How can I upgrade my ATI Radeon Xpress 200?

[drod1596]

Hi
I went from Windows XP Media Center x32 to Windows 7 Ultimate x32 on my HP Pavillion a1230n, and so I really want to upgrade my graphics card. Is there anything I can do to upgrade it? Thanks!

 

[bobkn]

It has a PCI-E (PCI-Express) 1.0 X16 slot, which means, in principle, that it can accept most modern graphics cards. (PCI-E 3.0, 2.1, and 2.0 are supposed to be backwards compatible.)

I haven't found the rating of your power supply. Many graphics cards specify 400W or more. Higher powered cards need one or two 6 or 8 pin PCI-E auxiliary power connectors. That can be supplied with Molex-to-PCI-E adapters. The Molex connectors are the 4 pin ones, usually white, that supply power to PATA (IDE) hard drives and CD drives.

Graphics card compatibility seems hit or miss. I suggest searching using your motherboard type (A8AE-LE). I see reports of success using such high-end cards as an AMD Radeon HD 6850 or an nVidia GTX 470. (Either of those might want a new power supply, though.)