Upgrading Computer

[Grauniad]

It seems the motherboard is from HP and is a micro-ATX.

Is this your motherboard?



The power supply is more problematical with the information you provided. At the best  I can come up with is that it is a Hipro PSU, but that is if you accidentally listed the manufacturer code, rather than the model number. I suggest You take compare yours with pictures of other power supplies to determine if you have an ATX form factor power supply or a SFF power supply (which you may have if the case is quite small). In that case you may have issues with cooling if you stick the Radeon HD 7770 in there.

Perhaps take a picture from a slightly larger distance with better light so we can see all the insides of the case? Sometimes NOT using the flash yields better results.

[Blaze]

That looks very much like my motherboard, yes.

As for taking more pictures, I need to reboot my computer as it is (Mouse driver updates so the sensitivity is wonky.) , so I'll lay it down on it's side while it's off and get a camera to take good pictures.
The last ones were from my webcam using a flashlight for lighting. :D

I'll get the pictures at a later time, currently taking care of a few chores.

[Grauniad]

That looks very much like my motherboard, yes.

You did see that I linked the image to the specifications for the motherboard, right?

[teknotiss]

Reasonable would be under 50$ seeing as I'm on a tight budget.
new power supply.

£32.15? for a decent (nevermind good ::)) PSU? ???
good luck with that!
a new 650W will do the trick but i dunno about how long such a cheap PSU would last.
it's a very important part so it's worth investing in if you can, just make sure you get one from a reliable manufacturer. some offers on older stock can be worth searching for too
i spent £70 (about $108) about a year ago (a bit less i think) on my corsair 650W, cos i wanted an extra quiet supply so i paid a little more. i hear good stuff about seasonic, but it's something you need to be cautious with cos a cheap PSU can kill all the components in your system. read as many reviews as you can and if possible get one that is the same as a friends/workmates. that way you have a personal recommendation.
happy web searching dude  8)

[Blaze]

That looks very much like my motherboard, yes.

You did see that I linked the image to the specifications for the motherboard, right?

Nope, looked at it now and it is indeed my motherboard.

As for the pictures, getting ready to reboot my computer to finish that driver update this morning and will take them then.

Reasonable would be under 50$ seeing as I'm on a tight budget.
new power supply.

£32.15? for a decent (nevermind good ::)) PSU? ???
good luck with that!
a new 650W will do the trick but i dunno about how long such a cheap PSU would last.
it's a very important part so it's worth investing in if you can, just make sure you get one from a reliable manufacturer. some offers on older stock can be worth searching for too
i spent £70 (about $108) about a year ago (a bit less i think) on my corsair 650W, cos i wanted an extra quiet supply so i paid a little more. i hear good stuff about seasonic, but it's something you need to be cautious with cos a cheap PSU can kill all the components in your system. read as many reviews as you can and if possible get one that is the same as a friends/workmates. that way you have a personal recommendation.
happy web searching dude  8)

Trying to keep things cheap since we're just now getting our feet on solid ground as far as money goes, but if it's important then so long as the total price is under 200$ then I guess there isn't much choice.
Total price being the total cost of both the card and power supply.

Looking at it as pay more now to avoid paying even more later I guess.
Last thing I want is to fry something trying to save now...

Oh jeez that was hard work to get the pictures off of the camera.
I'll spare the details though, that's not why I'm here.

First image is the over-view of the inside of my computer.
Second picture is my power supply.
Third picture is the label on my power supply, probably un-readable but I figured I'd provide it anyhow.

If you need anymore pictures, let me know what you area you need and I'll get it as soon as I can.

[Grauniad]

Blaze, here is a weekend deal from Newegg on a top-of-the line Seasonic  650W PSU.  After the Promo code it will be $80. You can't get better than that and it will be adequate for your needs.

Deal ends midnight, Pacific time in the US.

[Blaze]

Blaze, here is a weekend deal from Newegg on a top-of-the line Seasonic  650W PSU.  After the Promo code it will be $80. You can't get better than that and it will be adequate for your needs.

Deal ends midnight, Pacific time in the US.

