Weasel16

Hay I’m on my last leg, I was going to see if I could get a mother board for my computer, an HP Pavilion a574n refurbished, so I could get a better graphics card, I have a feeling that it will mean getting another power supply, fan, and memory. But It’s this or get a new pc. I was wondering if any of you had any suggestions.
My system specks
Product number
PC165A
Introduction date
24-March-04
Country/region sold in
• United States
• Canada
Hardware
Base processor and speed
Pentium 4/3.40 GHz:
• HyperThreading Technology
• 800 MHz front side bus
• mPGA478
Chipset
848P
Motherboard manufacturer
• ASUS P4SD-LA PES Revision 0.01
• HP/Compaq motherboard name: Oxford
• Motherboard specifications
Memory
Component Attributes
RAM (installed) 1 GB (2 x 512)
Maximum allowed 2 GB (2 x 1 GB) requires the replacement of the installed 512 MB DIMMS
Speed supported PC3200 MB/sec
Type 184 pin, DDR1-400 SDRAM
DIMM slots Two
Open slots None
Hard drive
• 250 GB Ultra DMA
• 7200 rpm
DVD-ROM drive
16x maximum speed
Multi-media drive
4x DVD+R/+RW
Type Attributes
DVD+R Write Once 4X
DVD+RW Rewritable 2.4X
DVD ROM Read 8X
CD-R Write Once 16X
CD-RW Rewritable 10X
CD-ROM Read 40X
Power DC5V, DC12V
Video Standards PAL, NTSC
Interface IDE
Data Buffer Memory 2 MB
Diskette drive
1.44 MB (3.5-inch)
Video graphics
nVidia FX5200XT (Lancer) card:
• 8x AGP card
• Up to 128 MB DDR video memory
(note: replaced with nVidia eGeForce7600GS)
Sound/audio
• Integrated AC'97
• 6-channel configurable audio
Network
Integrated 10/100Base-T Fast Ethernet interface
Fax/Modem
High-speed V.92 data/fax
MPEG
MPEG2 for full-motion digital video
9-in-1 card
• USB interface
• 9-in-1 digital media card reader supports the following cards:
o Compact Flash I
o Compact Flash II
o SmartMedia
o Memory Stick
o Memory Stick Pro
o MultiMediaCard
o Secure Digital (SD)
o Micro Drive
o xD Picture Card (xD = extreme digital)
External I/O ports
I/O ports on the front panel
Port type Quantity
USB (2.0) Three (One on 9-in-1 faceplate, two on motherboard)
9-in-1 media card reader One card with four slots
IEEE 1394 One
Headphone One
Line-in One
Microphone One
I/O ports on the back panel
Port type Quantity
USB (2.0) Four
IEEE 1394 One
Audio One each (line-in, line-out, microphone)
Serial One
Parallel One
LAN One
VGA (monitor) One
PS/2 (keyboard, mouse) Two
Expansion slots (total)
Slot type Quantity
PCI Three (two available)
DIMM Two (both occupied)
AGP 8x One (occupied)
Drive bays (total)
Bay type Quantity
5.25-inch, external Two (both occupied)
3.5-inch, external Two (both occupied)
Keyboard and mouse
• Premium wireless keyboard
• Quebec Canada keyboard kit (French Canada only)
• Premium wireless optical mouse
Software
Key to software:
• cd/dvd = media included in box
• eng = English only, even in French Canada
• fc = only available in French Canada
• nfc = not available in French Canada
Software titles that shipped with PC
Software category Software title
Operating System • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
• Microsoft Service Packs
CD/CD-RW/DVD • RecordNow 6.5
• WinDVD SE 4.0 (with optional 5.1 upgrade)
Entertainment, Music, and Games • iTunes 4.2 (with Ouicktime) (nfc)
• MUSICMATCH Jukebox 8.0
• RealOne Player
• Wild Tangent Game Channel (nfc)
• Microsoft Plus Digital Media Edition (nfc)
Imaging, Photography, Video, and Film • Adobe Photoshop Album (Starter Edition) (nfc)
• WinDVD Creator 2
Education and Reference • MSN Encarta Plus (nfc)
• Encarta Encyclopedia 2004 Standard Edition (cd/dvd) (FC)
Productivity and Finance • Microsoft Office 2003 Trial HTML page launcher (nfc)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Microsoft Works with Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003 trial and Money 2004 combo CD (nfc)
• Microsoft Works 7.0 with Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003 Trial CD (fc)
• Quicken New User Edition 2004 (nfc)
HP Recovery • Microsoft System Restore
• Software Repair Wizard
• Recovery Software Suite
Service and Support • Backweb Client
• Help & Support center (fc)
• Help & Support Center/HP Instant Support (nfc)
• Safety and Comfort Guide
• Desktop Web-based registration
PC Security • Norton AntiVirus 2004 (60-day LiveUpdate subscription)
• Norton Personal Firewall 2003
• Security and backup splash page (nfc)
Utility, Maintenance, and Performance • PC Doctor
• HP Organize (nfc)
• IntelliMover Data Transfer demo (nfc)
• Owner services icon and HTML page
ISP Signup • Easy Internet Signup
• AOL
• MSN 8.0 (nfc)
• Yahoo (nfc)
• DigiTerra (nfc)
• CompuServe (nfc

