DesignCaddy hit the nail on the head! "from what i hear daily about the way dell builds their computers, albeit cheap and workable for the every day user, i'm betting the problem is an inability of dell's equipment to handle the card, and not a defect in the card. 256 meg is top of the line no matter how you look at it.. those machines aren't engineered for that. could be a pipe problem." Recent orders on the build-line were nixed! Representatives contacted all customers (on the build-line) and let them know that the 256MB DDR ATI Radeon 9800 XT Graphics Card (320-2566) was no longer available. So, they had to make another choice, or just cancel. Either way, their order was cancelled, and for those who wished/desired to proceed with a second choice...another order was put into action.
On another note, and answering kona0197, Regarding X800 cards:
Information can be found here on this line of cards:
http://www.ati.com/products/radeonx800/index.html
According to specifications on the Dimension 8300 found here:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_8300?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&~tab=specstab#tabtop
The X800 is compatible with the units AGP slot but the power supply should be larger, recommended is 300W.
Windows MCE would not be supported. If you are going to use Windows XP Home or Professional there are drivers available and the card is compatible.
