First time switching graphics cards, halp : O

Crazy Old Morise

So I just got this Dell XPS 420. Through a huge fuck up on Dell's part, they gave me a 8600GTS instead of the 8800GT I ordered. They gave me the option of waiting a month while my new computer is hauled away and refashioned or they could just give me the money and I could switch the cards myself. I chose door number 2.

So, after a bit of research, I learned that I need some electronics screw drivers and a static discharge wristband, but I still have a few more specific questions.

1. The lady on the phone mentioned she had to find the kind of 8800GT that will work with my computer. Does this mean that there are different makes of the card? If so will only a certain kind fit in the XPS 420?

2. The little vid tutorial I watched about changing GPUs talked about the AGP slot, but then I read the 8800 is an SLI card, is there any difference between switching AGP and SLI cards?

3. Does anyone have any direct experience with the XPS 420 case who can provide tips on modding/switching stuff in it? If not are there any other things I need to know about the process in general?

Bendery It Like Beckham

Crazy Old Morise wrote: »

So I just got this Dell XPS 420. Through a huge fuck up on Dell's part, they gave me a 8600GTS instead of the 8800GT I ordered. They gave me the option of waiting a month while my new computer is hauled away and refashioned or they could just give me the money and I could switch the cards myself. I chose door number 2.

So, after a bit of research, I learned that I need some electronics screw drivers and a static discharge wristband, but I still have a few more specific questions.

1. The lady on the phone mentioned she had to find the kind of 8800GT that will work with my computer. Does this mean that there are different makes of the card? If so will only a certain kind fit in the XPS 420?

2. The little vid tutorial I watched about changing GPUs talked about the AGP slot, but then I read the 8800 is an SLI card, is there any difference between switching AGP and SLI cards?

3. Does anyone have any direct experience with the XPS 420 case who can provide tips on modding/switching stuff in it? If not are there any other things I need to know about the process in general?

You won't be using AGP, you'll be using PCI-E

SLI is not a type of port, it is the way a graphics card 'teams up' with a second compatible card and renders visuals on your screen. SLI does so in a checkered fashion, while ATI's 'Crossfire' does so in a half and half fashion. This information is not important.

You don't really need any kind of electronic's screw drivers, you just need to not be a mook when you do this. Touch the case, it'll ground you and get rid of any static, then touch the card, do not touch the silicon contacts if you can avoid it. unscrew and remove the old card, seat and screw in the new card ?? profit.

You'll know right away if you did it wrong because once you install the new card and hook up your monitor to it, then power on your computer if you get any visuals. I don't know what the hell she meant by 'I'll have to find the card that fits your computer' If it's one of the high end (and i use the term loosely) dells, it'll be a PCI-E card. So just hop on newegg, and find a 8800 gt that is PCI-E, which won't be hard. What causes the difference in prices is the clock speed, some one else can explain the intricacies of that if you are interested, I'll just fuck it up.

webguy20

Also one point to remember, video cards like these have a power plug running from them. so make sure to unhook it from the back of the 8600GTS and plug it back in to the 8800GT when you install it. the plug has 6 contacts and should be black. its easy to spot though, its on the very back of the video card.

IceBurner

What's probably meant by "electronics screwdriver" is any screwdriver with an un-magnetized tip. While convenient for non-electronics usage, using a magnetized screwdriver can be a fatal (to your computer) error.

LovingFFXI

IceBurner wrote: »

What's probably meant by "electronics screwdriver" is any screwdriver with an un-magnetized tip. While convenient for non-electronics usage, using a magnetized screwdriver can be a fatal (to your computer) error.

You do realize that most magnetized screwdrivers are not much stronger then the magnets that move the heads in a hard drive or the ones that spin the fans in your computer. You can use a magentized screwdriver with out worrying about loosing your data. Unless you are still using floppy disks

Boar

Seriously don't worry about it mate, it can be a bit daunting at first but its very, very simple. There are many different brands who all make the 8800GT, but actually all of the cards are made in the same factory and the differences tend to be relatively minor. They will all work in your pc.

AGP refers to the type of slot that the graphics card fits in, there are two types of slot that you are likely to come across, AGP and PCI-E. PCI-E is newer, and your 8800GT will be PCI-E. As someone else said, SLI enables you to run two identical graphics cards together (for very little real benefit) but you don't need to worry about that for now.

If you send me a pm when your card arrives I'll be happy to walk you through things step by step on msn or whatever should you want.

Regicid3

Could you link me to that video, please?