Can I install Radeon 4850 in Inspiron 537?

[lansa]

I just got an Inspiron 537 and trying to install a Radeon 4850 in the PCI-e slot. When I booted up the pc I got a flashing red message saying I need to plug in the external power supply cable that came with the card. Problem is, the pins on the cable arent compatible with the power cords in the PC. Am I not able to install a card here, or do I need a new power supply?

Here are my specs:

Inspiron 537 Minitower
Inspiron Mini-Tower, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 (3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB), w/ 6MB cache
4GB DDR2 SDRAM,800MHZ- 2X2GB DIM,M $0.00

320GB NCQ Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM) w/ 16MB DataBurst Cache
16X DVD+/-RW Drive

 

[M0RPH]

You need an adapter like this

 

[Schmide]

Every card I've ever seen comes with an adapter.

Correcting myself.

Apparently Powercolor and MSI seem to have forgot to include them.

Shame on them.

 

[lansa]

The card I got is HIS HD 4850. Someone said I need to upgrade my PSU, which currently is 300W.....is this true?

 

[Eureka]

Not necessarily true. 300W may be on the border, but your system should not pull more than 300W. A quick calculator shows that my 4890 system draws between 300-400w. And this thing is a power hog, so your 4850 should be acceptable. Of course, this is pushing it, and in the long run you may benefit from buying a strong, reliable power supply (these things last for a good number of years anyway).

For example, in the Hot Deals section this OCZ power supply is running $30:
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=2300293&STARTPAGE=1

That would be a great deal, but it is a bit short on connectors. The pictures do show 1 6-pin PCI-E connector, but no 8-pin motherboard connector (check to see if you need that).

 

[lansa]

Since I'll be adding another PCI vid card as well (Im using 3 monitors), I guess I would definitely need the PSU upgrade? How do I know for sure which PSU is compatible with my Dell Inspiron 537?

 

[Eureka]

Originally posted by: lansa
Since I'll be adding another PCI vid card as well (Im using 3 monitors), I guess I would definitely need the PSU upgrade? How do I know for sure which PSU is compatible with my Dell Inspiron 537?

I'm pretty sure newer OEM computers tend to be rather standard in their connectors, so I'm sure any modern PSU would be fine. The one thing I'm worried about is that the one in the link does not have an 8-pin motherboard connector, which a lot of modern motherboards use. You might want to find something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16812706002
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16812887002

The easiest way to check compatibility is to open up the case and look at all the connectors, and make sure your replacement PSU has enough connectors to replace it.

 

[lansa]

Ok im on the phone with a dell sales rep and he said that the current psu in my system (300w) is the maximum that the pc can take, so according to him i cant upgrade the psu...is this correct?? Hes double checking this now.

 

[Eureka]

Originally posted by: lansa
Ok im on the phone with a dell sales rep and he said that the current psu in my system (300w) is the maximum that the pc can take, so according to him i cant upgrade the psu...is this correct?? Hes double checking this now.

That's bs. PSU is independent of the system. A PSU delivers as much power as the system needs, the higher rated PSUs just have higher limits. You can max out your PSU, but not reverse.

If your system draws 200w, a 300w PSU, and a 600w PSU makes no difference. If your system draws 400w, a 300w PSU will not be enough, while the 600w PSU gives you 200w of headroom.

 

[Rifter]

that might not be BS, my dads dell uses a non standard PSU that you could only purchase from dell, i tried to replace it with a standard ATX PSU and it did not work as the pinouts of the ATX connector were differnt. He had to spend $200 and buy a replacement from dell.

 

[lansa]

Thanks Eureka, thats what I thought, and just goes to show you how clueless the salespeople at Dell are, unbelievable.

 

[lansa]

The psu currently in the system is Hipro HP-P3017F3 300W. From what I can see the connectors on the PSU are all SATA type connectors + a big one that plugs into motherboard. Which PSU can I upgrade to that has these connectors?

 

[yh125d]

Any PSU from newegg will have the proper connectors (main 24 pin for motherboard, 4 or 8 pin for CPU power, and a handful of SATA connectors and 4 pin molex connectors). Just be sure to get one that has the pci-e connector. I recommend either Antec or Corsair

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139008
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817371006

 

[Eureka]

Originally posted by: lansa
The psu currently in the system is Hipro HP-P3017F3 300W. From what I can see the connectors on the PSU are all SATA type connectors + a big one that plugs into motherboard. Which PSU can I upgrade to that has these connectors?

Almost all do. However Rifterut may have a point, check if the big plug is nonproprietary. Also check if the second motherboard connector is 4 pin or 8 pin.

I honestly would say to go with the one in the Hot Deals, it's OCZ, which isn't the very best but it should do and for $30 its an amazing deal.

The earthwatts that yh125d linked too is also a good reliable PSU, I have a 500w in my machine and everything is running smoothly. The nice thing about the earthwatts is that its rated for continuous power, which means you're always guaranteed that much power, as opposed to most other PSUs which only rates the peak power.

 

[M0RPH]

There's another person here running that same card on a Dell 300W psu so you don't necessarily need a new power supply.

You need one of these and one of these

 

[lansa]

Originally posted by: M0RPH
There's another person here running that same card on a Dell 300W psu so you don't necessarily need a new power supply.

You need one of these and one of these

Thanks, but if I install the 4850 and another PCI vid card (I have 3 monitors) I'd probably need a 500w PSU?

 

[M0RPH]

Originally posted by: lansa

Originally posted by: M0RPH
There's another person here running that same card on a Dell 300W psu so you don't necessarily need a new power supply.

You need one of these and one of these

Thanks, but if I install the 4850 and another PCI vid card (I have 3 monitors) I'd probably need a 500w PSU?

What's the 2nd card? I guess you only need something very low end there. Is it not possible to use the integrated graphics for the 3rd monitor?

To be honest though you should have gotten the 4770 as your main card. They are so low power you wouldn't have any worries with the 300W psu.

 

[lansa]

The other card is:
POWERCOLOR 24PRO256M PCI Radeon HD 2400PRO 256M

I tried using the onboard but apparently it gets disabled once the PCI-e slot was taken up. Running Windows 7 here FWIW.

 

[lansa]

[/quote]



To be honest though you should have gotten the 4770 as your main card. They are so low power you wouldn't have any worries with the 300W psu.[/quote]

Yeah, I had no idea that power would be an issue here, just never ran into a vid card that required external power before, and that my brand new system is underpowered at 300w.

 

[M0RPH]

Yeah you really should get a new power supply if you'll have two video cards in there.

 

[lansa]

Ok guys I went to Microcenter and found a Coolmax 600w PSU for $50. Came home, installed it and everything works great. Only thing is, the psu has 2 SATA connectors on the same wire, and after connecting it to the harddrive, the 2nd connector wont reach the dvd drive. My question is, is there an adaper that converts a 4pin to a SATA, as there are 6 available 4pin connectors?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[novice]

Would This work?

 

[lansa]

Originally posted by: novice
Would This work?

Perfect, thanks!