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Dell Demension E520

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newguy24

New Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Messages
382 (0.07/day)
Location
Michigan
System Specs
Processor Intel Core i7-950 3.07ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte X58-usb3
Cooling Hyper 212 plus
Memory 12gb 6x2GB geil
Video Card(s) HD6870
Storage 1tb samsung spinpoint
Display(s) LG e2350 monitor
Case Lancool PC-k62
Power Supply Corsair HX850watt
Software Windows 7
whats the best GPU card i can put in this? and that would fit, reading allot about the video cards fan being in the way....if you could recomend something cheap I would be thankful!! not looking to drop allot into it...just would like to add a NICE GPU for an older computer.



note: maybe getting a "ATI 102-A676(B) 512mb Video Card" off craiglist for 5$ for the time being....is this a good card? can it be overclocked, to make it a better card?


Looking to watch movies, listen to music(not really important for card), and do some gaming....crossfire,little odd and end games...dont think id be doing COD or anything like that, but would like too.


computer has 17inch monitor, 4GB of ram at 667mhz(maxed out) , 305 PSUwatt(LOW I KNOW, but ill wing it :P ) extra fans...


so thanks for help, again looking for an inexpensive card that would be good(one im getting ok?? cant fit two can it? lol ) and also want to know whats the BEST card i can put in this(that would fit,if i feel like spending)....and if your feeling friendly whats a cheap audio card i can put into it :D


thanks
Newguy
 
You haven't indicated how much your willing to spend on these parts that your looking for. But based on your needs, here are my suggestions.
Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100287L Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 12...

Audio Card: ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interfac...
or go cheaper with this
ASUS Xonar DS 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Inter...
or even cheaper(my recommendation out of the 3)
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-b...

Don't expect much from these. After all, I am recommending "cheap" parts. And I have no idea what that ATI 102-A676(B) is. What is the actual model name?
 
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Actual model name im not sure haha havent got it yet, pick it up monday......also as far as price...im not sure. I dont want to put to much into this system already about 65$ thats for a dvd/cd drive/dvd/cd burner/17inch dell LCD/4gb ram DDR2 @ 667mhz/ so maybe another 50-75$ putting total of about 130-150$ into it. which i then would have a nice little system.

All i need now is to add GPU card/AUDIO card/ wireless keyboard n mouse....

as for the sound card you recommended....was thinking of that one just dk if 30$ is worth it all i have for speakers is a sound bar that hooks to bottom of monitor....i have a set of 2 other speakers but i dont think the sound bar and desk speakers would both work at same time....or would it??? if i could get a set up to have them both work that would be great!, thats what im looking for.

As far as the video card, was maybe thinking of one (i know its asking allot) for about 40$ i can overclock and make it a nice card...the one you suggested idk if the card would fit with that fan hooked to it...i have read allot where the fans on the GPU cards are too big to fit into the area needed...

thanks
Newguy


Anymore help would be very helpfull guys!


ALSO: say i wanted to put alittle money into this system.... What ells would you guys add?? if i have another 100$ to throw into it...so already 65$ into it and another 75$ for gpu/soundcard..thats 140$ then add another 110$ to the pot...making total of 250$ ...would ya add a better gpu? or swop out MOBO and cpu??case?? idk just a thought...thanks guys!
 
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If you have speakers, you won't want to use those chinsey monitor speakers, and unless your speakers are really high end or you're looking for specific features that onboard audio can't give you, you don't need a sound card. What kind of video card do you need? Do you plan to do any gaming, or just something to get you a visual? You'll probably have onboard video too, which will work fine if it's the latter. If it's for gaming, keep in mind that power supply isn't the best. Try looking for an AMD 6770 or something similar.
 
gaming yes...but for the most part trying to just make this a great PC out of little price....ill either give it to my brother or sell it....game that might be played on it is crossfire...but not sure.

also i dont think the AMD 6770 would fit.
 
Is that a full size case? What CPU do you have in it?

Why would the 6770 not fit? Do you have two slots available? does it even have a PCI-e?

Do you have an extra power plug. 6-pin, 4 pin?

