How do I choose a power supply for my HP?

[ardentluma]

Okay, just so you all know, I am not a technical person. As I am a child of the 90's, I do know a little bit of computers, but I am not a hard core computer person and know squat when it comes to hardware.

I recently bought an HP P7-1054 on a really good buy. However, the power supply is only at 250W and my graphics card is kind of shoddy for what I want it for. Digital painting, editing, graphic design, and using Second Life. So after some research I am now left with even more mind boggling "omg what do I buy?"

I have an idea of what graphics card I will get for my upgrade, but most things that I have been looking at require higher wattage than the 250.

So, I am begging anyone on here who knows a thing or two to point me in the right direction as to where I should go. I see a lot of recommendations for Corsair and the like, but read the occasional comment of mother board slots and I'm sitting here scratching my head.

Can anyone please help me?

These are the specs of my system:
http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c02560084

 

[HostileDonut]

What is the video card?

 

[chesteracorgi]

You need to spec the case too. A wattage recommendation is OK, but if your case places constraints on the PSU you need to list that too. Is is top or bottom mounted? Is the current PSU a front/rear ventilated unit or does it use a top mounted fan? Is the enclosure for the PSU restricted to certain units?

 

[crimsonpc]

Can you post some dimensions of your current power supply? It's quite possible that you can upgrade it with something decent.

Your motherboard has a PCIe x16 slot, so you're all set there.

 

[ko888]

The HP Pavilion p7-1054 Desktop PC uses a standard ATX form factor power supply unit.

ATX Form factor power supply unit dimensions:

5.9" Wide x 3.4" High x 5.5" Deep

or

150mm Wide x 86mm High x 140mm Deep

The width and height are fixed but the depth may vary.

Please specify the graphics card(s) you are considering so that suggestions can made for the correct power supply electrical specifications.

 

[ardentluma]

Can you post some dimensions of your current power supply? It's quite possible that you can upgrade it with something decent.

Your motherboard has a PCIe x16 slot, so you're all set there.

I don't even know what PCIex16 means, lol.


My current graphics card is a ATI Radeon 4200 chipset. I would like upgrade to something like a ATI Radeon HD 5750 or something comparable.


ko888, thanks for finding the dimensions.

 

[HostileDonut]

I don't even know what PCIex16 means, lol.


My current graphics card is a ATI Radeon 4200 chipset. I would like upgrade to something like a ATI Radeon HD 5750 or something comparable.


ko888, thanks for finding the dimensions.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=corsair%20430w

That will power a hd5750 just fine. Also, a PCI-E slot is the slot that the card will go into. The long slot that looks kinda like a RAM slot, but with only one clip at the end.

 

[ardentluma]

Okay, so I am going to get the cooler master that you recommend. Now I have another question, as I am going to be installing this stuff myself, is the current 'card' I have in there, or chipset rather. I've never gone into look around my computer's guts yet. Just seems to me that a chipset would be different than the card.

Is this something I take out? Or do I just pop the card into the slot after I plug in the new PSU and call it a day?

 

[HostileDonut]

Okay, so I am going to get the cooler master that you recommend. Now I have another question, as I am going to be installing this stuff myself, is the current 'card' I have in there, or chipset rather. I've never gone into look around my computer's guts yet. Just seems to me that a chipset would be different than the card.

Is this something I take out? Or do I just pop the card into the slot after I plug in the new PSU and call it a day?

Yup, the chip (hd4200) you have in now is soldered into the board itself. When you put in your other card and install the drivers, it should work fine. Now, it is also smart to disable the hd4200 through the BIOS AFTER you install your new card and drivers.

 

[ko888]

Okay, so I am going to get the cooler master that you recommend. Now I have another question, as I am going to be installing this stuff myself, is the current 'card' I have in there, or chipset rather. I've never gone into look around my computer's guts yet. Just seems to me that a chipset would be different than the card.

