Will this work?

So why would you up grade to a 600w PSU when you said a 450w gave you sparks? Now that card is not going to use 450w. Most of nVadias card require a 400w on the low end cards.

But if you have a nice 300w should do the trick but the 450w whould have been just fine and even if you go with a 400w you still would be fine. Un less your MOBO has a problem.

So... it wasnt the PSU problem? Are you sure 450 was enough wattage?

Maybe it just overheated?

Why do want to upgrade to a 4 year old 8800GTS?
You can get cards better than it and they consume much less power too.

Which is your current PSU? The 250W from HP or the 450W? Is that from a different make or from HP itself?

Also, what's your budget?
You wouldn't need extra 4 GB RAM either.

Ehhh. its coming in the bundle, so it shouldnt hurt? But the 450w is fried from my last mishap with my HP so yea, the original stock 250w is in the machine.

And I have the 8800 gts because my friend gave it to me. would it be better to buy a new one? I mean.. i already have it...

my budget is 100 at most. preferably below 75, but 100 is the cap.
I already spent a decent amount on my PSU which was almost 70.

So I like how the GPU is taken care of by my friend. unless itd be cheaper to just get a new one.... idk.

Something better than a 8800GTS would be a GTS450 or HD 6770 and up.
But I don't think you'll need to spend money on that.
Spend the money on a new PSU.
This one here is a good solid PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Ehh... yeah... gts 450 is about $110.

But, I got http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/ite...

Basically the same right? But 600W.
It's a pretty good deal too. About 10 dollars more and an extra 200W and 4 GB of RAM.

That motherboard CANNOT use that memory. You need DDR2, whereas the memory in the bundle is DDR3. 6gb is a lot anyhow at that level of system - what are you trying to play/what res?

And what do you mean sparks? What happened?

+1
Did you buy them already?
Your PC doesn't support DDR3 RAM though. But still, it was a good deal.

You can use the 8800GTS on that PC with that.

For that card a 450w would have been ok. That PSU must have been a bad one for it to fry like that. Also if you buy another get one with brand name like Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, and XFX etc.

Here is a card better than the 8800GTS and it is under a 100 dollars and the PSU would be a 400w. The second link and third are 400w PSU's just in case if you are going to upgrade. Good luck to you.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Yea, I thought it would've been alright too. Now I'm so spooked to even try to upgrade my computer now in fear something else worse might happen to it!  

But this is the one I got it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Coolermaster? Really must've been my luck. I have a warranty on it though. Think I should try again with the brand? I already bought my 600W Corsair, so I'd have to cancel my order. I'd use the money towards your newer graphics card.

Questions though. I have an integrated nVidia 9100 on my motherboard. I heard I'm only allowed to use nVidia brand graphics cards? Or am i totally wrong...
Anyways, are their more options to graphics cards? And how much better is this one compared to my 8800 gts 512 mb?

All the help is appreciated to the noob  

Haha, yea. I already did. Couldn't help but steal a deal like that!
There was a nonbundle deal with no RAM.. but the SAME price? I was baffled and couldnt help take advantage of it!




Basically, after hooking up the 8800 gts and new 450W coolermaster PSU... everything a-ok. I had to get drivers for the new GPU - nothing was showing on the screen. So I went to plug in my network adapter to my front usb port. Then... my computer just shut off. I turn it back on, and I start to smell smoke as my computer booted. I turn it off immediately, but thought it was all in my head - maybe from outside someone was smoking. I had to be sure so I opened up my tower and turned it on again. So far so good till then.. I SAW SPARKS FLYING OUT OF MY FIRMWARE CHIPSET. And oh, my usb adapter was fried too.

Can't help but describe this in detail... story in short, I screwed up and now I cant use my front two usb ports -____-

Uh, DM186, are you sure the 6670 is better than an 8800GTS?
They would perform, if I'm not mistaken, at the same level with the radeon card having DX11 and consume less power too.

A better upgrade would be is for a HD 6770 and up.

And no, you can use all types of cards. It doesn't have to be just NVIDIA.

Okay, now I'm starting to get confused.
Which PSU do have right now?
The Coolermaster GX 450 W PSU or the Corsair CX 600W PSU?

Both... sort of. I have the 450W from my original mishap. I can get it RMA and replaced.

600W is on its way, recently bought. I might cancel though or keep it, depending on if I use the 8800 GTS or use the money for a new GPU.

What would you say is the best GPU? Around at most 75? Cap at around 100 if need be? Teenage with a budget  
I'd like to be able to play most games at high settings out there. Nothing crazy, I don't need EXTREME high res for everything, but decent.

Well, if you want a better GPU, then you can use the money to buy a new one. But the better ones aren't going to fit in a $100 budget.

This is what I think you should do.
Don't cancel the order. Use the corsair CX 600W PSU. Save up some money later on, then buy a much better GPU.

Hmmm.. and use the 8800 GTS for now?

Oh, and a faulty GPU would not cause what I said before right?
I got this used from a friend who upgraded... I just dont want anything bad happening again.

I like your thinking ;o
Agreed!

But what about it being the perpetrator to my last mishap.... possible?

I'm not sure what might have happened the last time, sparks coming out, i.e.
So it won't probably happen this time. Just make sure you connect everything properly.

Thank you  
I appreciate all the help Gman! As well as from everyone else!

@Gman I was going on the graphics hierarchy chart and the 6670 shows up as a better pick over the 8800gts. But I didn't do any follow up on the card to double check it here is the chart and I know everybody has it.

Now the 8800gt is at the same level as the 6670 but it could be a mistake on the chart. Right under it to the left shows the 8800gts. Charts have been wrong before. The 6770 is a better card.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fastest-graphics-ca...

@OP: The cooler master PSU's are not good. On the list of PSU's. It falls on the tier 4 which you don't want that. I will link you to the list that I use as a tool to help. If you have already have bought a new PSU then either keep it.

The 600w Corsair should be a nice one. A bit over kill for the 8800gts. But for fucture upgrades it would be a nice one to have. If your 450w PSU is under warranty then trade it in for a different PSU or just get your money back.

I hope this helps a little more than before. And here is the link to the list of PSU's tier 1 the best tier 5 the worst. Your PSU the 450w is on tier 4. Good luck to you.

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

Hah... great. No wonder it went haywire on my mobo.
Thanks DM for the links! They're very useful.

Now, I don't know who to choose as the best answer  
You guys have all been very helpful!

Here let me make it easy for you Gman has more answers than I do, so choose Gman I am not in it for the points. I enjoy helping people. That is my reward. And I wish you the best and Good luck

Humble  
Thank you DM.

Gman it is!

Best answer selected by thisisreality4.

Thanks DM186.  
Hey, you deserved the best answer too.
And yeah, helping people is the best part. Not getting points or badges.
And now, I've got two more buddies in toms.