Need help upgrading my cheap pc

[jcheera]

I wanted to buy r9 280x or gtx 760. But for now this is the only pc I can get , I cant get another pc and im pretty much stuck with this one for now. I know for this i have to upgrade the psu but i was wondering if this would work ? If not then how can i make it work for now.


http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc=en&docname=c01625435&lc=en&product=3876376&tmp_track_link=ot_search#N191

 

[Stevemeister]

I just took a quick look at your computer's spec's You will have problems with the adequacy of your power supply for sure as its only 250W so you will need a new power rated for at least 450W and preferably 500W . . . . if you plan on building your own computer in the future then it may be worth going for a larger one as a PSU is one thing you can recycle through many future builds (I recommend either Seasonic or Corsair) BUT the types of ATX PSU's that are required to drive more powerful graphics cards many be too large to fit in your case (you'd have to look inside to check). The CPU is not that great and the other thing you may need to look at is either adding or upupgrading your case fans to get more cooling air flowing through the chassis.

In general upgrading pre-built consumer grade computers can be a pain because they are built to a (low) price and the components have no additional headroom for upgrading. If you can get a larger PSU into your case then you are good but if not what you may be able to do is buy a larger case and move your components across into it but then you run into issues with getting your media card readers to fit the new computer . . . unfortunately there is often no easy solution . . . or at least one that doesn't involve spending quite a bit of $. . . . . you're trying to upgrade a Toyota Yaris by installing a Corvette engine . . . . the car wasn't built to take it.

 

[jcheera]

I just took a quick look at your computer's spec's You will have problems with the adequacy of your power supply for sure as its only 250W so you will need a new power rated for at least 450W and preferably 500W . . . . if you plan on building your own computer in the future then it may be worth going for a larger one as a PSU is one thing you can recycle through many future builds (I recommend either Seasonic or Corsair) BUT the types of ATX PSU's that are required to drive more powerful graphics cards many be too large to fit in your case (you'd have to look inside to check). The CPU is not that great and the other thing you may need to look at is either adding or upupgrading your case fans to get more cooling air flowing through the chassis.

In general upgrading pre-built consumer grade computers can be a pain because they are built to a (low) price and the components have no additional headroom for upgrading. If you can get a larger PSU into your case then you are good but if not what you may be able to do is buy a larger case and move your components across into it but then you run into issues with getting your media card readers to fit the new computer . . . unfortunately there is often no easy solution . . . or at least one that doesn't involve spending quite a bit of $. . . . . you're trying to upgrade a Toyota Yaris by installing a Corvette engine . . . . the car wasn't built to take it.

I checked out the size of the psu i currently have and found the same size im thinking of buying . do you think this would be good and safe for my desktop
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028&cm_re=600w_power_supply-_-17-139-028-_-Product

 

[Stevemeister]

Hi - yes its adequately rated and quite a good price, although the Corsair CX Series are at the lower end of the Corsair range . . . but still okay. My only comment is that it is not modular i.e. the various cables can be included or not according to your PC's needs. Modular PSU's cost a bit more but you don't have tons of cables that you have to hide in side your (quite small HP case), also as a decent PSU will see you through your next 3 or 4 computer builds its worth spending a bit more to get something you will want to keep. In the past I've used a TigerDirect 500W "Ultra" modular PSU but it died after 3 years. I replaced it with a 750W PC Power & Cooling Silencer Series PSU - very robust with a 7 year warranty but not modular. I still have that PSU which I used in another computer but now I have an 860W Seasonic Platinum which is modular and I think this is the best overall brand - not cheap but very good and most of them have at least a 5 year warranty.

The main thing you have to check though is what will actually fit in your case - a lot of sub-350W power supplies are small form factor micro-ATX etc., so before you do anything else open up your computer case (with the power disconnected) and measure the dimensions of your PSU - whatever you replace it with will have to fit in the same space so must have the same dimensions. That may limit your options.

 

[qazwsx27]

I just upgraded from a hp computer. I used the cx 600 psu and it fit nicely. It was recommended by someone in the hp forums. You should measure the space needed for the video card, make sure it's not too long. I thought about putting the components in another case, but that is not as straightforward since the motherboard on the hp has different system panel connections. ie power, reset, hdd etc. I just kept the old power supply and reinstalled it back when I built a new system.

 

[Stevemeister]

Sorry - i misread your second post looks like you checked the dimensions already so you should be good to go.