System :
*Lenovo H420
*O/S- Windows 7 64 bits
*Pentium Dual Core G630 @ 2.70 Ghz
*6 GB - DDR3 PC3-12800, DDR3 PC3-10600
*500 GB Western Digital Caviar Blue ATA (Main)
*80 GB Maxtor 6Y080MO (2nd HDD)
*Nvidia GeForce GT 520(OEM).....doesn't seem to have DVI port as advertised
*19" Dell LCD 1905FP (has both VGA & DVI-D connection ports)
Recently I bought the above system as my previous old Dell system (Dimension 8400) blew up (either MB or Chip)..it was 6 yrs old though.
A few months prior to it's demise, I changed the Graphics Card to a XFX Nividia GeForce GT 240 card, which worked a treat. I had a 350w PS
Unfortunately I hurriedly bought a budget replacement system without going into fine details of all the specs. of this system. Having had time to look at things, I noticed some weaknesses---->
a) The Power Supply is only 280 w
b) was pre-installed with a Nividia GeForce GT 520...which to my mind is not as good as the GT 240
c) My Dell Monitor, which i'm still using (trying to save some money) has not upgraded it's driver for Win 7 64-bit....I can't even locate a Vista related driver. Needless to say the system has installed the Monitor as a Generic non-PnP Monitor.
I don't think I can install my old but superior GT 240 card into the PCI-e slot...as the unit looks too long to fit. I'm sure the fan unit will bang into parts of the Motherboard as you can see the photo
http://www.openprice.com/img/p/4/4/6/2/4462-large.jpg
...compared the Graphics card i have installed now.
http://pinoytutorial.com/techtorial/wp-content/uploads/...
In fact the that GT520 photo is a bit different to the Gpx card I have connected, as my one is single slot width and i don't have the DVI connection, just the VGA & HDMI ....the one in photo is Double slot and has both VGA & DVI plus HDMI !!!
....so finally my 2 questions :
1) is it possible to upgrade the Power Supply unit for the H420 from the default 280 W to say to a 400 W one? I noticed the fan on my PS unit is at the end panel next to power outlet socket.....most decent PS units (like Corsair) seem to have their fans on the side face....blowing or extracting inside the PC !! I've seen a Corsair 430w one that looks pretty decent
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/powersupp...
2) If I cannot upgrade the PSU, what is the best performing Graphics Card that I can use in this system? It was pre-installed with a NVIDEA GeForce GT 520, which isn't the best around. Bare in mind the length of that card is 5.7 ins (145 mm) and height is 2.7 ins (70mm) and single width slot, although i'm sure i can get double width in there.
****Note : When looking at the back of my PC, the current PSU has power outlet socket in bottom left corner of the unit. I noticed the Corsair one would end up being top left..if the fan side is facing the inside of PC as opposed to cabinet casing. Would this be an issue?