20 replies to this topic

[JustinTime]

My PC says the max video card is 220 watts for power but I'm confused by this. Where does it show this info on newegg for example? http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814187179 as an example. I don't see the power info Thanks.

[+Brando212]

scroll down and you'll see "System Requirements" it says "Minimum 300W or greater system power supply"

[JustinTime]

I provided a bad example lol, most don't even identify the power supply. Anyway is there an easier way to narrowing results to 220 or less? I have viewed probably close to 50 cards and either they don't specify one or too high. Thanks.

[+Brando212]

you're not likely to find anything with that low of requirement

[JustinTime]

Dell sometimes bundles this system with a 1GB GeForce GT 620 but I can't find out more info. It's not even sold on Dell.com.

[Michael Lacey]

How much total wattage does your PSU supply? Why are you upgrading the video card - are you trying to game or do video editing?
You may need a PSU with more wattage, many OEM computers come with the bare minimum needed.

[theyarecomingforyou]

JustinTime, on 22 January 2013 - 03:40, said:

My PC says the max video card is 220 watts for power but I'm confused by this. Where does it show this info on newegg for example? http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814187179 as an example. I don't see the power info Thanks.

What do you mean by that? Are you saying that your PSU is only 220W (which seems incredibly low) or that you can only add a card that draws 220W? If it's the latter then that's unusual but it's easy to work out - PCIe cards can draw 25W from the motherboard and 75W from a 6-pin connector and 150W from an 8-pin connector. That means you'll be looking for a card with a single 8-pin PCIe connector, which would draw 175W in total.

That said, it's a very unusual way of specifying it. Usually a card with tell you the recommended power for your PSU - for instance, the GTX670 requires a 500W PSU, while the card you listed requires 300W (as already mentioned). You won't find a card that specifies less than 300W for the PSU. What is the rating on your PSU?

JustinTime, on 22 January 2013 - 04:00, said:

Dell sometimes bundles this system with a 1GB GeForce GT 620 but I can't find out more info. It's not even sold on Dell.com.

According to the nVidia website the GT620 requires a 300W PSU. If that's accurate then you should be able to add any low-profile graphics card without any additional power connectors, like the one you listed in the original post. You need to find out the power rating on your PSU.

[JustinTime]

Someone asked about this on dell.com and here's the staff reply:

The only official Dell tested video cards for the Inspiron 660s are the OEM versions of the NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 620 (700 MHz engine clock, 1 GB memory with memory clock of 1.8 Gbps DDR3) and the AMD® Radeon™ HD 7570 (650 MHz engine clock, 512MB-2GB DDR3 or 512MB-1GB GDDR5 memory, 900 MHz (DDR3) or 1000 MHz (GDDR5) memory clock (1.8 Gbps DDR3 or 4.0 Gbps GDDR5).. That said, it is possible that a low-profile version of a GeForce GT 430 to work in this system. The power supply in the 660s is rated at 220 watts.

So how do I find out the PSU? Just want a video card since I read integrated isn't too good and I may do video editing and Blu-ray at some point. Thanks.

[+remixedcat]

No PC that's gonna be used for gaming or anything outside of very very basic web browsing/music/MS office should have less then a 300w PSU.
For a Mid-range PC I recommend 400-500w and for a enthusiast PC I recommend 600-800w

I got an Antec HCG-620M PSU for 70 bucks and it's very nice.

[Aergan]

If you're in warranty then contact Dell.

If you're not in warranty then crack open the case and read the OEM label. Google/Bing the model number or Dell part number for more info.

[Xoligy]

JustinTime, on 22 January 2013 - 06:50, said:

Someone asked about this on dell.com and here's the staff reply:

The only official Dell tested video cards for the Inspiron 660s are the OEM versions of the NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 620 (700 MHz engine clock, 1 GB memory with memory clock of 1.8 Gbps DDR3) and the AMD® Radeon™ HD 7570 (650 MHz engine clock, 512MB-2GB DDR3 or 512MB-1GB GDDR5 memory, 900 MHz (DDR3) or 1000 MHz (GDDR5) memory clock (1.8 Gbps DDR3 or 4.0 Gbps GDDR5).. That said, it is possible that a low-profile version of a GeForce GT 430 to work in this system. The power supply in the 660s is rated at 220 watts.

So how do I find out the PSU? Just want a video card since I read integrated isn't too good and I may do video editing and Blu-ray at some point. Thanks.

If you posted the machine it would help identify the PSU for people
if its out of warranty or has no warranty sticker on the case take the side off and see what it says im pretty sure they come with stickers on them (could be wrong i can not find the sticker on mine could be on other side though! lol)

[threetonesun]

It's an Insprion 660: http://www.dell.com/...inspiron-660/pd

It has a 300W power supply, which limits you to basically the lowest powered cards on the market, unless you replace that.

Dell said it was limited to 220W probably to account for overhead on the PS.

[Xoligy]

Ooops can ya tell i hadn't been up long >.< lol

threetonesun, on 22 January 2013 - 12:46, said:

It's an Insprion 660: http://www.dell.com/...inspiron-660/pd

It has a 300W power supply, which limits you to basically the lowest powered cards on the market, unless you replace that.

Dell said it was limited to 220W probably to account for overhead on the PS.

Ok u got me i hadn't been awake long nor had my brew lol yes agree need to upgrade the PSU especially if the card requires power as i can not see the power adaptor in this picture. I have a 6770 thats doing me for now and that needed power.

http://www.pasonisan...iron660-top.jpg

[JustinTime]

threetonesun, on 22 January 2013 - 12:46, said:

It's an Insprion 660: http://www.dell.com/...inspiron-660/pd

It has a 300W power supply, which limits you to basically the lowest powered cards on the market, unless you replace that.

Dell said it was limited to 220W probably to account for overhead on the PS.

It's the 660s http://www.dell.com/...nspiron-660s/pd and it says 220W So there are no cards that work with the existing PSU? I don't want to upgrade anything, just want a video card even if it's basic.

[theyarecomingforyou]

JustinTime, on 23 January 2013 - 00:09, said:

It's the 660s http://www.dell.com/...nspiron-660s/pd and it says 220W So there are no cards that work with the existing PSU? I don't want to upgrade anything, just want a video card even if it's basic.

If it's really only 220W - as the Dell website says - then there's not much you can do. It's possible that adding a basic card would work but it's certainly not a risk I'd take. You're going to need to buy a new PSU if you want to add a graphics card, assuming your case has a standard sized PSU fitting - if not then you might be looking at a new case as well.

Unfortunately cheap computers are cheap for a reason.