upgrading hp computer's graphics card

lefier · 11-23-2008, 03:18 PM

Hello, I have a HP Pavilion a1410y cto computer, and I'm wondering if it has a PCI Express X16 inside, I've opened the case and I saw 3 pci slots and 1 dark larger slot that read PCI Express. Does that mean PCI Express X16? I'm thinking of getting SAPPHIRE 100173L Radeon X1550 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card if I have a X16 and does anyone know if that is compatible? I have 480W psu, and I've recently added 1 gb of ram. Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

**wrench97** · 11-23-2008, 04:08 PM

Yes you do have a PCIex16 slot and for the x1550 the psu should just do it.
Stay with the ATI cards because you have a ATI chip set motherboard.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...roduct=3254035

lefier · 11-23-2008, 07:44 PM

thank you so much. Even though the memory interface for the graphics card is a 128 bit, will that still work? and what is GDDR2 mean? the link for the product is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102080.

Thanks again

**wrench97** · 11-24-2008, 01:37 AM

Yes the 128 bit interface will work the interfaces run from 32 bit on older cards to 256 on high power cards it's not related to the cpu or operating system, GDDR is Graphic Double Data Rate memory that is on the card and not related to the memory installed on the motherboard.

lefier · 11-24-2008, 02:37 PM

wrench, i really appreciate you helping me. just one more question, is that card a better card than SAPPHIRE 100262L Radeon HD 2400PRO 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card? because im planning on playing some games on the card, and was wondering if this one was better. It supports HD, but it is a 64 bit which means it's worse I think. It also says direct X 10 which i dont have because i don't use vista but will this card be compatible?

**wrench97** · 11-24-2008, 02:52 PM

Yes the x1550 is better then the 2400Pro. The 2400 is it about the same as a x1300 in ATI but the 2400 is newer and supports DX10 on Vista and has HD capabilities the newer equivalent to the 1550 is the 2600Pro .

lefier · 11-24-2008, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrench97

Yes the x1550 is better then the 2400Pro. The 2400 is it about the same as a x1300 in ATI but the 2400 is newer and supports DX10 on Vista and has HD capabilities the newer equivalent to the 1550 is the 2600Pro .

thanks for the reply

will it be enough to play spiderman 3 or devil may cry 3 or diablo 3 (Revolution, when it comes out) ? or should i aim for higher cards?

my specs are

3.2 ghz celeron
1.44 gb of ram
and that x1550 if i get it

Will that be good enough for pre 2006 era games?

thank you

**wrench97** · 11-25-2008, 01:41 AM

Pre 2006 games yes, any higher then a 1650 or 2600 and I think your cpu will be holding you back and to add if you go above the 1550 you will be looking at a power supply upgrade also.
I would go with the 1550 on this system.

**wrench97** · 11-25-2008, 01:41 AM

Pre 2006 games yes, any higher then a 1650 or 2600 and I think your cpu will be holding you back and to add if you go above the 1550 you will be looking at a power supply upgrade also.
I would go with the 1550 on this system.

**emosun** · 11-25-2008, 08:27 AM

The x1550/x1600 is more to par with a 2400 really. I have the x1600 on another pc and it really does perform like a 2400. The x1650's are a little better , like a 2500 if they made one. I think he could do the 2600 pro so long as it was ddr2 , but not ddr3 or the xt.

lefier · 11-26-2008, 05:16 PM

thanks guys, I've decided on the X1550 for the graphics card. But there are two types on newegg. There's the SAPPHIRE 100173L Radeon X1550 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail which costs $27 after mail-in-rebate. and the POWERCOLOR X1550 512MB D2L Radeon X1550 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card which costs $23 after mail-in-rebate.

Which one is better? or lol, the GeForce 8400 GS 256 mb or 512 mb for playing games? it doesn't matter if they don't run at high settings i just want to play halo 2 or something of that sort. Are these more power demanding? thanks again

**wrench97** · 11-26-2008, 05:19 PM

I would say go with the Sapphire card

lefier · 11-26-2008, 05:26 PM

so the Saphire 512 mb radeon X1550 is better than the GeForce 8400 512 mb? i think the GeForce 8400 is more compatible with games though. are you sure the sapphire card is better?

**wrench97** · 11-26-2008, 05:52 PM

No but for the 8400 you are going to need to upgrade the power supply to a 500w or so.

**emosun** · 11-26-2008, 06:23 PM

He could probably run the 8400 since it's just a low end ddr2 card , it comes stock in alot of oem machines. But it's performance is going to be pretty much the same as the x1550. Plus you have the driver problem to worry about.

**wrench97** · 11-26-2008, 06:36 PM

Yep I forgot about the ATI chipset

lefier · 11-27-2008, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emosun

He could probably run the 8400 since it's just a low end ddr2 card , it comes stock in alot of oem machines. But it's performance is going to be pretty much the same as the x1550. Plus you have the driver problem to worry about.