Wow!
That's a great deal, the reviews appear solid as well, one person said it broke after only two months, but looking at the rest it seems he got a faulty one.

Going to check it out with my dad tomorrow morning and am going to do my best to talk him into getting that tomorrow while the deal is still going.
Meanwhile I'll look around and try to find the Radeon 7770 for around 90$ new, seen a link before but didn't click it.

Thanks for this, really.

[Grauniad]

Also at Newegg, here is the MSI R7770-PMD1GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition for $80 after the rebate.

Note that it is a double-width card, so it will take up two expansion slots. Make sure you have soace for it. Read the specifications for width and length.

Also, I forgot to say. That CPU of yours is covered in dust! Get some compressed air, take it outside and blow the dust out.

[Grauniad]

A thought just occurred to me. Are you sure that your CPU is appropriate for that HD 7770 card? That is a fairly high-powered card and may be overdoing it for your current CPU.

Do this. Download Speccy and take a screen capture of the opening page - like this:



There are more affordable GPUs on Newegg, and you may even be able to run some of them with your current power supply,


This one for instance, I think is the same as Virgil currently has. Actually, Virgil has the 5850, which is a totally superior card and one cannot buy it anymore.

MSI R5450-MD1GD3H/LP Radeon HD 5450 1GB And at $30, it is a steal.

But anyway, post your specs and maybe we can find a balanced card for your machine.

[Blaze]

I'd like to think I have a fairly solid setup for being an OEM, the processor was 2.6 GHz but I've since overclocked it to 4.0 GHz, now my only bottleneck is the graphics card, or lack thereof.
Meaning I struggle to run most modern games, my main concern being Company of Heroes 2 which even at rock bottom settings, leaves me at 15 fps max.

I'd love to play Planetside 2, but I can't even run that over 5 fps on all low settings...

Note that it is a double-width card, so it will take up two expansion slots. Make sure you have soace for it. Read the specifications for width and length.

I know, and I've checked it out, the card should just fit in, I'm 98% sure of that.
Only 2% doubt because I'm never fully sure of anything. ::)

Also, I forgot to say. That CPU of yours is covered in dust! Get some compressed air, take it outside and blow the dust out.

Yeah, I've never once cleaned it out, I suppose I should do that soon before it turns into this horror.

Warning, heavy tech-gore

[close]

[Grauniad]

OK, now that you *finally* gave us more specs, it seems you can save more money.  :)

If I put your system specs into the PSU calculator I linked you to, then you need 300W, so a 350W PSU is reasonable.

Here is a 350W Seasonic for  $40. 

And look at the 50C motherboard temp - that's because it's dirty and can't get cooled. :)

[Grauniad]

Actually Blaze, I just looked at that case again - it has one! 80mm fan. That's incredible. You will have serious heat problems.

Does it have a fan on the side panel you removed? Can you mount more/larger fans? I'm really surprised that you can overclock with that small CPU cooler you have.

Here is a list of micro-ATX mid-towers. The first 3 on the list are all under $30 and have reasonably good reviews.

[Blaze]

OK, now that you *finally* gave us more specs, it seems you can save more money.  :)

If I put your system specs into the PSU calculator I linked you to, then you need 300W, so a 350W PSU is reasonable.

Here is a 350W Seasonic for  $40. 

I have a 300W PSU right now, but it can't hurt to go a little higher, better than having too little, right? :D

Actually Blaze, I just looked at that case again - it has one! 80mm fan. That's incredible. You will have serious heat problems.

Does it have a fan on the side panel you removed? Can you mount more/larger fans?

When I took that was shortly after I got done playing a game, however it's idling at 41C right now.
There isn't any place I can see to mount a fan on the panel I removed, either...

Here is a list of micro-ATX mid-towers. The first 3 on the list are all under $30 and have reasonably good reviews.

Great, here I thought it was going to be fairly easy, just putting a graphics card and new power supply in, turns out I might need a new case!
Going to have to take everything out and put it back into the new case, and I have no prior knowledge of taking computers apart, let alone putting them together. :-\

Would I really have to get a new tower? I can't just get a bigger fan?
I've got a big Box Fan here, I can open the case and point the box fan right at my tower! ::)

Seriously though, would a larger fan help?
I'd rather not go through the trouble of getting a new case.
Then again the easy path is not always the best path, I'm just worried I'd break something while taking it out/putting it in.

