage (to suit your PSU).
:)
 
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Understood ;)
Well.. pretty much any of the above-made suggestions would do nicely as a replacement (including the 9800GT), but it'd be worth getting the latest GPU you can get, where you won't run into an issue with width or power-usage (to suit your PSU).
:)

Agreed again... it would be nice to get the latest GPU (that would be better than the 9800) and probably cost about the same..... as long as it is compatible. :) I appreciate your help!
 
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Who has the best warranty on video cards? Also which ones are quiet? I had an EVGA once (AGP) that had annoying fan noise. This 8800 GT I have that went bad on me was almost silent.
 
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BTW.. I had a quick look at the mobo that comes with this system and it appears as though you are able to replace the PSU as well (no nasty proprietary ATX pin-outs) - this is handy should you wish to upgrade to a much beefier GPU later on ;)

Who has the best warranty on video cards? Also which ones are quiet? I had an EVGA once (AGP) that had annoying fan noise. This 8800 GT I have that went bad on me was almost silent.

As far as I'm aware, most manufacturers are similar in their warranty offerings, but some might net you a better deal if you register with them within a certain time-frame (XFX for example).
I am, however, not an expert in this regard, so perhaps others might be able to give you a better reply :)
 
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BTW.. I had a quick look at the mobo that comes with this system and it appears as though you are able to replace the PSU as well (no nasty proprietary ATX pin-outs) - this is handy should you wish to upgrade to a much beefier GPU later on ;)



As far as I'm aware, most manufacturers are similar in their warranty offerings, but some might net you a better deal if you register with them within a certain time-frame (XFX for example).
I am, however, not an expert in this regard, so perhaps others might be able to give you a better reply :)

Thanks for all of that Jack. I appreciate you looking in to those things for me.
 
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