Upgrading a HP Pavilion Slimline S5-1204

[Claymoresama]

I've been thinking about building a new computer. Though at the time I don't want to drop the 500 bucks or so that I would if I did. I have a decent small form factor desktop the Hp Pavilion Slimline S5-1204. It's supporting 4gb of ddr3 1600mhz ram and does have another dimm slot available. This unit has a dvd drive and a 1tb 7200 rpm hdd. The psu is only 220 watts which gets me to my next point. I'm thinking about purchasing this case:
http://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-MicroATX-Tower-Computer-FBM-01/dp/B005LIDU5S/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1413663708&sr=1-6&keywords=computer+case

I've heard some great things about this case for budget building. I figured the version w/ the 450 psu would be a good upgrade. From there I would like to slap a 750 ti into the mobo which has a pci express 2.0 x16 for those who are wondering. Would this be a good idea? I am also considering picking up another 4gb dimm of ram, probably crucial ballistix sport, but I don't care what brand as long as it's price and performance are good.

let me know what you think? Would this be a good alternative to buy a brand new rigg? Or what and i am open to any suggestions so please any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Darkbreeze]

That's a terrible case with very little cooling. The 750 TI would definitely suffer from the lack of cool air flow with only a two fan design. It would work but if you ever ran that GPU hard for very long it would probably get very warm. Especially if you're using a stock GPU cooler that isn't helping much to move air out of the case. Plus, that PSU will never work for that GPU. You need a minimum 400w PSU and it should be a Tier 3 or higher unit, preferably Tier 2B or higher. Keep in mind that model is the determining factor, brand can be misleading. Many brands have both good and bad models.

PSU Tier list: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

Also, that may be a special form factor of motherboard that isn't necessarily compatible with standard ATX cases and power supplies so a compatible form factor PSU would be needed or a change of motherboard, possibly. I'll look into this further for you.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Nah, it's just a micro-ATX motherboard. Be right back with some parts recommendations.

 

[Darkbreeze]

All in all, not a bad price for this upgrade package, depending on what the rest of the system configuration is. I'm not convinced the unit is worth this upgrade though however, most these parts are not wasted as they could be reused with an upgraded motherboard and cpu at any time so it's fine.

While this is still a pretty crappy case, it's much better than that model of Rosewill case is, especially in the area of cooling. You'll probably want to get a couple extra case fans though.




PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $227.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-18 23:26 EDT-0400