Need assistance

[Jwillrocku]

I've been really wanting to get a better video card then the one I have now. But I don't really know that much about computers to know if my computer will handle some stuff or not. These are the specs of the computer I have right now. Slimline s3707c. I read that I might need a stronger power supply if I want a better video card too. It would help out a lot some suggestions that might work or anything really. Thanks. (:

HP Pavilion Slimline s3700 Desktop PC series*-* HP Pavilion Slimline s3707c Desktop PC Product Specifications - c01629354 - HP Business Support Center

[RicheemxX]

This being a slimline case with a really weak power supply is really going to limit your options.

What is your budget?

What are you wanting to upgrade for? Better gaming? Better videos? What? If its gaming what games?

Aside from just the new graphics card and power supply if you can afford it you might want to upgrade to a new case and move all the parts over. That will give you more options!

[Jwillrocku]

Mainly for gaming. It would be nice to play Team Fortress or even Minecraft without having it be too choppy. But mainly towards games like Skyrim, or Battlefield. My budget can be anywhere from around $100 to $300. I'll go up a little higher if it's necessary. But I'm wondering what you mean by a bigger case to. I know what you mean but where am I going to get a case that's bigger for this tiny thing?

[RicheemxX]

You'd take all the parts out of that current small case and put them into a larger case. Its only a matter of a few screws holding in the motherboard and each of the drives. So you could go with a setup like this

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS500-PCARD3-US 500W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply
Newegg.com - Thermaltake V4 Black Edition Gaming Chassis Mid Tower Steel Computer Case Fully Black Powdered Interior VM30001W2Z
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-R677D5-1GD Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

That would be about $145 shipped after rebates. The graphics card is a toss up since you are on a bit older system. So someone else might have better suggestions

[Jwillrocku]

That isn't so bad for all of that. So would you suggest for me to get all of that as an upgrade for my computer? And will it work decent with my Slimline? Sorry for all these questions. I just need to make sure on stuff. Thanks again though, you're being a huge help.(:

[truckpuller]

Basically your going to take everything out of the slimline case and put it in the new case, because of your slimline case things that you need to update wont fit(such as the PSU and video card) which is why you need the full size case.

[RicheemxX]

Hmm I just noticed on the motherboard specs page that this is a mini-itx board so my suggestion for a new case and power supply won't work. That really makes almost any possibility of upgrading to a decent card even much less likely.

[Jwillrocku]

Daaang. Well that's a bummer. I might as well just live with it and get a better computer some day. Well thanks anyways guys. You were a big help.(:

[ShyguyXPC]

Rich, they show it as Mini ITX, but I think its Mini DTX.

it shows 2 slots: Motherboard Specifications, APX78-BN (Nutmeg) - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

and the x16 PCIe slot is closest inwards, so a dual slot GPU replacement is possible, just that it will be larger than the Mobo.

And a Mini ITX board can be mounted in a ATX case, just that it will be so small in comparison.

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS500-PCARD3-US 500W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply

Newegg.com - PowerColor AX7750 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Newegg.com - Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Computer Case w/ 1 x 120mm fan

Subtotal: $189.97 not including shipping and $10 MIR.


and should be good to go. The 7750 is about as powerful as the 6770, sometimes a tad more, or tad less, but runs off half the power the 6770 uses.

relatively short, single slot card, cooler shouldn't be loud considering its low power consumption.

and even in that case, the board and card and everything will seem dwarfed in size.

but its a good case, can accommodate some of the larger cards on the market, and has great cooling for its size.

[RicheemxX]

Mini DTX - that is why it looks a little off. I was thinking it might be some proprietary design and might not have the mounting wholes in the same spots. But looking at it now, and compared to some of the other DTX boards I could find I see its pretty standard. I wasn't sure it could be mounted in an ATX or mAtx case or not so didn't want to make the suggestion not being 100% certain.

[ShyguyXPC]

yeah, typical Mini DTX and Mini ITX are fully compatible with regular ATX mounting.

its funny though, a lot of boards that are DTX are listed either as Mini ITX or Micro ATX. I think the ones that are listed as Mini ITX are the same depth front to back, but just one slot wider, and mistakenly listed as such. And the ones listed as Micro ATX are one slot wider than Mini ITX (2 slots wide) and a tad deeper than Mini ITX as well, and again mistakenly listed as Micro ATX.



here's a couple Mini DTX boards on newegg for size comparison (these are actually DTX)

Newegg.com - ZOTAC NM10-B-E Intel Atom D510 (1.66GHz, Dual-Core) Intel NM10 Mini DTX Motherboard/CPU Combo

Newegg.com - ZOTAC NM10-B-E-ION Intel Atom D510 (1.66GHz, dual-core) BGA559 Intel NM10 Mini DTX Motherboard/CPU/VGA Combo

Oddly these are Intel tech boards, and it was AMD that wanted to introduce the DTX format years ago, LOL.

[Jwillrocku]

So everything you suggested shouldn't be too much of a problem for my computer?

[ShyguyXPC]

So everything you suggested shouldn't be too much of a problem for my computer?

First of all, ignore the moron above this reply, they've been reported and will be taken care of soon enough.


2nd, yes, it should all fit, the biggest issue will be taking stuff out of the old case and remounting in the new one. mainly the drives and front panel connectors for the power switch, HDD light and what not.

[Jwillrocku]

That doesn't seem too bad. I'll be able to deal with that. But thanks the both of you for all the help. I bet I wouldn't of gotten anywhere without some help on this. Thanks a lot. I'll be sure to try those out.

[ShyguyXPC]

it probably would be better to upgrade the motherboard, but if you did that, you'd have to reinstall Windows, and probably buy a new copy of windows, since the Mobo is tied to the installation on the HP PC.


One less headache for now, just transfer parts into new case with upgrades, and then not have to deal with installing windows, or reinstalling it.

Then save up for a better newer system down the road here.

That 7750 is a good card, its not top end, but the biggest issue is the older CPU, really anything more than that card, maybe a radeon 7770 at the most or Geforce GTX 550 Ti, anything more would be bottlenecked by the CPU and wouldn't net you much more performance over these lower end cards.

though the 7750 should be able to run Skyrim and BF3, just not at max settings.