[Upgrading] Upgrading some parts, what should I get?

A budget would help exponentially.

Ditto on the budget.

There are a number of nice power supplies in the 600W range.

Pretty much a screaming deal with a 7 year warranty:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

5 year warranty, Seasonic:

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

Nice budget model, but 3 year warranty:

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

Another nice one, 5 year:

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

You should be able to drop an AM3 CPU in there with a BIOS update. Do the update before hand. I recommend the X4 960T, but also the X4 955 if you can find it. Paying more for the 970 or above is not worth it.


Dpending on what your budgetary needs are, I would take a look at the GTX 560ti as a very nice card in the $200 range. If not then I'd loook at the HD 6850 for $140.

Budget is not a concern. I like NVIDIA cards preferably. Could I get away with just getting the 560 and a new power supply without updating the CPU?

Also, I have a windows 7 upgrade. Would my system be fine to upgrade from vista 64 to 7?

1. No clue WHY you want a better PSU. HP (and Dell and IBM and ...) all put solid, quality PSUs in their PCs. Only upgrade if you are out of power. You currently have 350watts, not 400.

2. Your current video is bad. Put all your money in video if this is a gaming rig. The CPU is fine, memory is fine, disk is fine. etc. You'll get huge improvement from graphics. Your existing PSU gives you about 125W available for video easy. There are some great cards in that range. Use this article to pick a card. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-car...

Then google the card + TDP to get the power usage. For example google HD7770 and TDP and you'll see a lot of references for 80W. Google HD7850 and TDP you'll see 130W -- out of range. If it helps the HD6770 TDP is 108w and is known to work with that PSU and a q6600 which is higher power than your AMD.

Well I only thought I would need a better power supply because of the current one may not power the higher video card. True?

Yes you are quite right. And good you are willing to swap PSUs. I made the point too strongly because often people replace OEM power supplies with ones that are WORSE for the PC. Not all power supplies provide clean voltage or even meet their rated power. A major PC builder (Dell, IBM, HP, etc.) does not want the hassle of PC intermittent fails associated with bad voltages.

A good power supply is not necessarily more expense, it just needs the right internals. There are a few brands that create great $40- $70 power supplies. If you do upgrade either research or get pointers to PSU and the review that made people like them.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/410

For example here is a PSU that may not be a good choice: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/410
"Coolmax CUL-750B 750 W burned while we tried to pull 500 W from it at high temperatures. It burned exactly on the same point our first sample burned. The components that burned were one of the switching transistors and one of the +12 V rectifiers. Therefore, this unit shouldn’t be labeled as a 750 W unit, but as 475 W instead. Note that this unit has no protections to prevent it from burning. On next page we will show you the video from this power supply burning when delivering 500 W."

I am looking to get a good quality of a power supply, at the most reasonable price. I would like to use newegg or tigerdirect if possible. Mind linking me to a good power supply? And how will I know if it will fit into my case?

Seems to be a mini-tower. I have a few HP mini-towers, they are all standard ATX power supplies. If you open your case and put a ruler on the pwoer supply you can verify.

You have 350w now. I'd link you to an antec unit like this one, but there are many other excellent units. How much power do you want? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I was looking for a 600 or 650 as long as it is also power efficient. *Easy on the electric bill.

Another component that will greatly enhance your gaming pleasure would be an SSD.

I would suggest one of at least 120 GB in size (you want to install games on it after all).

Other than that, carry on with the suggested course of action.

Can I get some links to PSU and Graphics cards that are worth the money they are for them? Thanks guys for all the help!