helping my mom upgrade gpu

Can someone give me some suggestions about what graphics card best fits this MOBO? It has PCI-E x16 but the chipset is ATI Radeon® XPRESS 200 Chipset. I also can't find anything regarding the PSU for her system.

Here's the link to the MOBO specs:
http://www.msicomputer.com/product [...] L&class=mb

Here's the link to the entire system:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc [...] 02&lang=en

She honestly wants to start playing some MMORPG games with my cousin and I. Kind of hilarious actually but fun for her.

I believe this is the PSU in the PC:
http://www.power-on.com/atx12vhp300bt.html

No PCI-E connector so that is a limitation. Unless you want to try and fit an aftermarket PSU in there. Maybe an HD3650. I think it would Play WOW and stuff like that. What MMORPG games is she looking at?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102725

Here's the MOBO specs I believe
http://www.msicomputer.com/product [...] L&class=mb

Believe it or not...she wants to play Oblivion, NWN2 etc. Pretty high-end stuff.

So she would need a new psu to handle any other graphics card correct? Let's assume I installed a new psu, what should I get for that? Also, once a new psu is installed, what PCI-E x16 card would work in her MOBO considering her chipset?

right now she is 1280x1024

I'm thinking about buying her a new monitor...something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824211010

OBLIVION!!!
wow she really knows how to pick them doesn't she. The HP Pavilions really aren't the PC's to be putting in high end parts. You MIGHT be better off gutting it and putting everything into a bigger case. Most higher end cards are 9.5" long and don't fit in the space of a Pavilion. What are the rest of the specs of the PC? Regardless it might limit the GPU because of an old CPU.

Another look into this, if she isn't running on a large monitor you might be able to get away with like an ATI HD3850 or Nvidia 9600GT or something like that. They would both need a new PSU though.

Now you throw in a 22". Man you keep changing it up like a Baseball pitcher with ADD. with a 22" and oblivion you are going to want like a 8800Gt/GTS.

You might be better off building her a new one. Tell her "if you wanna play with the big boys you have to play with big boy toys"......"Because Mike Rowe said so!"

I'd go with an ATI HD3850, the extra RAM and probably a new power supply.

-Wolf sends

Yes it should be fine. Anything more powerful than this you will need a new PSU. This card pulls it power from the PCI-E bus and does not have its own power connector.

If you look at bigger PSU's you could get something beefier but you might not get it to physcially fit. I know people have had issues with cards being to long and the PCI-E power connector doesnt fit in.

absolutely cracks me up...I can't wait to smash my mom down with my level 16 dwarf.

which of the two above cards is the better one?

just to be clear...the eVGA or the MSI listed above will work with my mothers MOBO (ATI chipset)?

I'm gonna grab 2g of RAM, a new PSU, and one of the above video cards for her then.

Yes, it will work with your chipset. Be sure to disable on board graphics (in BIOS) and uninstall all graphic drivers before installing the new card.

last time I installed a new pci card...I installed the new card...installed all the drivers...disabled the on board graphics in Device Manager...enabled the new card in Device Manager...rebooted...and everything worked. Same procedure?

Sometimes 4 sticks of ram does funny things. I'd probably just toss the old sticks and use the new stuff unless she really needs 3GB of ram. Oblivion definitely doesn't even with all of the graphics mods I applied.

cool...I'll just stick with 2gb and put the rest of the money towards a new gpu and psu.

jay-

ok...so I've convinced my mother to build a new computer but in increments. I'm going to proceed as planned by purchasing a gpu, psu, and RAM for her current puter. However, I want to grab a psu in the 700-750 watt range for future usage. Any suggestions for psu units that will fit into her case?

You recommended this psu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139004

Can you suggest one that will fit her case but with a little more juice?

There are 550W PSU's and there are 550W PSU's. There are some misconceptions about wattage and power supplies.
Look at the 2 PSU's in this comparison: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139004
The cheap(eagle) PSU does not have a 6pin PCI-E connector at all, the Corsair has a 6pin and 6+2 pin. The eagle is rated on 2 12v rails totalling 28A, the Corsair has a single 12V rail at 41A. The corsair has more approvals and is a Class B PSU(aka more effiencient). The corsair is also SLI and Crossfire certified.

That Corsair will let you run everything you need unless you get 2+ HIGHEND cards. It will run an SLI setup with normal gaming cards.