Can I Upgrade My Processor?

I was wanting to find one of the cheapest possible ways to play Elder Scrolls Online with my wife. I am a console gamer and she is a pc gamer.

I found a cheap $80 slim HP desktop at my job.

The specs of my computer are found at this link:

HP Pavilion Slimline s5123w Desktop PC Product Specifications | HP® Customer Support


As you can see, I have a 220w power supply.

In order to get decent graphics, I bought a Geforce GT 1030. It says it recommend a power supply of 300w minimum, but after much research online it seems like people were very assuring that using it shouldn't cause problems on a 220w power supply.

But with that being said, the processor I have is a single core processor using 45w of power. I have a AMD Athlon II (I believe it's the x2 250), and it looks like it uses 65w of power but would perform better.

I'm worried about even an extra 20w and wanted to get advice.

Based on my setup, 4 GB of RAM, THE GT 1030 video card, a cd drive (I can unplug and not use if that would help), a few usb ports, etc.

Will this upgrade hurt me? Would you consider this a safe upgrade?

Not looking for a rant about switching to another box that can fit a better power supply... I am looking to keep things slim and I want this to fit under my tv easily. I also want to keep the price as low as possible, and I already own this secondary processor. So just wanting to know if this upgrade should be safe based off my cpu specs and the power I'll be drawing

Have a look at this Newegg website. A lot of HP PSUs are listed so finding the right one may require calling Newegg directly.

hp slimline power supply - Newegg.com

Keep in mind that because your computer is OEM, it may not support the new processor that you want to use. The best thing to do is to go to the manufacturer's website and look and see if they have any processor upgrade lists. You'll get an idea of what you can use for a processor from there. Usually, an HP PC will support one or two processors and that is it, and there are no BIOS upgrades to support different models. I would hate to see you waste your money on a processor that isn't supported, so make sure that you check into this before you buy the new one.

EDIT:

Actually, I did the math for you and found this:



Your new processor must be an AM2+ socket and must be part of one of those reference groups in the picture. The good news is that the PC will support a processor up to 95W.

I think your best bet for an AM2+ CPU is either Newegg (if they still have any) or eBay (buy with care).