8600gt video card 350watt power supply
quad core 4gb ram
intel G33 chipset
Asus motherboard
but now i'm looking forward to changing the graphics card and i just wanna know if the coolermaster extreme power plus 500 watts is good enough to power the HD4850
The real issue with changing the power supply in your particular PC is, does the HP case have (or have room for) a standard ATX power supply?
First, CoolerMaster's Extreme Power PSUs are pretty crappy. Their RealPower Plus models are much better, and their UCP-series is darn near tops.
I've had excellent luck with an Antec EA430 power supply, and I like Antec Earthwatts PSUs far better than both the other options. I own a CoolerMaster RealPower Plus RS-550 PSU, and it's not bad at all, but not really great, either. A buddy of mine has a StealthXStream 500, and it's pretty much on par with my CoolerMaster, other than the CoolerMaster having two 6-pin PCIe connectors. My EA430 puts them both to shame as far as silence and stability under load are concerned.
Here's a link to a bunch of $50-$75 (Canadian), 80-Plus rated, quality PSUs at Newegg.ca. I'm sure you can find something in that list that will suit your needs. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] rchInDesc= Just make sure to check they have PCIe connectors, as some may not have any, while some may have two.
Message edited by RazberyBandit on 08-11-2009 at 09:54:42 PM
Perhaps this will help. Some cases have small slots that the narrowed tip of the mounting bracket slides into, and they're usually very tight. If yours has these, they should be visible either from the rear of the case or along the slot section, next to and slightly behind the edge of the motherboard. I had one like that once, and it gave me a similar problem. I took a flat-head screwdriver, placed it against the end of the bracket at the rear of the case, then tapped it a few times... gently. It loosened the card up and it came right out.