Is this something I take out? Or do I just pop the card into the slot after I plug in the new PSU and call it a day?

Which Cooler Master power supply model was recommended?

As long as it's not from the Extreme Power Plus Series or the Elite Power Series you may be OK. Power supply units from these two Cooler Master series are absolute garbage. They have high ripple and noise levels on their DC outputs that will eventually kill the power circuits on your motherboard and graphics card.

 

[HostileDonut]

Which Cooler Master power supply model was recommended?

As long as it's not from the Extreme Power Plus Series or the Elite Power Series you may be OK. Power supply units from these two Cooler Master series are absolute garbage. They have high ripple and noise levels on their DC outputs that will eventually kill the power circuits on your motherboard and graphics card.

I believe he meant the Corsair 430w. But yeah, many of the CM PSUs are bad quality.

 

[ko888]

Even the Seasonic made semi-modular Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power for $34.99 would have been a good choice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029

 

[HostileDonut]

Even the Seasonic made semi-modular Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power for $34.99 would have been a good choice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029

Yeah, that looks decent and should run one hd5750 fine.

 

[ardentluma]

I said cooler master, I meant to say Corsair. I decided on this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

Its a little higher in wattage, but I decided to up my graphics card a little as Second Life is changing their stuff to mesh - I decided its worth it to spend a few extra bucks for a little more power.

So you think it's OK? I'm sorry to be such a noob about all this stuff, I'm just pretty ignorant on hardware.

 

[HostileDonut]

I said cooler master, I meant to say Corsair. I decided on this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

Its a little higher in wattage, but I decided to up my graphics card a little as Second Life is changing their stuff to mesh - I decided its worth it to spend a few extra bucks for a little more power.

So you think it's OK? I'm sorry to be such a noob about all this stuff, I'm just pretty ignorant on hardware.

No problem if your a noob! That's what you are here because of! I wouldn't get that, 430w will enough for a hd5750. Just a waste of money. If you have the extra money, why not grab the 430w and a hd5770 or GTX 460/hd6850?

 

[ardentluma]

Well, the system requirements on the AMD website specify that to run the HD5770 (and the 5760) I need 450w or greater, so that's where my reasoning is coming from. Does this not matter?

 

[HostileDonut]

Well, the system requirements on the AMD website specify that to run the HD5770 (and the 5760) I need 450w or greater, so that's where my reasoning is coming from. Does this not matter?

Nope, doesn't matter. The GTX 460 1gb I mentioned is the most power hungry of all of them. It pulls 160w max at stock. 160 + 95 + 20 + 30 + 30 + 10 = 345w for your CPU, GPU, RAM, Drives, board, and fans. You will have plenty more. If you go for a hd5750, hd5770, or hd6850, I believe those pull around 100 - 110w max.

 

[ko888]

The most important power supply specifications that must be met, for the system to be able to run with the chosen graphics card properly, is the power supply unit's combined +12 Volt continuous current rating and the graphics card's required number of PCI-Express power connectors.

A Radeon HD 5750 requires a power supply with a combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 21 Amps or greater and with at least one or more 75W 6-pin PCI-Express power connectors.

A Radeon HD 5770 requires a power supply with a combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 22 Amps or greater and with at least one or more 75W 6-pin PCI-Express power connectors.

A Radeon HD 5850, that Second Life System Requirements recommends, requires a power supply with a combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 26 Amps or greater and with at least two or more 75W 6-pin PCI-Express power connectors.

AMD does a disservice to its customers by not specifying the minimum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating that the power supply should have.

Most NVIDIA card manufacturers specify both the minimum wattage and the combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of the power supply recommended.

 

[HostileDonut]

^+1

 

[ardentluma]

Thanks so much ko888 for your awesome imput. Thanks everyone. You have all been so helpful.

 

[HostileDonut]

No problem! Just make sure you select a best answer so a moderator can close the thread.

 

[ardentluma]

Best answer selected by ardentluma.