Luckily there are several busted up computer towers downstairs, I could possibly cannibalize if they have better fans, or them or take them apart for practice. :D
I can get you pictures of those computers if you so wish, there are two to four of them down there.

[Grauniad]

I showed you a few purchasing options and pointed out things I'd be concerned about if I was building/upgrading. Whether those isues are real, I cannot for sure say.

Toms's Hardware is probably a good place to go and ask questions.

You may want to think longer term. If you buy the 650W Seasonic, it will be good for any build up to the latest Haswell processors with a much larger video card. So will your Radeon HD 7770. On that basis, as long as you don't heat stress those components you can plan on moving to a larger case/board sometime in the future so you can put more memory on it. Or a bigger/stronger processor.

You may want to consider the implications of overclocking using that small CPU fan in your picture.

The case certainly is not thermally advantaged - maybe you can even move your components to one of the other cases you mention - look if one of them will support your board form factor. Your case looks to be fairly old, nobody makes cases with such poor ventilation anymore.

It may be that you can invert the Seasonic power supply and use its'  intake fan to add ventilation to your case - since the 650W will always run under low load, it won't contribute significantly to the heat profile, so that may help. Actually, thinking about your case, unless there are vent holes at the top for the power supply, I guess it does by design take air from the case and vent it out the back. So that will add a little additional ventilation to your case.

Upgrading computers is a complex thing and many factors should be considered.  Good luck.

[Blaze]

I showed you a few purchasing options and pointed out things I'd be concerned about if I was building/upgrading. Whether those isues are real, I cannot for sure say.

Even if they're not real issues, it's not a risk I think I'd want to take.

Toms's Hardware is probably a good place to go and ask questions.

I'll head over and take a look, make an account and then a thread in the proper area.
I want to get as much knowledge about everything before making any moves.
I am probably going for that 650W PSU that is on sale, that way I won't have to worry about a PSU for quite awhile.
Since the sale ends tonight, that means I'll have to get that now, however I'm not going to do anything with it until I'm certain on my next step.
Next step being what kind of case I'm getting, something easy for a newcomer to install stuff into while still being highly ventilated...

Actually, since I need a new case, I'm going to head for the cheaper 350W PSU to cut down on the cost of this.
Around 40$ for the PSU, and around 40$ for the case, leaving the total just under 200$ which is my budget.

You may want to think longer term. If you buy the 650W Seasonic, it will be good for any build up to the latest Haswell processors with a much larger video card. So will your Radeon HD 7770. On that basis, as long as you don't heat stress those components you can plan on moving to a larger case/board sometime in the future so you can put more memory on it. Or a bigger/stronger processor.

I believe I have a solid base computer, meaning all I need to do is upgrade it as needed, which I plan on doing.

You may want to consider the implications of overclocking using that small CPU fan in your picture.

It's been overclocked for several months now and I haven't had one issue, so I doubt I'd have any issues.
I am, however, worried about summer. Seeing as the summers here can be in the high 90s worries me about running too hot.
So if it's a new case I need, it's a new case I'll get.
Seeing as I wouldn't be able to get a new computer should this one cease working, I'm very cautious about these issues.

The case certainly is not thermally advantaged - maybe you can even move your components to one of the other cases you mention - look if one of them will support your board form factor. Your case looks to be fairly old, nobody makes cases with such poor ventilation anymore.

The other cases are much older, meaning I won't have any luck there either.

It may be that you can invert the Seasonic power supply and use its'  intake fan to add ventilation to your case - since the 650W will always run under low load, it won't contribute significantly to the heat profile, so that may help. Actually, thinking about your case, unless there are vent holes at the top for the power supply, I guess it does by design take air from the case and vent it out the back. So that will add a little additional ventilation to your case.

There are vent holes at the top for the power supply on my current case.

Upgrading computers is a complex thing and many factors should be considered.  Good luck.

One of the reasons I'm not going into this blindly.
You've been a great help too, thanks again. :)