Buying Video Card n Power Supply Unit

edwinsin · 08-22-2006, 08:08 AM

Hey guys, i wanna buy a new video card as i'm sick of my onboard. What's the best recomendation for my system specs:

Intel 1.0ghz PIII processor
Intel i815e wif onboard lan,sound.
2x128 pc133 ram
145w psu(crappy, i wanna buy new 1).
Onboard video(4mb)=.=

What's the best video card that i can buy for my current computer? I also noe tat i would have to change my powersupplyunit and therefore I also wanna change my powersupply unit. I saw some at the local computer store which says atx.(are they good?). I also saw a iCute powersupply and a Thermaltake 430w powersupply.

Thx guys... btw, i live in singapore...

crazijoe · 08-22-2006, 08:40 AM

Well you have a number of problems here.
The first thing is your system is quite dated. A PIII processor with an Intel 815 chipset is probably about 4 to 5 years old. If your thinking of getting a new video card to play newer games, this system may not cut it.

The next thing is by judging from the wattage of the PSU, this sounds like a microATX PSU and not a standard ATX PSU. You may be limited on your choices of PSUs.

Now judging from the information you have given, this sounds like a small format case with an all in one board. Your motherboard may lack an AGP slot. Which in case you would have to resort to a PCI video card. And if this is indeed a small format or low profile case, you would have to by a PCI video card that is only half height.

All in all, my opinion is to invest your money in a newer system.

**linderman** · 08-22-2006, 10:41 AM

please give us the make and model number or your computer and the make and model number of your PSU and any info you can find on the PSU

Crazy-joe did offer the best advice by the way; but its your call

We can try to give you some info to make your final decision

edwinsin · 08-23-2006, 01:30 AM

Well guys, i'm onli 14 and my mum will not buy me a laptop until i secondary school. So, i've turned to upgrading my ocmputer... i was hoping it might as least do me a little bit of gaming... i was fed up by e 10-20 fps in gta vice city. OMG!

My computer is a acer aspire 6600. It does have one agp4x slot. I guess my powersupply is a micro-atx one. it just says high power.. it came wif my computer when i bought it. its smaller than regular ones... I took a look at the local computer store n figured out that the big ones wouldn't work.. It's just too big. if i have to fit in a big one, i would not be able to close my case and i have to remove my cd-rw drive for extra room.

Btw, thx guys.

**linderman** · 08-23-2006, 04:55 AM

OKay >>>>>>>>>>> I kinda figured as much ! Ole C-Joe doesnt miss much very often !

you have several choices >>>> gettting another video card and psu is not big chore you have two choices micro atx power supply purchase

or get a new case and PSU ??????? I would opt for the new PSU and case

you will need more air flow for gaming anyway

if $150.00 budget is acceptable I will post the links ?????

cheers

crazijoe · 08-23-2006, 05:35 AM

Another bonus to upgrading the case, it will leave you room to upgrade other components in the future.

edwinsin · 08-23-2006, 07:26 AM

Well, i wanna opt for the new power supply n video card. i dun wan a new case coz i dunno how 2 swap out the motherboard,remove the cables. its aso too huge for my budget... Anyway, its bout one-two year when my mum buys me a new laptop so i wont be doing any more upgrades..

I guess that my psu is a micro-atx 1. here are the lengths: height(across the fan side) is 8.5 cm, length is 10cm,breath is 14 cm. They are roughly estimated.

What are the choices for my psu? would a 39 singapore dollars psu work out? it says 380w. i saw it at the local computer store. It does not hav any packaging though.

What would be the video card?

btw, thx a lot..

edwinsin · 08-23-2006, 07:30 AM

srry, forgot to add in.. Is the $150 in us dollars or wat? i live in singapore though and im not sure bout the conversoins...

**koala** · 08-23-2006, 08:55 AM

$150US = $236Singapore

edwinsin · 08-24-2006, 03:40 AM

sounds ok to me.. pls post the links. i will take a look and ask at the local computer shop.. my mum doesn't allow me to use her credit card...

btw, thx once again

edwinsin · 08-25-2006, 04:08 AM

bumpz..

**Ralck** · 08-25-2006, 12:36 PM

These could be two options that will give you a bit of an increase:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130198
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104904

A couple of suggestions: try to look for a good quality power supply: FSP, Tagan, Enermax, Silverstone. Obviously microATX is a must for your small case.

Also, try to get the best graphics card you can that will fit in your case. Something like I listed is 'low profile' so it should fit (may have to 'mod' the screw plate to fit). I'd suggest for an older computer like that, think about something like a mx4000 like I listed, or if you can find a radeon 8500 or better (I don't recomend the older ATi's as I personally don't like them all that much).

That all should come out to about 100 Singapore dollars. Good luck!

