I only have 1 VGA port, and no DVI to plug into. Best Buys says I also need a better power supply and, of course, a dual graphics card. Any Help appreciated. This is the information from my computer's profile that I think is necessary to make a determination:
Operating System System Model
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (build 2600) Dell Computer Corporation Dimension 4600i
Enclosure Type: Mini-Tower
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
3.00 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
16 kilobyte primary memory cache
1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: Dell Computer Corp. 0F4491
Serial Number: ..CN4811147F03J6.
Bus Clock: 800 megahertz
BIOS: Dell Computer Corporation A12 08/26/2004
Drives Memory Modules c,d
249.99 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
136.73 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
Lite-On LTN486S 48x Max [CD-ROM drive]
Philips DVD+RW DVD8601 [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]
Generic STORAGE DEVICE USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 3
Generic STORAGE DEVICE USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 2
Generic STORAGE DEVICE USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 1
Generic STORAGE DEVICE USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 4
WDC WD2500JS-75NCB3 [Hard drive] (250.00 GB) -- drive 0 3326 Megabytes Installed Memory
Slot 'CHANNEL A DIMM 0' has 256 MB
Slot 'CHANNEL B DIMM 0' has 1024 MB
Slot 'CHANNEL A DIMM 1' has 1024 MB
Slot 'CHANNEL B DIMM 1' has 1024 MB
Local Drive Volumes
c: (NTFS on drive 0) 249.99 GB 136.73 GB free
Network Drives
None detected
Controllers Display
Standard floppy disk controller
Primary IDE Channel [Controller] (2x)
Secondary IDE Channel [Controller] (2x)
Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller (2x) Intel(R) 82865G Graphics Controller [Display adapter]
DELL E2209W [Monitor] (22.0"vis, s/n F180G9291MTL, February 2009)
Bus Adapters Multimedia
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
Standard Universal PCI to USB Host Controller (4x) SB Live! 24-bit
Unimodem Half-Duplex Audio Device
Communications Other Devices
Conexant D850 56K V.9x DFVc Modem
1394 Net Adapter
Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection
primary Auto IP Address: 192.168.1.2 / 24
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
Dhcp Server: 192.168.1.1
Physical Address: 00:11:11:2A:55:E5
Networking Dns Server: 192.168.1.1
OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
HID-compliant consumer control device
HID-compliant device
USB Human Interface Device (2x)
Canon MX850 ser Network
Olympus C 750 UZ Digital Camera
HID Keyboard Device
Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Optical
USB Composite Device
USB Mass Storage Device
USB Root Hub (5x)|||According to Dell Support, your Dimension 4600 has an AGP video card slot. http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/sy…
You CANNOT buy just any video card-- Your computer cannot accept a PCIExpress 16x video card that is standard today (your machine has no PCIExpress).
You MUST stick with an older AGP card. This card should work with your machine, and since it draws very little power (does not require an additional molex power connector), it should work with your existing power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as… It has two DVI-I jacks (will also work with VGA, using a DVI-I-to-VGA adapter) and supports dual monitors.
Hope this helps.
EDITED TO ADD:
Never, EVER buy computer parts from Best Buy. They mark up their prices WAY over what internet retailers like Newegg charges, and their advice are questionable at best.
The HD4650 AGP video card I linked to for you draws under 50 watts under full load-- It was one of the most power-efficient video cards of its generation. It will work just fine with the existing PSU in your Dell. And that card costs just $80 at Newegg.
As far as installation goes, most AGP computers will automatically disable the onboard when an AGP video card is inserted. If that doesn't happen, you will need to go into BIOS and change the graphics option to initiate the AGP graphics card first, rather than the onboard. Very easy to do. Then you boot into Windows and install the drivers CD that came with the video card.|||How could you possibly list all that info and somehow leave out your power supply? Anyways, since you do only have 1 port as you said on your video card, you will need a new one. As long as your power supply is around 400 watts at least you should be good to run dual monitors though. Best Buy was probably just trying to get you to buy their ****.|||it's funny that you ask if you need a new power supply but nowhere do
you list what power supply you already have.
but my guess is you don't need a new power supply and I wouldn't
put any more money into that old a system than I had too
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