Dimension 4550 Graphics Upgrade

I keep a Dimension 4550 (2.66GHz, 533MHz buss,WinXP Pro, 768MB RAM) with a
NVIDA GeForce4 MX AGP graphics card. It is set up exclusively for my
grandson to play games. It has worked pretty good up until he bought
Command & Conquer 3 that won't run on the original GeForce4 MX card. I know
little or nothing about games and high-end video cards and need advice.

The 4550 specs state the AGP slot is 172 pins and the buss protocol is 4x/2x
modes at 1.5 V. I can find AGP cards but all seem to be 8x and the tec
specs don't mention pins, voltage, etc.

What I need to know is will any 8x AGP card work in the 4550 and maybe as a
bonus, some recommendations.

The game manufacturer specs for the game are...
Video: GeForce4, ATI Radeon 8500 or greater (ATI Radeon 9200 and 9250 PCI,
NVIDIA Geforce 4 MX cards not supported.). Windows Vista - NVIDIA GeForce
6100 or ATI Radeon 9500 or greater. Laptop versions of these chipsets may
work but are not supported

I realize the 4550 is short on RAM for these games but I just upgraded two
computers to Vista and am cash poor until the next few pension payments come
in :-(

Dean

If an 8x AGP card is designed to conform exactly to specification, it will run
just fine at 4x, just a little slower... Ben Myers

On Mon, 4 Jun 2007 09:12:24 -0500, "Dean-MN" <> wrote:

>I keep a Dimension 4550 (2.66GHz, 533MHz buss,WinXP Pro, 768MB RAM) with a
>NVIDA GeForce4 MX AGP graphics card. It is set up exclusively for my
>grandson to play games. It has worked pretty good up until he bought
>Command & Conquer 3 that won't run on the original GeForce4 MX card. I know
>little or nothing about games and high-end video cards and need advice.
>
>The 4550 specs state the AGP slot is 172 pins and the buss protocol is 4x/2x
>modes at 1.5 V. I can find AGP cards but all seem to be 8x and the tec
>specs don't mention pins, voltage, etc.
>
>What I need to know is will any 8x AGP card work in the 4550 and maybe as a
>bonus, some recommendations.
>
>The game manufacturer specs for the game are...
>Video: GeForce4, ATI Radeon 8500 or greater (ATI Radeon 9200 and 9250 PCI,
>NVIDIA Geforce 4 MX cards not supported.). Windows Vista - NVIDIA GeForce
>6100 or ATI Radeon 9500 or greater. Laptop versions of these chipsets may
>work but are not supported
>
>I realize the 4550 is short on RAM for these games but I just upgraded two
>computers to Vista and am cash poor until the next few pension payments come
>in :-(
>
>Dean
>

Nah, your memory is fine.

The 4550 is a workhorse and the most reliable machine I have ever owned.
I have installed both the ATI 9800Pro and the nVidia 6600GT in mine and
they work fine. Almost all current video cards will happily drop to 4x
without problem.

Personally, I'd suggestion an nVidia based 6600. Not an LE. Almost any
brand is fine.

Tom

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dean-MN [private.php?do=newpm&u=]
> Posted At: Monday, June 04, 2007 10:12 AM
> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> Conversation: Dimension 4550 Graphics Upgrade
> Subject: Dimension 4550 Graphics Upgrade
>
> I keep a Dimension 4550 (2.66GHz, 533MHz buss,WinXP Pro, 768MB RAM)
> with a
> NVIDA GeForce4 MX AGP graphics card. It is set up exclusively for my
> grandson to play games. It has worked pretty good up until he bought
> Command & Conquer 3 that won't run on the original GeForce4 MX card.
I
> know
> little or nothing about games and high-end video cards and need
advice.
>
> The 4550 specs state the AGP slot is 172 pins and the buss protocol is
> 4x/2x
> modes at 1.5 V. I can find AGP cards but all seem to be 8x and the
tec
> specs don't mention pins, voltage, etc.
>
> What I need to know is will any 8x AGP card work in the 4550 and maybe
> as a
> bonus, some recommendations.
>
> The game manufacturer specs for the game are...
> Video: GeForce4, ATI Radeon 8500 or greater (ATI Radeon 9200 and 9250
> PCI,
> NVIDIA Geforce 4 MX cards not supported.). Windows Vista - NVIDIA
> GeForce
> 6100 or ATI Radeon 9500 or greater. Laptop versions of these chipsets
> may
> work but are not supported
>
> I realize the 4550 is short on RAM for these games but I just upgraded
> two
> computers to Vista and am cash poor until the next few pension
payments
> come
> in :-(
>
> Dean
>

Thanks, Tom and Ben

I neglected to state that the C&C3 game also requires DirectX 9 that the
6600 has so that's a good deal.