What are the FULL specs of this computer? Because if this has a amd sempron then forget gamming

Im asking about the CPU because I worked on a 530 and it had a sempron in a AM2 socket. So before I would buy any graphics card I would get a better CPU

And forget about the CL card its a 1300. Slightly better the the onboard GPU

We really need all you specs
 
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Check the Service tag specs and system propertys to get the exact specs.

This system could be bought with a number of different CPUs. From a sempron to a quad core Athlon II.
Then open it up to see if you can get a two slot wide GPU card in it. Or if you need a single

It may already have a GPU in it


The Service tag is on the back. Its a white sticker. Go to Dells website and enter the Tag #
 
yes i can get service tag im at work at the moment....it only has room for one GPU...ill get service tag later tonight

if i had to guess i think its a

Intel Pentium 4 2.99GHz Processor
 
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Now what CPU does it say in your System Properties. (right click on My Computer)
 
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OK, the E520 early versions can only take up to a Pentium D, the later models can take up to a Core 2 Quad(65nm), it depends on the motherboard theres 2 or 3 versions, but its almost definitely the core 2 board because they didn't make the other long.

but a 945 should work either way

As for the graphics card make sure you buy a single slot unless you want to cut the shroud on the cpu heatsink a little, but even then avoid cards which exaust heat out the back because the exhaust will be blocked.
 
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Just worked on a Dell Dimension E520 for a client. I put an AMD X1300/1500 GPU I had laying around the shop in it. The problem with the system I worked on was the PSU was 300W with only one 6 pin PCI-E connector. You might want to upgrade the PSU so you can get a decent GPU.
 
ill think about the psu upgrade....but now im thinking should i get the 945 processor from microcenter??bring it too a 3.4 ghz...maybe overclock it alittle if possible understand the dell mobo are not overclockable.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0370681

do i know for a fact this would work?



EDIT: nevermind of coruse microcenter is 5min away and the product i want is out of stock....now im back to square one.

this only takes pentium D correct?
 
newguy24 said:
this only takes pentium D correct?
Click to expand...

Did you even look at the links in my post?:confused:

You should be able to run a Q6600 or Q6700 (1066 FSB), if you have (A.) E520 Model DM061 w/ G965 MB (B) Bios version 2.4.0

And, any Pentium 4 5XX, 6XX processors or Pentium D 8XX, 9XX processors or Celeron® D 3XX processors or Intel Core™ E6400 processors and earlier or Intel Core™ E6600 processors and later.

But, in all honesty, I would try to save and build, something more up to date.
Or, go through the B/S/T forum and see what deals you could get.:)
 
Thats the problem with trying upgrade a Dell. Its a hit and miss.

I would physically check that CPU to see what it is.

Get a detailed list of what exactly you have in it now

If its a Pentium D then you could try a Core 2 Duo (used) but it may not post. SO be ready to resell it.

1 6-pin is fine with a 300w. You not going to break any benchmarks with this thing

So look for a single slot GPU like a 3600, 4600 5600 5700 or Nividia 8600GT 9600GT
 
My dad got a Dimension E520 from a friend, and I put a GeForce GT 220 DDR2 in there that I had lying around, as well as a 4GB kit of G.Skill DDR2-800. Computer came with a C2D 2.13, 2GB DDR2 533, and a 128MB GeForce 7300 LE.

Since the CPU is pretty old and the PSU is a custom size (I didn't see any PCIe power connections), I don't think anything more than a 6670/GT240/GT430/9800 GT Green would be beneficial for it. My previous laptop (with a T8100 2.1GHz and 2 8600m GT cards in SLi) was considerably CPU bottlenecked in TF2 and some other games, even with just one card. Core 2 Duos don't really seem to shine until you reach 3GHz+ (with 4GHz being perfect for an E8400 and such).
 
I used to have a Demension E521 (AMD version, otherwise the same) and I managed to get a 9800gt that didn't require any auxillary power to fit. Ran fine on the stock power supply, even had it overclocked a decent amount. The problem is that its a BTX layout, so the graphics card cooler is on top and will interfere with other heatsinks on the mobo.

I had this thread bookmarked from when I had that dell, good bit of info about the E520/521 there.
http://forums.techguy.org/reviews/538282-dell-warning-home-gaming.html
 
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