Dell Inspiron 3647 Graphics Card Upgrade

[brya0125]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm a noob here, so pardon me. (That means I don't know much about computers...)

I own a Dell Inspiron 3647 Desktop Computer with Windows 8.1 and what-not which is about 1 year old. I also have a Emachines ET1831 Desktop with Windows 7 that is over four years old. I usually do all of my light gaming and everything on the Emachines. The Emachines is my family computer so, with it being so old, it is filled up and is very slow at running games. I bought a Radeon 5450 graphics card for it so that the small games that I and others play on it would run much better. They did some, but it was a very mediocre upgrade for my needs.

 

I am trying to play Train Simulator 2015 (Dovetail Games 2015) on full graphics and details, and of course, on the Emachines. Nope. No where close to what I want. I am not going to try upgrading it because it is getting old and is not quite worth another upgrade.

 

NOW, My dell is a small form factor computer (Mini ATX) that also does not have decent graphics, but since it is much newer and used only by me, it runs very well. It has all the power it needs to run TS except for the graphics.

 

The problem is: I just need to find a SFF graphics card that has lots of power, and will be able to run TS. I've looked at benchmarks for different cards, but I can't find one that is the right size for my computer.

If you look at game-debate.com on the TS 2014 page, they have a nice comparison of cards, but I'm not sure any of them will fit.

 

Do any of you know of any great cards that I can put in that will run TS well? I looking to run at full detail on maybe a smaller resolution at satisfactory frame rates. (Or at least where I won't notice any lag or flicker. I can be more specific if you want later.)

 

I am also worried a bit that any one I find still won't fit because of the case and space I have. The case is 4 inches wide, but the mother board has a PCI-E x16 slot already for me and a SFF case slot on the back. It looks like one will fit, but I have not tested it yet.

 

One more thing, warn me if what I want to do is stupid. I'm not sure that the graphics card I want to get, if I find one, will fit or run well in such a compact computer. Please help me find a good card.

 

Thanks,

 

Nathan

 

[joshuabg]

I use a Zotac GTX 650 in my dell inspiron 620s (slim tower) but I changed out the psu.

[Guest Kloaked]

You may be able to stick a 750 in there and not have to upgrade anything else. Can't guarantee max graphics though.

[joshuabg]

You have to find one that's low profile

[brya0125]

Okay, I found a LP card from my old computer. I eyeballed it and I think it should fit. Now that that's out of the way, I guess size is not as limiting as I thought it would be. I encourage any of you to go to the game-debate and check the comparisons for different cards on TS 2014.

I prefer any NVidia or ATI cards the most. Though, I shall look up the cards you guys found.

Thanks,

[brya0125]

I also found this ZOTAC ZT-71101-10L GeForce GT 730 graphics card on Newegg that looks pretty good, but again, I want to make the right choice by looking for some more cards.

[joshuabg]

What about this http://www.amazon.com/Zotac-Computer-Video-Graphics-ZT-70702-10M/dp/B00JB1XJ4S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419709638&sr=8-1&keywords=zotac+gtx+750+low+profile

[joshuabg]

How many watts is your PSU?

[ZacDaMan72]

What about this http://www.amazon.com/Zotac-Computer-Video-Graphics-ZT-70702-10M/dp/B00JB1XJ4S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419709638&sr=8-1&keywords=zotac+gtx+750+low+profile

I'd recommend the 'Ti' version because it's MUCH faster than this for not much more.

[joshuabg]

I'd recommend the 'Ti' version because it's MUCH faster than this for not much more.

Is a there even a ti version that's low profile?

[brya0125]

My PSU is 220 watts. That one on Amazon has some good efficiency ratings I saw though. I don't the TI version is low profile though.

[joshuabg]

My PSU is 220 watts. That one on Amazon has some good efficiency ratings I saw though.

Ooh that's kind of small... Know what form factor it is?

[joshuabg]

My PSU is 220 watts. That one on Amazon has some good efficiency ratings I saw though.

What are your PC specs?

CPU?

HDD?

Ram?

DVD drives?

Etc.

[brya0125]

Sure:

 

Intel Pentium single core at 3.00 GHz

4 GB DDR3 SDRAM

500 GB HDD

Just one DVD/CD drive on the front

Windows 8.1 64-Bit

Integrated graphics

SFF case

220 Watt PSU

 

I'm willing to get a card even if I have to upgrade the PSU, I just don't know if I can find one that fits yet. It's a small and slender sized unit on the bottom of the case in the back. Nothing fabulous.

[joshuabg]

Sure:

Intel Pentium single core at 3.00 GHz

4 GB DDR3 SDRAM

500 GB HDD

Just one DVD/CD drive on the front

Windows 8.1 64-Bit

Integrated graphics

SFF case

220 Watt PSU

I'm willing to get a card even if I have to upgrade the PSU, I just don't know if I can find one that fits yet. It's a small and slender sized unit on the bottom of the case in the back. Nothing fabulous.

Model for CPU?

[brya0125]

I don't quite know what your asking? I just know it is a Intel Pentium Single-Core @ 3.00 GHz. All other website specs that I see say those specs and nothing more really.

[joshuabg]

I don't quite know what your asking? I just know it is a Intel Pentium Single-Core @ 3.00 GHz. All other website specs that I see say those specs and nothing more really.

OK, i don't think 220 watts will be enough to power a nice GPU, and since your PSU is in a weird form factor, you would probably have a hard time finding a reliable unit with more wattage for a cheap price. You may get more performance by replacing the case with a standard atx one and replacing the PSU with an atx one. What's your budget?

[brya0125]

Yeah. I cannot find a power upgrade hardly at all. I have an old Dell Dimension C521 tower that is SFF, but I could still take the parts out of the Inspiron, and put them in there. I don't know if that would work all the way, though. That C521 case has a 280 Watt power supply which gives me 60 more watts to use. That may be enough. My budget is pretty low now; probably just enough to get the GPU I want. That is why I am asking on the forum, because I don't want to end up making a mistake. I want to be sure this will work before I try.

 

As long as I hook everything up like it was in the Inspiron, is possible to actually transfer my parts from one case to the other? Is that advisable for anyone at all? I've rarely heard of anyone moving their computer to a new case.