08-22-2006, 08:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
edwinsin Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 62 OS: windows My System	Buying Video Card n Power Supply Unit Hey guys, i wanna buy a new video card as i'm sick of my onboard. What's the best recomendation for my system specs: Intel 1.0ghz PIII processor Intel i815e wif onboard lan,sound. 2x128 pc133 ram 145w psu(crappy, i wanna buy new 1). Onboard video(4mb)=.= What's the best video card that i can buy for my current computer? I also noe tat i would have to change my powersupplyunit and therefore I also wanna change my powersupply unit. I saw some at the local computer store which says atx.(are they good?). I also saw a iCute powersupply and a Thermaltake 430w powersupply. Thx guys... btw, i live in singapore...

08-22-2006, 08:40 AM	#2 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	Well you have a number of problems here. The first thing is your system is quite dated. A PIII processor with an Intel 815 chipset is probably about 4 to 5 years old. If your thinking of getting a new video card to play newer games, this system may not cut it. The next thing is by judging from the wattage of the PSU, this sounds like a microATX PSU and not a standard ATX PSU. You may be limited on your choices of PSUs. Now judging from the information you have given, this sounds like a small format case with an all in one board. Your motherboard may lack an AGP slot. Which in case you would have to resort to a PCI video card. And if this is indeed a small format or low profile case, you would have to by a PCI video card that is only half height. All in all, my opinion is to invest your money in a newer system. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

08-22-2006, 10:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,440 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	please give us the make and model number or your computer and the make and model number of your PSU and any info you can find on the PSU Crazy-joe did offer the best advice by the way; but its your call We can try to give you some info to make your final decision __________________ I still know nothing and I respect that fact, striving to improve and, along the way, help anyone that comes from the place that I used to be! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

08-23-2006, 04:55 AM	#5 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,440 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	OKay >>>>>>>>>>> I kinda figured as much ! Ole C-Joe doesnt miss much very often ! you have several choices >>>> gettting another video card and psu is not big chore you have two choices micro atx power supply purchase or get a new case and PSU ??????? I would opt for the new PSU and case you will need more air flow for gaming anyway if $150.00 budget is acceptable I will post the links ????? cheers __________________ I still know nothing and I respect that fact, striving to improve and, along the way, help anyone that comes from the place that I used to be! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

08-23-2006, 05:35 AM	#6 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	Another bonus to upgrading the case, it will leave you room to upgrade other components in the future. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

08-23-2006, 01:30 AM	#4 (permalink)
edwinsin Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 62 OS: windows My System	Well guys, i'm onli 14 and my mum will not buy me a laptop until i secondary school. So, i've turned to upgrading my ocmputer... i was hoping it might as least do me a little bit of gaming... i was fed up by e 10-20 fps in gta vice city. OMG! My computer is a acer aspire 6600. It does have one agp4x slot. I guess my powersupply is a micro-atx one. it just says high power.. it came wif my computer when i bought it. its smaller than regular ones... I took a look at the local computer store n figured out that the big ones wouldn't work.. It's just too big. if i have to fit in a big one, i would not be able to close my case and i have to remove my cd-rw drive for extra room. Btw, thx guys.

08-23-2006, 07:26 AM	#7 (permalink)
edwinsin Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 62 OS: windows My System	Well, i wanna opt for the new power supply n video card. i dun wan a new case coz i dunno how 2 swap out the motherboard,remove the cables. its aso too huge for my budget... Anyway, its bout one-two year when my mum buys me a new laptop so i wont be doing any more upgrades.. I guess that my psu is a micro-atx 1. here are the lengths: height(across the fan side) is 8.5 cm, length is 10cm,breath is 14 cm. They are roughly estimated. What are the choices for my psu? would a 39 singapore dollars psu work out? it says 380w. i saw it at the local computer store. It does not hav any packaging though. What would be the video card? btw, thx a lot..

08-23-2006, 07:30 AM	#8 (permalink)
edwinsin Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 62 OS: windows My System	srry, forgot to add in.. Is the $150 in us dollars or wat? i live in singapore though and im not sure bout the conversoins...

08-23-2006, 08:55 AM	#9 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,381 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	$150US = $236Singapore __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here

08-24-2006, 03:40 AM	#10 (permalink)
edwinsin Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 62 OS: windows My System	sounds ok to me.. pls post the links. i will take a look and ask at the local computer shop.. my mum doesn't allow me to use her credit card... btw, thx once again

08-25-2006, 04:08 AM	#11 (permalink)
edwinsin Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 62 OS: windows My System	bumpz..

08-25-2006, 12:36 PM	#12 (permalink)
Ralck TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,454 OS: 98SE/XP PRO/FC4 My System	These could be two options that will give you a bit of an increase: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130198 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104904 A couple of suggestions: try to look for a good quality power supply: FSP, Tagan, Enermax, Silverstone. Obviously microATX is a must for your small case. Also, try to get the best graphics card you can that will fit in your case. Something like I listed is 'low profile' so it should fit (may have to 'mod' the screw plate to fit). I'd suggest for an older computer like that, think about something like a mx4000 like I listed, or if you can find a radeon 8500 or better (I don't recomend the older ATi's as I personally don't like them all that much). That all should come out to about 100 Singapore dollars. Good luck! __________________ Power Supply Info Everyone Should Read! How to Post Your System Specs