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Upgrading a pre built PC

V

Vildayyan2003

Gawd
Joined
Aug 17, 2004
Messages
617
Howdy folks! My wife is using a HP Pavilion HPE h8-1237c and was looking at upgrading the video card for gaming. Its currently running a puny NVidia GeForce 520 but with the small size of the case we weren't completely sure what would fit in the limited space. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
You may have to replace the power supply. That is if the GPU requires a power connector your supply is likely underpowered for that task. I have had to do this a few times at work..
 
Yea, I was thinking about that. I know there is an unused 6 pin power cable in the PC but I bet that power supply is underpowered for most cards. More research is required but work is always in the way.
 
like drescherjm said, worst case is you'll have to upgrade the psu. any standard atx psu WILL fit into this case. if I remember correctly these units have a 300w(pop the side and double check though!), which will allow you to upgrade a bit.
 
What's the max budget for this upgrade including both the GPU and PSU? What games is your wife planning on playing?
 
Budget: 400ish. The kids get on the PC every once in a while and they play everything basically. Thanks for the help gang!
 
Any chance that you can take a picture of inside the case with a ruler placed inside for reference? Or any common object for that matter? That'll give us a better idea of how much space you're working with.

Also, can you please be more specific about the games? The performance requirements for something like Plants VS Zombies is completely different for something like BF4.
 
I'll toss a pic up tomorrow after work but we'll be playing alot of BF4 and we play alot of World of Tanks.
 
Well, that's good to hear since that means lower costs for you. But still need to know what's the inside of the case looks like. My google-fu is failing me tonight.
 
Okay, the PSU is a puny 263 watt thing that will have to be upgraded first...



The GeForce GT 520 is a mere 5.75 inches long and I have a BFG 7900 GS OC that is 7.75 in in length and it would fit perfectly although I have a feeling it wouldn't be an upgrade...



Advise and option is greatly appreciated....
 
It looks as if you wont have any limitation on card length.

Are you sure a standard ATX PSU will fit in the case? You might have to do some modifications. HP loves to go with propriety hardware.
 
450 said:
I think any ATX psu will fit given the looks of it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139031

These two together should be a good combo.
Click to expand...

Close. That PSU isn't a good deal since it's of lower quality and performance than the non-modular TX PSUs and that only a handful of the cables are actually removable. I recommend this PSU instead:
$85 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU

It's of higher quality and performance than the Corsair TX650M while being cheaper, having far more removable cables, and is still more than enough for his needs.
 
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What resolution is the monitor? It's going to make a big difference if she's running 1024x768 or 1080p.
 
I think you'll get exceptional gameplay from a Radeon HD 7950 ($250+ on Amazon). Indeed, it's almost certainly overkill, but it's the best bang for the buck there is. The Radeon HD 78xx cards only have 2 GB memory which will IMHO prove a liability in the next year or so.

BTW the specification page for the PC is here and indicates that the PSU is indeed a standard ATX device.
 
Thanks for everything guys! I appreciate all the help, greatly. Trying to squeeze every ounce of power I can, out of my PCs, before I start building a new rig next month.
 
I hope you take the opportunity to tidy the wiring - HP should be ashamed of that mess.
 
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