Please help!

[rwsanford]

Hey everyone, i just purchased this HP A1740n model computer (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00838760&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&product=3340229&dlc=en&lang=en)
Those are the stats ^ and these are the motherboard specs (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00379422) Anywho im fairly new to computers dont know a whole lot and i got some questions for anyone nice enough to reply to them! So my first question is i want to upgrade my video card and ive been looking at the 8600gt xxx seems to be a great card for the money and i wanna know if my motherboard can support this card i belive it can with pci-e but i wanna make sure! (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3048552&sku=P450-8650) Also my computer came with a stock psu of 300 watts, should i buy a new one for this system? if so ive been looking at this one its a cheap price and i think should do the job (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=541439&body=MAIN)
And last but not least is the memory, i belive my motherboard supports the maximum memory of pc-4200 533mhz. (correct me if iam wrong please) The questions i have about the memory are: Can my motherboard support 4x 1gb of ram? Can my motherboard support DDR2-Dual channel ram or just DDR2 regular ram?
if i can only get regular ram im gonna get these (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=486747&CatId=1649)
If my computer supports dual channel ram i plan on getting these
(http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1169989&CatId=2364)

Anyways whoever reads this and responds much thanks to you!!
-Cheers!

 

[akhilles]

If you intended to upgrade the 3 items, you should've gone with a custom build. It won't cost much more than the extra windows price.

Assuming you posted the correct specs of the computer:

Yes, the pc will fit any PCI-E 16x video card including the 8600gt at tiger. The question is does the pc have enough power for this?

I'm not sure, but nvidia lists 325W as the minimal for a fully loaded 8600gt pc. The brand you picked out isn't good at all. Get a Tier 2/3 one with about 400W. Keep in mind that you will probably void the HP warranty if you replace the power supply.

http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon

Yes, your mobo supports up to 4x1gb. Regular. The specs don't say dual. Dual channel is marketing hype. Just like SLI/CROSSFIRE ram. No such things. (I'm aware of the SLI/CROSSFIRE setting in bios that overclocks the memory). The manufacturers match 2 identical sticks to make it easy for the consumer to buy dual channel memory. The ram itself doesn't double the bandwidth. The mobo does the job. In reality, you can buy 4 sticks of the same ram individually. If the mobo supports dual, the unmatched ram will run at dual. Your mobo doesn't most likely.

Take a look at www.ncix.com as well. They have a sale every week.

Google "PC Wizard" & it will tell more details like if the mobo supports x16 PCI-E & dual channel ram.

 

[g-paw]

If I'm not mistaken, you've posted this one or more times in other sections. If you have, you really shouldn't if for no other reason than you'll get a better set of answers to say nothing about as a courtesy to other member of the forum. If I'm wrong, please accept my apology