Amazon is a really great place to purchase computer parts. Â They are extremely reliable in terms of taking the item back and refunding you if anything goes wrong.
If you have someone experienced with computers (and specifically, with electronics/electrical work), it may behoove you to figure out exactly how much wattage your Power Supply actually has. Â Dell has a habit of mis-labeling their power supplies - mostly by saying they're weaker than they actually are. Â In my case, my friend (who does contract repair work for a cable company that handles the ISP for a small city) had me read off the amperage on the rails of my power supply (this is clearly shown on the label, but is basically greek for anyone who doesn't actually understand electricity! xD) and the conclusion was, "Well, that's certainly not a 350 watt power supply."
I ended up getting a better card (a Radeon HD 7770) without having to upgrade my Power Supply.
The next computer I get, though, I am building myself.
Edited to Add: Rules of thumb I now follow:
- Never buy a video card from Dell. They hugely overcharge.
- Never buy a monitor from Dell. They hugely overcharge.
- Never buy a Power Supply from Dell. They mislabel them, among other things.
- It's okay to buy HDDs from Dell, but make sure you get a server-quality one, as their "home use" HDs tend to fail (as I found out this year, much to my dismay).
If you have someone experienced with computers (and specifically, with electronics/electrical work), it may behoove you to figure out exactly how much wattage your Power Supply actually has. Â Dell has a habit of mis-labeling their power supplies - mostly by saying they're weaker than they actually are. Â In my case, my friend (who does contract repair work for a cable company that handles the ISP for a small city) had me read off the amperage on the rails of my power supply (this is clearly shown on the label, but is basically greek for anyone who doesn't actually understand electricity! xD) and the conclusion was, "Well, that's certainly not a 350 watt power supply."
I ended up getting a better card (a Radeon HD 7770) without having to upgrade my Power Supply.
The next computer I get, though, I am building myself.
Edited to Add: Rules of thumb I now follow:
- Never buy a video card from Dell. They hugely overcharge.
- Never buy a monitor from Dell. They hugely overcharge.
- Never buy a Power Supply from Dell. They mislabel them, among other things.
- It's okay to buy HDDs from Dell, but make sure you get a server-quality one, as their "home use" HDs tend to fail (as I found out this year, much to my dismay).
![[Image: hFalP38.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/hFalP38.jpg)
