[Solved] Looking to buy an Asus Essentio cm6850-07 and upgrade the Graphics card and the

Not sure if it helps but, so far, it's all I can find.

There are quite a few spots free for additional components in the chassis: One optical drive bay, one hard drive bay, a PCI card slot (a second PCI slot is blocked by the graphics card’s heat sink), and a PCIe x16/x4 slot (it’s physically a x16 slot, but wired for x4). all four memory slots are filled. You can use the PCIe x16 slot for an additional graphics card (for additional monitor support or GPU computing help), and the motherboard supports AMD’s CrossFire multi-card setups. The desktop isn’t certified to handle Nvidia’s SLI multi-card setup, so you’ll have to replace the included GeForce GT 530 card with something from AMD if you want more 3D power.

^Found on http://jumpbeat.info/6901/desktop- [...] cm6850-07/

What's your budget? Maybe we can find you a system we know more about for the same price. Also, do you have a .edu email address? If so, and you're open to installing Windows, you can save quite a bit of money with a custom system builder.

My Avatar - SkiFree

CPU: i5's play games as well as i7's so you can just save some cash and aim lower

Motherboard: Don't worry about it, I guess...but two PCI-e full length 16x slots offers versatility if you're presented with the option.

RAM: RAM is cheap and any pre-built machine uses cheap stuff. Just get the cheapest you can get and upgrade if you want to later.

HDD: You want a 7200rpm hard drive. After that, it doesn't matter much.

Case: Any OEM will have a case with poor cooling.

PSU: Stick to Antec, Corsair, or XFX. How much you need depends on your build. A Corsair CX430 will be plenty for a graphics card up to a 6870 and an Antec EA650 will handle up to two GTX 560Ti's...but you might want a 750W for that.

Graphics: Spend everything left in your budget here. If you've got $150, get a 6870. If you've got more, get a GTX 560Ti or better.

I like this Vostro with i3-2100 for $319: http://configure.us.dell.com/dells [...] A01A0A0N28
You have to choose the processor in putting it together, but you really can't beat that price unless you build it yourself (and it'd be close then). I have to look into whether you can upgrade these Mini Tower PSUs though.

Check here for good Desktop Sales: http://www.techbargains.com/catsearch.cfm/0_12_0

Yep, so I checked on the Vostro 260 mini tower: http://www.dell.com/us/dfb/p/vostro-260/pd

It uses a standard ATX power supply. So as long as your graphics card can fit, you can drop one in along with a new PSU.

If gaming is your focus, you'll see the i3-2100 knows how to handle itself: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083 [...] -tested/20

It should have one extra slot for an expansion internal hard drive also.

Careful trying to compare a $800 Windows machine to your friends in art school's $2500 Macs. You may say that your Windows machine is slow...but that's only because it costs 1/3 as much.

Here's a Vostro for $449 with an i5-2400 w/ code VR?HZTDVS8WDVF: http://configure.us.dell.com/dells [...] A01A0A0N28
You can pay $190 to upgrade it to an i7 or you can do that in a year or two instead.

Then you can drop in a $35 Antec Neo Eco 620W (on Newegg Shell Shocker right now, will run out soon. If so, get Antec EA650 for $40) and ANY graphics card. And you'll have a high-end gaming system for under $700.

Asus builds very good machines. Can you provide the link where you're going to buy it? That's the major reason I've moved away from it. I'd like to see a picture of it personally.

I can see from photos of the Vostro that it's fairly easy to upgrade and open up--much easier than a lot of OEM machines I've owned in the past (I don't do OEM anymore). But I can't guarantee it can top that Asus. I'm not going to read 3 pages of text to see a proper list of parts.

At the end of the day, your performance will hinge 90% on your CPU and your graphics card. The other 10% is 7% RAM and 2.5% HDD. The OEM won't matter as much as the PSU for whether or not it breaks.

A long time ago, a computer chasis standard of ATX was established. I think it was like 1995, but you can find that on Wikipedia. Replacement standards failed so that ATX is still what power supplies are designed to fit. A graphics card is also designed to fit in PCI-e expansion slots in an ATX case. Even non-standard cases almost always allow for expansion slots (although smaller ones only allow low-profile cards).

Pretty much ANY PCI-e graphics card will work. The challenge is making sure you have enough power for it. Poking around on this PSU calculator page may help you understand the requirements: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Wikipedia articles on graphics lines will also tell you their power draw as will NVidia's website. A typical high end card draws 225W under load on top of your system's 150W or so under load. Then you need some breathing room for lots of miscellaneous allowances. A lower end card without power supply connectors can draw as little as 40W. My computer at home uses about 450W under load.

Sorry, I didn't copy that last link correctly.

This should work though,
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+- [...] merreviews

And I just figured out I do NOT like the new one... They took out the gfx card. WHY? >.>

Lenovo's got a great reputation. You could try this on Newegg for $799: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6883108569
That's an i7-2600, big 1.5TB 7200rpm HDD, 8GB RAM, and a Radeon 6450 graphics card. Just drop in a new PSU and a good graphics card and you're set.

Also, would you be interested in i7-2630QM gaming laptops around this price? If so, this Asus is killer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6834230027

No extra PSU or graphics required.

I have absolutely no idea why you would want to buy that over the Lenovo. It has almost the same parts (smaller HDD). The only difference is a no-name bigger power supply (you should buy your own Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, or XFX) and a $120 GTX 460 1GB.

For the $350 more it costs, you could buy two of that graphics card, a PSU, and have $50 left over if you weren't even shopping for that great of deals. Of course, I'd buy a GTX 560Ti on top of the Lenovo and a 650W PSU if I were you.