I found a card
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...8&sku=P56-6600
and the specs state in part a 300 watt power supply minimum. The 4550 specs
is 250 watts. Is this a problem? I have read in this newsgroup that Dell
understates the ratings of their power supply.

Dean

"Tom Scales" <> wrote in message
news:000101c7a6b9$e73ccab0$de01a8c0@t9200...
> Nah, your memory is fine.
>
> The 4550 is a workhorse and the most reliable machine I have ever owned.
> I have installed both the ATI 9800Pro and the nVidia 6600GT in mine and
> they work fine. Almost all current video cards will happily drop to 4x
> without problem.
>
> Personally, I'd suggestion an nVidia based 6600. Not an LE. Almost any
> brand is fine.
>
> Tom
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Dean-MN [private.php?do=newpm&u=]
>> Posted At: Monday, June 04, 2007 10:12 AM
>> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
>> Conversation: Dimension 4550 Graphics Upgrade
>> Subject: Dimension 4550 Graphics Upgrade
>>
>> I keep a Dimension 4550 (2.66GHz, 533MHz buss,WinXP Pro, 768MB RAM)
>> with a
>> NVIDA GeForce4 MX AGP graphics card. It is set up exclusively for my
>> grandson to play games. It has worked pretty good up until he bought
>> Command & Conquer 3 that won't run on the original GeForce4 MX card.
> I
>> know
>> little or nothing about games and high-end video cards and need
> advice.
>>
>> The 4550 specs state the AGP slot is 172 pins and the buss protocol is
>> 4x/2x
>> modes at 1.5 V. I can find AGP cards but all seem to be 8x and the
> tec
>> specs don't mention pins, voltage, etc.
>>
>> What I need to know is will any 8x AGP card work in the 4550 and maybe
>> as a
>> bonus, some recommendations.
>>
>> The game manufacturer specs for the game are...
>> Video: GeForce4, ATI Radeon 8500 or greater (ATI Radeon 9200 and 9250
>> PCI,
>> NVIDIA Geforce 4 MX cards not supported.). Windows Vista - NVIDIA
>> GeForce
>> 6100 or ATI Radeon 9500 or greater. Laptop versions of these chipsets
>> may
>> work but are not supported
>>
>> I realize the 4550 is short on RAM for these games but I just upgraded
>> two
>> computers to Vista and am cash poor until the next few pension
> payments
>> come
>> in :-(
>>
>> Dean
>>
>

"Dean-MN" <> wrote in message
news:. ..
> Thanks, Tom and Ben
>
> I neglected to state that the C&C3 game also requires DirectX 9 that the
> 6600 has so that's a good deal.
>
> I found a card
> http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...8&sku=P56-6600
> and the specs state in part a 300 watt power supply minimum. The 4550
> specs is 250 watts. Is this a problem? I have read in this newsgroup
> that Dell understates the ratings of their power supply.
>
> Dean
>

The power supply will not be a problem.

I would, however, encourage you to shop for a card at either of these two
vendors rather than tigerdirect:

www.newegg.com

www.zipzoomfly.com


Stew

Dean-MN wrote:
> I keep a Dimension 4550 (2.66GHz, 533MHz buss,WinXP Pro, 768MB RAM) with
> a NVIDA GeForce4 MX AGP graphics card. It is set up exclusively for my
> grandson to play games. It has worked pretty good up until he bought
> Command & Conquer 3 that won't run on the original GeForce4 MX card. I
> know little or nothing about games and high-end video cards and need
> advice.
>
> The 4550 specs state the AGP slot is 172 pins and the buss protocol is
> 4x/2x modes at 1.5 V. I can find AGP cards but all seem to be 8x and
> the tec specs don't mention pins, voltage, etc.
>
> What I need to know is will any 8x AGP card work in the 4550 and maybe
> as a bonus, some recommendations.
>
> The game manufacturer specs for the game are...
> Video: GeForce4, ATI Radeon 8500 or greater (ATI Radeon 9200 and 9250
> PCI, NVIDIA Geforce 4 MX cards not supported.). Windows Vista - NVIDIA
> GeForce 6100 or ATI Radeon 9500 or greater. Laptop versions of these
> chipsets may work but are not supported
>
> I realize the 4550 is short on RAM for these games but I just upgraded
> two computers to Vista and am cash poor until the next few pension
> payments come in :-(
>
> Dean
>
>
I run a 7300gt in my 4550, also have 2 dvd burners and 2 HD's (500 & 300
GB) running in machine with no power problems.