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Converting HP DC7700 to gaming rig

Tags:
  • Graphics Cards
  • Gaming
  • Hewlett Packard
  • Components
Last response: in Components
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December 28, 2013 11:18:22 AM

So, this is a somewhat unique situation, and any answers would be greatly appreciated. I have attempted to learn what I can from Google and so on, but I would like to hear an opinion on my situation specifically.

So I have an HP DC7700 small form computer. The PSU (220W) is too small for my needs, and the form will not fit a better one from what I understand. I upgraded the graphics card to an NVidia GT520, which states requirement of 300W. I have been running this for about a year, and I believe that it has caused problems as the graphics of games have become increasingly choppy and I have determined that the fan on the graphics card is having problems (making a lot of noise, specifically, and yes I made sure it was the graphics fan and not another fan).

So, I have around 350$ in Amazon gift certificate, my plan is to buy a new tower, such as this Xion Performance Model . What I need to know is, what parts will I need to buy to fit that form, and what parts can I salvage from my old DC7700?

I want to buy a new PSU, of 600W to handle any graphics or other upgrades I do later. This is the PSU I'm considering.

Now, the DC7700 has multi-core, 6GB of RAM, good hard disk size which I'm pretty happy with.

Will I need to buy a new motherboard, or will the DC7700 motherboard fit into the new tower? Also, are there any other components which could be incompatible that I should budget?

Thank you very much for any help, as you can probably tell I've never built one of these before.

More about : converting dc7700 gaming rig

a c 168 U Graphics card
a b 4 Gaming
a b α HP
December 28, 2013 11:35:53 AM

The cpu is old and not going to game very well. The Ram is DDR2 and new systems use DDR3. The case will not provide enough cooling for a gaming rig. You might be able to reuse the HDD but if is as old as the rest of they system I wouldn't. You'd be better off just building a completely new rig. If you can't afford it all at one once buy what you can when you can and slowly build the system.
Here's an example of a decent budget gaming rig.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($123.50 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($75.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($69.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($63.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($254.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Memory Express)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $717.26
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-28 14:34 EST-0500)
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December 28, 2013 1:44:26 PM

bignastyid said:
The cpu is old and not going to game very well. The Ram is DDR2 and new systems use DDR3. The case will not provide enough cooling for a gaming rig. You might be able to reuse the HDD but if is as old as the rest of they system I wouldn't. You'd be better off just building a completely new rig. If you can't afford it all at one once buy what you can when you can and slowly build the system.
Here's an example of a decent budget gaming rig.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($123.50 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($75.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($69.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($63.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($254.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Memory Express)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $717.26
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-28 14:34 EST-0500)


Thank you very much for your thorough response. I have tried to match the recommendations, but I am limited to only ordering from Amazon due to using gift certs as opposed to cash, at least for around 350$ worth.

I was able to find a CPU which is 'Amd Fx-4300 95 Am3+ 95 8mb 3800 '. It is quad-core instead of six, but I think that is a reasonable facsimile in order to maintain budget.

I can definitely take the DVD drive from my HP7700, so I am omitting that as well.

Will I run into any unexpected problems for these replacements?

Using Amazon I was able to get the price to 505 and change (Canadian) which is probably do-able, but I don't want to make this purchase and realize I've made some large mistake.
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