Installing a GPU in a Desktop PC

[MRC390]

Hello everyone. I was wondering if it is possible to install a video card in my desktop PC.

This is my current pc:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883109038

I know its pretty terrible.

I'm just wondering what kind of video cards will fit into it. Right now I'm NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE (intergrated video) to play games like A.V.A on lowest and RaiderZ on lowest.

What kind of video cards can be added into my pc?
My motherboard chipset is NVIDIA nForce MCP61 Chipset but I'm not sure what my motherboard is.

So my question is, are there any video cards that can fit into my case (I'm not looking for a monster video card, just a basic one that can play some-most game on mid-lowest settings) also, what kind of ram can i add to my motherboard?
I currently have 3GB of DDR2 800 according to the new egg website.

Thanks for all your time. I really appreciate it.

 

[Maxx_Power]

THe newegg specifications lists a 16x PCI-E lane available. So yes, you can add a video card to it. Something to the tune of a HD 7750 from AMD or GTX650 is about what you can put in there, maybe a HD 7770 depending on your power supply capacity.

Can you check the PSU label and post a picture or list the specifications ?

EDIT: I just looked up the specs of your machine from Compaq, and it has a 250W power supply. This is enough to run a HD 7750, GTX650 is a little more power hungry with nearly the same performance as the HD 7750. So my recommendation is on a HD 7750.

 

[MRC390]

THe newegg specifications lists a 16x PCI-E lane available. So yes, you can add a video card to it. Something to the tune of a HD 7750 from AMD or GTX650 is about what you can put in there, maybe a HD 7770 depending on your power supply capacity.

Can you check the PSU label and post a picture or list the specifications ?

EDIT: I just looked up the specs of your machine from Compaq, and it has a 250W power supply. This is enough to run a HD 7750, GTX650 is a little more power hungry with nearly the same performance as the HD 7750. So my recommendation is on a HD 7750.

Thank you VERY MUCH but do you know the maximum amount of ram my motherboard supports? I know DDR2 ram is expensive (8GB of DDR2 is $200+) But i think my 3GB will be fine. is it possible to put DDR3 ram on my mobo?

 

[frombehind]

is it possible to put DDR3 ram on my mobo?

nope afraid not. The alignment of the pins in the memory is different and it will not physically fit into the memory slots. (Don't be one of THOSE people that think they can file it down and make it fit )

I would say this PC should still serve you well for a bout a year or so, but when the next gen of Intel chips come at the end of next year, start looking for a "combo" deal to upgrade to more recent tech. You should be able to score for about 400 bucks give or take what you get today for about 1000 performance-wise.

 

[MRC390]

this video card is a 7750. However the power requirement is 400W.
What kind of PSU can i add into my pc?

Heres the video card:

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11830BD4593&vpn=GV-R775OC-1GI&manufacture=GIGABYTE

 

[MRC390]

nope afraid not. The alignment of the pins in the memory is different and it will not physically fit into the memory slots. (Don't be one of THOSE people that think they can file it down and make it fit )

I would say this PC should still serve you well for a bout a year or so, but when the next gen of Intel chips come at the end of next year, start looking for a "combo" deal to upgrade to more recent tech. You should be able to score for about 400 bucks give or take what you get today for about 1000 performance-wise.

What kind of psu can i put into my pc? ITX? ATX? im not sure. I know i need a better one.

 

[frombehind]

look at you PSU, if it does not say on it... look for a model # and look it up online... if all else fails, whip out a ruler and measure it. Buy something similar in size.

As that card does not require an auxiliary power adapter... you should be fine.

 

[MRC390]

look at you PSU, if it does not say on it... look for a model # and look it up online... if all else fails, whip out a ruler and measure it. Buy something similar in size.

As that card does not require an auxiliary power adapter... you should be fine.

this means that the card gets pretty much all its power from the motherboard right?

 

[Sunius]

Yes. You don't need 400w power supply unit for it.

 

[Maxx_Power]

this means that the card gets pretty much all its power from the motherboard right?

Yes. Newer PCI-E slots can deliver up to 150 watts by the slot itself, but usually the video cards are configured to only draw 75 watts and any more is supplied by a 6 pin molex.

You should be fine with the 250W power supply. If not, I'm certain you can upgrade for a small amount of money. FYI, I measured a similar configuration with a similar power consumption video card on a 250W PSU, and the total power pulled at the wall while the CPU+GPU are both loaded was maximally 150 watts.

 

[Maxx_Power]

Thank you VERY MUCH but do you know the maximum amount of ram my motherboard supports? I know DDR2 ram is expensive (8GB of DDR2 is $200+) But i think my 3GB will be fine. is it possible to put DDR3 ram on my mobo?

You will have to use DDR2. DDR3 is physically and electrically incompatible with DDR2, so you will have to stick with DDR2 until the end of the usefull life of your system.

According to:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...foCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=4005896,

your motherboard supports up to 4GB as per that page. However, there is more than 1 revision of that motherboard (Pegatron M2N68-LA), with some revision(s) having the full 4 slots of memory and some only 2 slots. The descriptions for the 4 slots says it supports up to 8GB with 2GB sticks, whereas the descriptions for the 2 slots models mention only a max of 4GB.

A full 4 slots model is here:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01080282&lc=en&cc=ca&dlc=en&product=3445425)

So check to see which exact revision you have, and if you have 4 slots, it is a simple matter to add some cheap ram. If you have only 2 slots, then you need to exchange a stick of 1GB for a single stick of 2GB, preferably DDR2-800.