Need Upgrade Advice

[Mrhoyo]

Hello,

I've just bought a PC off ebay and I think I may need to do some upgrading. My plan was to get something cheap that would manage to run design software like Solidworks and Photoshop as well as the usual Office software and ideally some RTS games and Skyrim. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about hardware so I'm after some advice.
The link below is what I've ordered, does anyone know what upgrades would be suitable? I may be wrong but it seems pretty reasonable aside from the integrated graphics.
http://r.ebay.com/dUhPcp
I'm in the UK and would like to keep the upgrades under £250 if possible.

Thanks

 

[C12Friedman]

The HP Ultra Slim Desktops (USDT) are among the most limited PC's to upgrade. First issue is power, the PC does not have a PSU but instead uses a power adapter like a laptop. The second is physical size and third is a lack of PCI slot in the back. You could upgrade ram (maybe)

 

[Mrhoyo]

That doesn't sound particularly promising. Are there any workarounds?

 

[C12Friedman]

In looking over the specs for the HP Compaq 8300 Elite USDT I find that it does feature a mini-PCIe port so you could use something like this EXP GDC Beast Laptop External Independent Video Card Dock adapter to run a full size graphics card outside of the PC enclosure (you would need an appropriate size PSU also to run the card). It is an option though and about the only way I know of to upgrade graphics in that machine.
One thing to note is that there have been reports of those type adapters not working with all machines - I have no idea how well you'll fare attempting an upgrade with the adapter

 

[Mrhoyo]

That sounds a bit more positive. Something like this?http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/how-to-make-an-external-laptop-graphics-adaptor-915616

 

[C12Friedman]

That sounds a bit more positive. Something like this?http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/how-to-make-an-external-laptop-graphics-adaptor-915616

Yep, exactly - you see in that article that installation and setup isn't always easy but that's what you'd be working with to get a graphics upgrade.

 

[Mrhoyo]

That sounds a bit more positive. Something like this?http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/how-to-make-an-external-laptop-graphics-adaptor-915616

Yep, exactly - you see in that article that installation and setup isn't always easy but that's what you'd be working with to get a graphics upgrade.

I think I could manage that. Any pointers on what hardware to actually buy? I figured I'd need a graphics card and power supply but not sure which.

 

[Mrhoyo]

Just a thought but would it be easier to transfer everything to a larger case?

 

[C12Friedman]

Because of the design of the motherboard, a new case won't help at all, might even be detrimental. The problem comes down to that the HP Compaq 8300 Elite USDT is basically a laptop in a larger case. Once you get into that realm, standardization goes out the window. For instance, the power is proprietary using a laptop type brick for supply, the ATX standard is not followed and the motherboard doesn't feature a PCIe slot for a graphics card to plug into, those factors alone make switching cases pointless IMO.
It was a good thought though