PC Graphics

[manwithabox]

Hello, I have an old Dell Dimension E310 with WinXP that's still chugging away like a champ, but it's OS is unsupported, and therefore web browsers among other things are falling by the wayside. I am looking to upgrade to Windows 7 which is not much younger, but it's still supported for a while, while I save my pennies for a PC replacement. I have most all hardware needed for Win7, but need a graphics card that supports DirectX 9. Those are also older cards, as now they are out with DirectX 12+ support. But I'm looking for a simple low-profile graphics card that will allow me to upgrade to Win7. I've seen many suggestions in older forum threads about the web, but pretty much all options I look up are not available at online sites. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[rx64error]

I think you have a Intel GMA 900.

Disable Windows 7 Aero. If you have a driver for Windows Vista try to install them under Windows 7.

You can buy any PCI Graphics card that supports Windows 7 and is not to big for the Case.

Before you buy any GPU for this old PC check the Motherboard for bad caps.

[manwithabox]

Hello rx64error, I do have the GMA 900, plus a Dell DV051 motherboard with A04 bios. I understand windows 7 has a ton of drivers, but why would I install a vista driver for win 7? It may be obvious for more tech-savvy folks, but I'm a bit confused. And to that point, what would be "caps" on my motherboard?? Sorry for my noob-ness, and thanks for your help!

[elstaci]

by "Caps' he referring to Capacitors that sometimes go bad (explodes open, come loose, burns up, etc).

[elstaci]

Went to Dell Support for your Computer Desktop PC and opened the manual: https://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_dimension_desktops/dimension-3...

According to the manual you have PCIe x1 slots. So you will need a PCIex1 GPU Card to install. Found some but not sure if it has Windows 7 drivers:

This is a AMD Professional card which is expensive but uses PCIex1 slot: Amazon.com: ATI FIRE MV2450 PCI-E X1 512 MB Video Card: Electronics

This is an Customer GPU from Visiontek sold be Amazon.com and says supports Windows 7  (low profile): Amazon.com: VisionTek Radeon 4350 SFF DMS59 512MB DDR2 PCIe x1 Graphics Card - 900308: Electronics

Only 1 left in stock (more on the way).

• • 

  VisionTek Radeon 4350 SFF DMS59 512MB DDR2 PCIe x1 Graphics Card - 900308

  by VisionTek

  3.1 out of 5 stars 22 customer reviews

  | 6 answered questions

  ---

  Price:	$68.06 & FREE Shipping.Details

DMS59 connector

• Dual DVI, Dual VGA, Single DVI/single VGA supported via included cable
• Single slot solution
• Short bracket mounted on card (Convertible to tall bracket ATX form factor)
• Support XP, Vista, and 7

From Visiontek Support and sale of this GPU card with specs: Radeon 4350 SFF DMS59 512MB DDR2 PCIe x1 - DMS & VHDCI Multi-Monitor - Productivity - Graphics Cards...

Here is the AMD Drivers for the HD 4350 GPU card from AMD Download: ATI Radeon™ HD 4350 Drivers & Support | AMD

[manwithabox]

Thanks for the info, elstaci - that's very helpful!

[pokester · Accepted solution]

Any chance you have a Micro Center near you? They have used refurbished PC's that would run circles around what you have starting around $125. I would look into an avenue like that before spending money on a graphics card that won't help you in your next pc.

[manwithabox]

Thanks for this advice, pokester! I do not have a brick and mortar store in my area (I live in South Carolina), but their online store is an option. Based on what I've been finding on the net regarding my issue - that are mostly years old, and there's really not a lot of positive confirmation that E310's can even be upgraded successfully - and that not just finding a compatible card but also possibly finding an adapter slot and a power supply upgrade at the minimum, the costs may end up reaching the levels of what I've seen some of these refurbished PCs are being sold for at Micro Center.

So I most likely will research that option instead, and just use my E310 until it fades away, and salvage what parts I can from it (500GB HDD, 2GB RAM, etc.). And then save up for a complete new system more to my specs. Thanks for all of your help, folks!