And my mother board specks
Motherboard Description • MB manufacturer: ASUS P4SD-LA PES revision 0.01
• HP name: Oxford-UL6E
CPU • Socket 478
• Intel Pentium 4 Northwood/Prescott
• New power design for up to 3.2+ GHz
Chipset • Intel 848P (Breeds Hill)
• MCH with Intel ICH5
• Supports DDR 266/333/400 SDRAM
• Supports Ultra DMA 66/100 IDE devices
• Supports Ultra DMA 150 Serial ATA device
Front Side Bus (FSB) • 800/533/400 MHz
System Memory • Two 184-pin DDR DIMM sockets
• Up to 2GB memory (the PC manufacturer's recommended maximum memory may differ)
• Non-ECC 2.5V DDR SDRAM
• Register DIMM not supported
Expansion Slots • One AGP 8X/4x slot
• Three PCI slots
VGA • Integrated 3D graphics controller
• In Springdale chipset
Serial ATA • Intel ICH5 supports two UltraDMA/150 SATA connectors
Onboard IDE • Intel ICH5 embedded Dual channel Bus Master ports supports UltraDMA 100/66 connectors, PIO Mode 3/4, and hot swap function
• Intel ICH5 embedded Serial ATA port support to Ultra DMA 150 and hot swap function
• ATAPI IDE DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, AND LS-120 support
Onboard Audio • RealTek ALC650 6-channel audio CODEC subsystem
• AC'97 2.2 compliant
Onboard LAN • Realtek 8101L LAN PHY (Physical Layer Protocol)
• 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet controller
Special Features • Power Loss Restart
• ASUS EZ Flash
Rear panel I/O • One parallel port
• One serial port
• One PS/2 keyboard
• One PS/2 mouse port
• One RJ-45 port
• Up to 4 USB 2.0 / USB 1.1 ports (two connectors)
• One IEEE 1394 port
• Audio line-in, line-out, and microphone ports (one each)
Internal I/O • Four USB 2.0 ports (two connector)
• One IEEE 1394 connector
• CPU/chassis fan connectors
• 20-pin 4-pin ATX 12V power connectors
• S/PDIF connector
• Speaker out connector
• CD/AUX audio connector
• Front headphone connector
BIOS Features • 4Mb Flash ROM
• AMI BIOS with Enhanced ACPI, PnP, DMI2.0, Green features •
Industry Standard • USB 2.0/1.1
• PCI 2.2
Manageability • WfM 2.0
• DMI 2.0
• WOL/WOR by PME
Form Factor • Micro-ATX form factor
• 9.6 inches x 9.6 inches (24.5 cm x 24.5 cm)

MyKobalt

You can for sure get a new motherboard if you want. I would get another 1GB of ram to go along with it. As for your power supply, i would shoot for at least 500watt. I'm sure what yours is now, but it says on it.
-What kind of card you looking for? You gonna do lots of gaming?
- Do you have any case fans for airflow?

Toucan Sam

Good PSU
Better PSU
Might as well go with the latter, it's only 10$ more.

Weasel16

I have one case fan, I'm looking to play modern games, get a Nvidia 9 series in. Wont I have to worry about it fitting inside the case?

linderman

my advice ...... dont spend any money on a socket 478 system with agp card

its just not a prudent choice ..... build a nest egg for a new set-up ......... for $800.00 you could do pretty decent ........ save the $300.00 your would have spent and watch it grow .... maybe by late fall you will be ready ???

Weasel16

but shouldent I be able to put an matx into it? I found a motherboard I think might work, what do you think?
http://www.motherboardpro.com/Intel-...ATX-p-149.html