Upgrading older PC for Emulation

Attitech

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Mar 3, 2015
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Hello Community,
I have recently acquired an older model computer (circa 2006) and I have been toying with the idea of having a basic easy to manage pc that will stay permanently attached to our TV.
The PC in question:
HP Compaq dc7600 CMT
It's using a 380356-001 775 mATX Motherboard
Seen Here on eBay

My question is, I'm trying to find a decent graphics card upgrade (1GB perferred) and a case that would fit the computer. It looks like it have a PCI-E x16 slot but I'm not 100% sure. The original is just too large to be used with our current set up but I'm unsure of what could fit the existing parts (including the 375w PS) and I would like a cube shaped case. I cannot seem to find a good answer on either of these and don't have a lot of experience on it. Any help would greatly be appreciated and welcomed. My wife is very much looking forward to me finally getting around to putting this together.
 
You are limited by the CPU of this motherboard, and you don't need fancy GPU if you will use this just as a multimedia PC (you don't plan to game on that PC, do you)?

When choosing a case - keep in mind that sideway-mounted connector on the right on the board, it might get too close to the case.
 

Attitech

Reputable
Mar 3, 2015
29
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4,530
The only gaming I plan on doing is emulation with it. All of my media is on my main home desktop and this new set up won't even be connected to the internet past the initial set up. Basically the heaviest thing it will be running is Playstation 2 and Gamecube emulation, IF it will run it. If it comes down to giving it a better set up to do what I want and choosing a smaller case, I will make it work with the larger one. I plan on installing a second HDD, nothing big, just a 250GB SATA to store all the emulators and backups but I know to emulate the GC and PS2 you need at least an ok graphics card. Most emulation is done from the processor, but to do more of the fancier things like Pixel Shader 2, I'll need a graphics upgrade. I have a Wii I can do most of the emulation on, but it can't handle the two I'm mainly looking for, hence why I'm trying to put this setup together. If it's not possible or viable, I'll just scrap the idea and save to build a $300 basic gaming machine and run with that. I'd prefer to be cheap though lol

Thanks for the response btw