Installing a new graphics card

[saroy94]

Oh, yeah I already have the program, and it says 333.4 MHz.

 

[Fumz]

K, thanks. I'm going to get some sleep while you look around for another place to shop (it's 4:30am here). See ya in a few.

 

[saroy94]

haha okay, thanks for everything & it's 6 hours forward in UK, if i remember

 

[fishnbanjo]

Your mobo supports 1 PCI Express x16 so any video card that is PCIExpress x16 that will work with your current power needs. Since your PC has a 300 watt PSU you are probably going to have to do a bit of research. The Geforce 9600M GT is a card some folks on the HP forum recommend as an upgrade and if you look at the power requirements for that you should be able to find the right card for what you use the PC for.

Thanks for the tip i'm looking for a new power supply because I realised the latest graphic cards work at around 450W. How did you find out what my motherboard supports by the way?

RE:new PSU, your biggest factor will be the physical dimension of your current PSU and the DIN footprint for your retaining screw layout. As long as the new PSU fits the DIN layout and HxWxL dimensions of your current PSU and the electrical input you require bot AC and the mobo power interface it will all work.

There is also a good go by on the HP site about upgrading to Windows 7 on this unit. Upgrading to Windows 7 HP Pavilion Media Center TV m7755.it-a Desktop PC Bundle - HP technical support (Ireland - English)

The following company in the UK has OEM HP ATX PSU's believe the 480 watt will work but you need your HxWxL and screw locations to make sure.

 

[saroy94]

Okay thanks for telling me that, however, how do I find out the dimensions and screw locations? Must I open up the computer?

& about the link, I already have windows 7

 

[saroy94]

Just a quick question, would this work with my deskop: PNY NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS PCI-E Graphics Card - 256MB at cheap prices | PC World

 

[fishnbanjo]

Ummm, your screws holding your PSU are visible from the rear view of your PC case, to find out the physical dimensions you can do this with a non metallic ruler or tape measure, turn off the PC, remove the power cord and open the case and measure Height, width and length.

The 8400GS uses 71 watts of power so yes that would work but don't know what kind of processes, programs etc you plan on running.

 

[saroy94]

Okay thanks! i intend to run computer games really, that's mainly what I use my desktop for.

Just another question, with graphic cards, is it best to buy one with a high graphic frequency, processor frequency or memory frequency? Does memory also count? (256MB on that product)

 

[fishnbanjo]

With all seriousness, if your main focus is gaming it would be best to read some of the posts regarding games users are playing, what kind of cards meet/do not meet their specific needs and power requirements for this specific needs.

Realistically you have a beginners platform capable of multimedia use, watching TV via a cable, DSL or satellite connection with a tuner, sites like Hulu that provide TV and movies, play MS games via the Media Center etc. If Wow, Bad Company and many of the really graphic intensive games out there is your goal your PSU and mobo architecture literally will choke what you want to do. Graphic intensive gaming is a FPS issue, from the video card, hard drive (some very serious gamers use SSD's), memory and your internet connection all play a part in your experience. Best of luck.........

 

[saroy94]

Alright then thanks for everything

 

[RST101]

If you plan on playing the new exciting titles then I'm afraid the 8400gs just wont cut it.

The minimum you should be looking at is a 9600gt or an ATI equivalent which I believe to be a 3850/70.

Here is a 9600gt that has 12 months warranty 9600GT

 

[saroy94]

Thanks, but is 8400gs faster?

 

[stormy13]

Faster than onboard video yes, with the possibility of it actually being slower than some of the newest versions of onboard video. Faster than any of the other cards mentioned in this thread (especially the 9600 GT above), not even if it tried real hard.

At the time of its release the 8400 GS was about as low as you could get in a video card.

@fishnbanjo regarding the layout and screw placement on a PSU, unless the computer manufacturer used something that is totally against any of the standards (ATX, µATX, etc), that sort of thing shouldn't matter, and I don't think I have ever seen one that did that. What they used to do (Dell and HP were two of the biggest culprits of this) was use a standard ATX or µATX PSU and have the 20/24 pin power connectors from the PSU and on the motherboard changed from the standard. Not positive but I don't think they are doing that sort of nonsense anymore

 

[saroy94]

Alright then. Just got a big problem. As Intel(R) 82945G Express Chipset Family is onboard, I don't know how and where to put it a new graphics card, could you possibly explain how I can?

 

[Fumz]

Hi saroy,

Unfortunately, we can't see pictures located on your hard drive. You're going to have to find some place to host them online. However, to answer your question: the pci-e slot, of which there is one on your board.

