Need help on video card

[Floorboss]

My brother has a acer aspire x3400g computer and wants to install a pci express x16 card but I belive it has a 230 watt power supply. The info from the sticker on outside of case says 100-127/220-240 VAC 6/3A 60/50HZ. hes just looking for something better than his geforce9200 onboard graphics. I myself have no idea on watts and such but I know how to install the cards.

 

[Calculagator]

That machine was not designed to add a gaming GPU. The PSU is too small and the case really doesn't have enough room for a GPU.
If you are really determined, however, and not afraid to kill the entire system, you might be able to get some use out of a GTX 750 or 750ti. You would need a low profile version. It could cause your system to overheat or your PSU to fail, but it would be much better than the integrated graphics as long as it lasts.

 

[Floorboss]

I was told by a site that the EVGA nVIDIA GeForce GT 610 1 GB DDR3 Graphics Card or the PNY Technologies GeForce 210 1024MB PCI Express would work but im not sure. He plays games like cid beyond earth.

 

[Calculagator]

If you can get one for very cheap it's worth trying. They are still both likely to either overheat or cause PSU failure. They also have terrible performance, but they would be better than the integrated.

 

[Floorboss]

Well I could try to transfer the motherboard,hdd,cd rom and the memory to my computer which is a full atx case that has a 600 watt power supply and use my nvidia 8800gt alpha dog edition card. Would that work or would it cause trouble?

 

[Calculagator]

That sounds like an awful lot of work for what is already a not great computer, but if you don't mind hacking things together and have extra parts just sitting around, go ahead. It should work as long as you can get things to fit. You might have to do without any motherboard I/O shield. The 8800gt would definitely be an improvement, but it won't give great performance. It is the minimum card recommended by 2K.

 

[Floorboss]

I might see if hes willing to sell it and get a better mb cpu and memory. Now with that said he most likely will want to spend 500 dollars or less. I have been out of building computers since the amd athlon xp days. What he will want is a motherboard that will handle lets say a intel i5 cpu and later if needed upgrade to a i7 without switching the motherboard out. Also should he stay with windows 7 or get win10. Also will my 600 watt powersupply be enough for the new cpu gpu? Also how hard is it to install windows?

 

[Floorboss]

Hey Calculagator do you know about psu? Would a 400 watt psu be good enough for a replacement? Found several but not sure if they have all the hook ups to the motherboard. One is http://www.outletpc.com/wr4972-replace-power-rp-tfx-420-tfx-12v-420w-psu.html?utm_source=wr4972-replace-power-rp-tfx-420-tfx-12v-420w-psu&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=bingshopping&utm_content=Replace%20Power%2B-%2BPower%20Supplies%20%3E%20TFX%20%2F%20mITX%20%2F%20FATX%20Power%20Supply another is a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151115&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
With that being said what could I do with a video card. Also could it handle a card and a cpu upgrade like a AMD Phenom II X4 965 AM3.

 

[Calculagator]

The second one you listed seems ok (the first is no good-probably not any better than what you already have), but I can't confirm that it will fit.
The 350w seasonic should be able to handle your CPU and a GTX 750ti just fine.