solidus_snake_636

I need to know if this computer has a pci express x16 slot or not... i've never seen it for myself, so i wouldn't know..

here is a pic of the motherboard...

stevemc

Looks like a PCIe x16 slot and a PCIe x1 slot to me.

Edit: If you are going to throw a video card in there, check the PSU specs.

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TheFlyingWallaby

The top slot is PCIe 16x or 8x.

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solidus_snake_636

ok, so which is the pci x16 slot?..the black one?..seriously?!..
PHEW!..

and yeah..the psu only has about 300 watts on it, so i'm gonna buy a 500 watt one for the 8800 gts...

thanks man

emanhavi

I made this account just now so I could let you know to be careful what video card you purchase. Many PCI-express cards require a 6-pin PCI-e power connector. The problem here is that the dell 300-watt psu does not have one of these connectors, nor a standard 4-pin molex connector. If they had the 4-pin connector, an adapter could be purchased.

At this time, I believe the best option is to get an Nvidia card series 8500. These cards typically do not require the 6-pin PCI-e power connector, and some have claimed they work well with the dell In. 531. Just be careful when purchasing a name-brand system and trying to upgrade.

redsunx

8600GT will run.

Penicilyn

Did you look how old this thread is? He already has an 8600GTS

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thlnk3r

I hope this clears up your questions

Quote:

Inspiron 531 The Inspiron 531 is an AMD Athlon 64 X2 based desktop for low to medium budget brackets. The advanced version (of the same name) is the same in appearance (same case), however it has upgraded features (larger harddrive, better processor, etc). The Inspiron 531 uses a motherboard manufactured by Gigabyte (arguably an ASUS board) for Dell. It uses an nVidia nForce 4 chipset with an on-board video card. It also has on-board sound (Realtek) and an on-board gigabit NIC. It has one PCIe x16, One PCIe x1, and two PCI card slots. It has four DIMM memory slots, and four SATA connectors. The 531 motherboard does not support PATA or IDE drives without the use of a third-party controller. The 531 also comes with a 300 watt ATX power supply, and one 120mm exhaust fan.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_In...#Inspiron_531s

Just FYI there are PCI-E 16x slots that do run at 8x and 4x bandwidth so don't let that confuse you.

Good luck

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pbpenguins412

Here, grab yourself an 8800GT and a new power supply, any ATX power supply will work just fine in a Dell, despite their motherboards/etc being BTX.

A good starting point is this FSP Group SAGA 400W Power Supply. I've used it before on friends' builds and it has all the connectors you need. If you've never heard of FSP, don't worry - they are a white box brand that produces several high-end PSU's (even CyberDruid recently used one here):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=SAGA%2b400W

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durch

lol guys... this is a 6 month old thread that some random person stumbled on and for some unknown reason, joined OCN to give him advice 6 months too late.

STOP REPLYING LOL