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E521 Video Card Upgrade Help
Hello,
I am looking for some help in finding the best video card for my E521 that will work with the stock PSU. I just purchased Age of Conan and my x1300 is not getting it done. My specs are below. Also, if you have any other small upgrade suggestions that could increase gaming performance that would be welcome as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Purchased 02/2007:
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 5600+
3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro
Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
ae38cb5bb8b0410
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Posted May 20th, 2008 17:00
I had an 8800GT in my E521.
I would suggest mounting 2x80mm fans at the rear (inside of your case) mounted to exhaust.
The cooling solutions of the single-slot cards expell heat into your case, not out of it.
You need to get it out, especially since you're running 4 dimms of ram and depending if your 5600 is a Windsor or Brisbane could be critical for your case temps.
handscombmp
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Posted May 22nd, 2008 08:00
sorry for hijacking this thread but kpo127 i am thinking of getting some fans for my E520 (same as the e521 really just intel) and was wondering how i should go about installing the fans. do they just screw in with screws provided with the fansMessage Edited by handscombmp on 05-22-2008 10:14 AMae38cb5bb8b0410
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Posted May 23rd, 2008 03:00
Yes, just make sure 80mm or less.
2x80mm fit perfect on mine
ae38cb5bb8b0410
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Posted May 23rd, 2008 16:00
Not really.
The best thing you could do is aim higher than the 9600GT.
For the E521 with the single-slot limitation I found the 8800GT + case cooling the best solution.
If you feel the need for the ram I would get these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148163
- I only ran into 1 problem while installing my new 9600GT with the 6 pin to 4 pin adapter. The adapter was not long enough and I had to unplug one of my DVD drives to get enough slack. I purchased a 4 pin to 4 pin extension to correct this issue. Thanks all.
SR45
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Posted May 20th, 2008 16:00
1. 9600 GT without a power supply upgrade. Nice card to have
2. 8600 GTS Fair, better then what you have now
3. 8800 GT that may need a power supply upgrade. Very good performer above the 9600 GT
Your system may not have come with enough 4 pin power input connectors from the power supply to connect to the required molex Y power cable that is necessary to power the video card.
Below link takes you to a site that sells a Molex power cable that will work for your system. Its a 6 pin to 4 pin connectore that eleminates the need for two 4 pin connections, only need one. The 6 pin end goes into the video card, and the other end ( 4 pin side ) goes into a free available 4 pin power input that comes from the power supply.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812201004
Or…..
A SATA to 4 pin adaptor to convert those unused SATA connectors on your PSU to the 4-pin Molex connector instead.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=20580
Newegg has them as well for the SATA converters
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812263002