What do you mean driver problem? for which one? the 8400?

also when installing the graphics card, do I need to disable the onboard graphics card? I thought I didn't need to because that graphics card can be used to run the system, while the 8400 or x1550 can be used for specific programs so it is a dedicated graphics card. But I've read that you need to diable the onboard to run the new graphics card.
By the way the onboard is ATI Radeon Xpress 200. Help me

**wrench97** · 11-27-2008, 11:03 AM

The ATI chipset drivers that run your motherboard usually don't play nice with the Nvidia video card drivers.

11-23-2008, 03:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
lefier Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 44 OS: xp	upgrading hp computer's graphics card Hello, I have a HP Pavilion a1410y cto computer, and I'm wondering if it has a PCI Express X16 inside, I've opened the case and I saw 3 pci slots and 1 dark larger slot that read PCI Express. Does that mean PCI Express X16? I'm thinking of getting SAPPHIRE 100173L Radeon X1550 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card if I have a X16 and does anyone know if that is compatible? I have 480W psu, and I've recently added 1 gb of ram. Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

11-23-2008, 04:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,832 OS: Win7	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card Yes you do have a PCIex16 slot and for the x1550 the psu should just do it. Stay with the ATI cards because you have a ATI chip set motherboard. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...roduct=3254035 __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-23-2008, 07:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
lefier Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 44 OS: xp	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card thank you so much. Even though the memory interface for the graphics card is a 128 bit, will that still work? and what is GDDR2 mean? the link for the product is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102080. Thanks again

11-24-2008, 01:37 AM	#4 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,832 OS: Win7	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card Yes the 128 bit interface will work the interfaces run from 32 bit on older cards to 256 on high power cards it's not related to the cpu or operating system, GDDR is Graphic Double Data Rate memory that is on the card and not related to the memory installed on the motherboard. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-24-2008, 02:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
lefier Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 44 OS: xp	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card wrench, i really appreciate you helping me. just one more question, is that card a better card than SAPPHIRE 100262L Radeon HD 2400PRO 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card? because im planning on playing some games on the card, and was wondering if this one was better. It supports HD, but it is a 64 bit which means it's worse I think. It also says direct X 10 which i dont have because i don't use vista but will this card be compatible? Last edited by lefier; 11-24-2008 at 02:40 PM.

11-24-2008, 02:52 PM	#6 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,832 OS: Win7	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card Yes the x1550 is better then the 2400Pro. The 2400 is it about the same as a x1300 in ATI but the 2400 is newer and supports DX10 on Vista and has HD capabilities the newer equivalent to the 1550 is the 2600Pro . __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-25-2008, 01:41 AM	#8 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,832 OS: Win7	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card Pre 2006 games yes, any higher then a 1650 or 2600 and I think your cpu will be holding you back and to add if you go above the 1550 you will be looking at a power supply upgrade also. I would go with the 1550 on this system. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-25-2008, 01:41 AM	#9 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,832 OS: Win7	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card Pre 2006 games yes, any higher then a 1650 or 2600 and I think your cpu will be holding you back and to add if you go above the 1550 you will be looking at a power supply upgrade also. I would go with the 1550 on this system. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-25-2008, 08:27 AM	#10 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 7,087 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card The x1550/x1600 is more to par with a 2400 really. I have the x1600 on another pc and it really does perform like a 2400. The x1650's are a little better , like a 2500 if they made one. I think he could do the 2600 pro so long as it was ddr2 , but not ddr3 or the xt. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

11-26-2008, 05:16 PM	#11 (permalink)
lefier Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 44 OS: xp	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card thanks guys, I've decided on the X1550 for the graphics card. But there are two types on newegg. There's the SAPPHIRE 100173L Radeon X1550 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail which costs $27 after mail-in-rebate. and the POWERCOLOR X1550 512MB D2L Radeon X1550 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card which costs $23 after mail-in-rebate. Which one is better? or lol, the GeForce 8400 GS 256 mb or 512 mb for playing games? it doesn't matter if they don't run at high settings i just want to play halo 2 or something of that sort. Are these more power demanding? thanks again

11-26-2008, 05:19 PM	#12 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,832 OS: Win7	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card I would say go with the Sapphire card __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-26-2008, 05:26 PM	#13 (permalink)
lefier Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 44 OS: xp	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card so the Saphire 512 mb radeon X1550 is better than the GeForce 8400 512 mb? i think the GeForce 8400 is more compatible with games though. are you sure the sapphire card is better?

11-26-2008, 05:52 PM	#14 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,832 OS: Win7	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card No but for the 8400 you are going to need to upgrade the power supply to a 500w or so. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-26-2008, 06:23 PM	#15 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 7,087 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card He could probably run the 8400 since it's just a low end ddr2 card , it comes stock in alot of oem machines. But it's performance is going to be pretty much the same as the x1550. Plus you have the driver problem to worry about. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

11-26-2008, 06:36 PM	#16 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,832 OS: Win7	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card Yep I forgot about the ATI chipset __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-27-2008, 11:03 AM	#18 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,832 OS: Win7	Re: upgrading hp computer's graphics card The ATI chipset drivers that run your motherboard usually don't play nice with the Nvidia video card drivers. __________________ Power Supply and Selection