It's the black slot, above the three white slots here: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3362650#N1579

 

[saroy94]

Hi saroy,

Unfortunately, we can't see pictures located on your hard drive. You're going to have to find some place to host them online. However, to answer your question: the pci-e slot, of which there is one on your board.

It's the black slot, above the three white slots here: Motherboard Specifications, P5LP-LE (Leonite) HP Pavilion Media Center TV m7755.uk Desktop PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

yeah it is that motherboard, thank you

 

[Faladu]

I was going to agree on a PSU upgrade and video card (and had typed in info) until:

Alas, I just looked at the picture of that motherboard, Heatsink in the way of a thick card in the PCI Express slot (the black slot) and it's going to impede RAM in the slots quite possibly, boy I hate canned PC cheapo motherboards, that and a 9800GT and 4850 are way big probably.

So now I have to look at 'low profile' cards to give a recommendation.

Upfront, it's not going to be too exciting, but at least some improvement.
You toss your PC and get a new one is the other option....

Think about it this way, RAM+Video+CPU, you just replaced 3 major parts already and that's a sizable piece of
a new PC....

I see pretty good canned system in local stores for $600ish, I know in UK you are probably looking at a lot more expense, I digress...

I'm happy to report, low profile isn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, though no speed records will be had:

Newegg.com - ECS NS9400GTC-512QZ-H GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

Picked to stay under $60, there is even a 4650 card in the group if you search, but reviewers said it ran very HOT, so that's a pass, if you had more space, that might be ok with a paste and heatsink replacement.

That is what I would try, beware low # of reviewers, and 2 definitely ignore, it's pretty obvious which 2.

Having said that if you go with one like this, one thing, get Arctic silver 5 paste and paste remover/cleaner.
Remove the heatsink, remove the paste, replace with the AS5, and replace the heatsink.

I bought a 7600GS non-fan card, still in wife's PC and she's very satisfied, and I did that before it ever got used in any PC, mine was first at the time.
You will lower temp by 5-10 degrees doing that, and have paste and cleaner left over for next time, or next CPU & Heatsink/fan, same stuff I use there, too.

My overall search on newegg was this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ption=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

 

[saroy94]

Oh thats great then I mainly play a lot of games, so I do need a good graphics card. Is 512mb fast enough for games being released at the moment? You also say that 9800GT and 4850 are way big probably. Could you give me the dimensions of them?

This is a graphics card I was recommended by my friend. Would this fit? Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5570 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card [] Graphics and Video ATI HD 5570 Series

 

[Fumz]

I was going to agree on a PSU upgrade and video card (and had typed in info) until:

Alas, I just looked at the picture of that motherboard, Heatsink in the way of a thick card in the PCI Express slot (the black slot) and it's going to impede RAM in the slots quite possibly, boy I hate canned PC cheapo motherboards, that and a 9800GT and 4850 are way big probably.

So now I have to look at 'low profile' cards to give a recommendation.

The heatsink and dimm slots aren't going to interfere with the video card, even if you get a dual slot card. The furthest "up" (towards the cpu) the card is going to go is the actual slot itself. It will be a tight fit, so it's advised to install RAM first, but it will fit just fine.

 

[Faladu]

512 megs of RAM on the video card, that's still fine today.

Dimensions wise, look at that picture of the motherboard, and see the end of it on the right side, has a weird looking thing at the bottom that is the end stop on the card, for getting it locked and unlocked into the slot...
You can judge the overage of the card by how much MORE there is off it passed the part that goes into the slot, if you follow me.

That card you mention, has a 400W PSU requirement it looks like, and I doubt your PC has that, but it should be listed right on your current one in plain english hopefully, PSU wise, you could upgrade that too, just make sure you have the size on that one explicitly because those can vary so widely.

Just FYI: Video card series wise, first # is series, 2nd # is main tier, 3rd sub tier, and last if it exists is zero, lol. and higher is better and it's massively confusing to consumers and I wish they'd stop it, because you can go back 2 series and have a better card then a low one on the current series and worse.
Oh yeah and then you have GS, GT, XT, GTS, GTX which also can vary, but GTX has top dog status?

Like that 8400GS you mentioned, 8 series, but 4 makes it a sad low quality card.
My old PC has a 5900XT in it and it might give that 8400 a run for it.
I know the 5900XT is way better than the el cheapo 6200 anything, of course drivers and direct-x support also comes into play.... confused yet?

And Fumz, I agree RAM first is a must and there is a lot of close quarters issues too depending on how thick that case of his is, your right I goofed on the heat sink getting in the way, I almost confused this issue with one I was working on before it about a video card issue. My brain needs rebooting, thanks for reminder.

...and Yes that 5570 would fit, it almost stops after the slot, definitely a short enough card.