Tech question -- slightly O/T

[ThinkingManNeil]

Hi all;

I have a Dell Studio XPS PC that I've had for about two years now and I picked up a copy of "IL-2 Shturmovik: Cliffs of Dover" today (I know, I know, it ain't FS9, but what I'm asking will have some application/effect to that I'm sure) but when I loaded it it ran very slow and choppy and their were some other graphics problems. AFter doing a little digging on the 'Net I found out that the machine's stock ATI Radeon HD 5450 video card isn't up to the job of handling CoD's graphic requirements (I used something called Can You Run It?), so now I'm looking at an upgrade. My question is, being a complete doofus when it comes to tech, can I install a new graphics card safely myself, or should I take it into to the gnomes and elves who know better?

N.

Oh, and as far as the relevance to FS2004 goes, I'm sure an amped up vid card woydn't hoyt

 

[Tom Clayton]

Peek into the case and see what you can see. If you can make sense of it, you shouldn't have much problem. If you look inside and all you can say is "What the heck???" then it might be a good idea to get some help. That said, there's thousands of clips on YT with tips on installing a new card:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=install+video+card

 

[ThinkingManNeil]

Thanks, Tom. The vid was very informative.

N.

 

[Sunny9850]

While you are looking in the case I would look at two things specifically when it comes to upgrading the GPU.

1. Space around the slot where the new card is going to fit. Most high power GPUs of today have their own cooling fan and heat sink, sometimes quite big ones. So the new card may not fit in a tightly packed original Dell case and motherboard arrangement.

2. What size power supply do you have in the box and what connectors are on it. This one caught me with my drawers around the ankles. I got a nice powerful ATI card to upgrade my Dell, and while it fits in the case, just, and the PS has enough wattage to drive it the power plugs are different. I am still debating if I should upgrade the PS as well, more power is never bad, or simply get a set of the connectors I need and do some re-wiring.

Cheers
Stefan