Help upgrading my lame pc

[MrDangDeal]

Hey Everyone I need help beefing up a somewhat lacking basic pc. About a year ago I purchased a Hpe H8-1234 Desktop made by HP. At the time it met all my needs as a basic functioning computer used for little effort rendering and editing. However I have been growing much more fond of PC gaming lately especially with the approach of the next gen consoles looming ahead. I know I would rather enjoy gaming with a pc then waist money on another console that will just fall behind in no time. So anyway I know its not a great idea to try to upgrade models of these standard pc's but like I said I have never been a hardcore gamer.. not yet.
What I have.
:HP Pavilion HPE h8-1234 Desktop PC AMD FX-Series FX-6120(3.5GHz) 10GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7450 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit terrible HDD.
What I am looking for is the parts needed that I could potentially add to what I have in order to run games such as Battlefield 3. So What graphics cards and power supply's would you guys recommend also I don't know much about mother boards so if someone could let me know as to whether or not I can use the one built in this pc I would appreciate it.

 

[dragonlord12832]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7371359&CatId=7387 For the Video Card

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4904561&CatId=7339 For the processor.

 

[MrDangDeal]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7371359&CatId=7387 For the Video Card

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4904561&CatId=7339 For the processor.

Thanks! That is the same Graphics card I was looking at. Like I said I don't know much so is the upgraded processor really necessary and what about a power supply?

 

[Outlander_04]

I would stick with the processor you have . The 8350 wont run in your motherboard without a BIOS update , and its possible HP will not even have one of those available .
Even if it could run in your mb the margins in gaming between the two are quite small so its not money well spent IMO .

The FX 6120 is going to be fine with either a 7850 [ for about $160 these play BF3 well] or 7870 .

But you will need to check your power supply is capable of handling the extra load , and that it has the right connectors .
Id be tempted to change it anyway . OEM psu's are usually too cheap

So
Radeon 7850 $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161426

Corsair 500 watt modular power supply $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139050

Also see if your case has more spaces to add cooling fans

 

[MrDangDeal]

I would stick with the processor you have . The 8350 wont run in your motherboard without a BIOS update , and its possible HP will not even have one of those available .
Even if it could run in your mb the margins in gaming between the two are quite small so its not money well spent IMO .

The FX 6120 is going to be fine with either a 7850 [ for about $160 these play BF3 well] or 7870 .

But you will need to check your power supply is capable of handling the extra load , and that it has the right connectors .
Id be tempted to change it anyway . OEM psu's are usually too cheap

So
Radeon 7850 $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161426

Corsair 500 watt modular power supply $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139050

Also see if your case has more spaces to add cooling fans

Ok thanks. Yea both the 7850 and 7870 are going to perform well for my budget However Im not sure about the power supply. I read on a form from last year someone said the Corsair 500 watt psu would cause the computer to crash maybe a problem with the mother board. I will have to do some reaserch

 

[Outlander_04]

You can buy better power supplies than that , but it is a perfectly good unit that should last as long as your computer .

Its even modular so the cable clutter will be less

 

[MrDangDeal]

You can buy better power supplies than that , but it is a perfectly good unit that should last as long as your computer .

Its even modular so the cable clutter will be less

Ok thanks alot guys! So you think If i replace the Vid Card with a Radeon 7850 and purchase a compatible psu I can put them together with the other parts from my original pc and have a decent gaming pc? Because if so then I would be very happy. My problem is I dont know jack about Mother Boards so I'm not sure if these parts are even compatible with whatever the hpe h8-1234 pc uses for a mb.

 

[Outlander_04]

motherboards are standardized and have standard connectors

Your motherboard has a pci-e x 16 slot for the graphics card so that upgrade is pretty simple
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03359045&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=5231389#N396

 

[MrDangDeal]

motherboards are standardized and have standard connectors

Your motherboard has a pci-e x 16 slot for the graphics card so that upgrade is pretty simple
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03359045&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=5231389#N396

Ok great. I just whent on the HP forums and asked the same questions and man you guys are way better! Again thanks alot for helping a PC build noob like myself. have a good one!

 

[Tone Mallah]

This answer is for future references may someone stumble upon this as I did.

I have an Hp8-1234 as well and I currently run a crosair cx750W with a xfx core 7770 Video Card.
I am looking for upgrades to the video card and adding a couple fans as this cpu should be good for another 2 years. I found building your own pc is the way to go but since I already had this for a year I might as well use it to its fullest and upgrade a few parts until next gen of parts.