[SOLVED] Upgrading ATI Video Card

prequal · 01-11-2009, 12:42 AM

Hello, seems like a googled up a good and nice place for some help/advice on which Video Card I should upgrade to.

CPU Specs:
Hp Pavilion
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual
Core Processor 4200+
2.19 GHZ, 960 MB of RAM
ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series (integrated/motherboard)

Soo, i've been wondering what kind of video card I should be upgrading to because currently the games I want to play aren't running all that smooth. I want to spend around/at least $65-$150.

But this has been on my mind for a while now: Seeing how my video card is integrated/motherboard, how would I go on about installing the new video card?

Thanks in advance!

**emosun** · 01-11-2009, 01:31 AM

Welcome to tsf.

What specific hp pavilion do you have?

akedm · 01-11-2009, 05:27 AM

Tom's Hardware is a website that publishes a monthly article on the best (their opinion) video cards by price range. Personally I love the article. Here it is for January 2009 if you want to read it : http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...card,2118.html

Side note : A computer I own also has an AMD 4200 processor, like yours. It's a Compaq (owned by HP, your brand). And I placed an ATI HD4850 graphics card into it, which may be a bit overkill, but it was such a good deal at $130 especially if I get another newer system.

Post your computer's information please. Thank you.

PS : If you've changed anything in your computer's hardware from it's purchased condition, please post that information too. Oh and post whether or not you plan to upgrade to Vista or a newer Windows in the foreseeable future.

dai · 01-11-2009, 05:45 AM

you will probably find you will also need to upgrade the psu

prequal · 01-11-2009, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emosun

Welcome to tsf.

What specific hp pavilion do you have?

HP Pavilion Media Center? Not sure if that's what you wanted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akedm

Tom's Hardware is a website that publishes a monthly article on the best (their opinion) video cards by price range. Personally I love the article. Here it is for January 2009 if you want to read it : http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...card,2118.html

Side note : A computer I own also has an AMD 4200 processor, like yours. It's a Compaq (owned by HP, your brand). And I placed an ATI HD4850 graphics card into it, which may be a bit overkill, but it was such a good deal at $130 especially if I get another newer system.

Post your computer's information please. Thank you.

PS : If you've changed anything in your computer's hardware from it's purchased condition, please post that information too. Oh and post whether or not you plan to upgrade to Vista or a newer Windows in the foreseeable future.

What information? Isn't what I had posted earlier the info needed? (Sorry, first time doing anything related to the insides of the computer.)

**emosun** · 01-11-2009, 09:12 PM

You actually just posted the specs of it , we need to know which specific hp pavilion media center it is. It will have a number after that.

prequal · 01-12-2009, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emosun

You actually just posted the specs of it , we need to know which specific hp pavilion media center it is. It will have a number after that.

Version 2002
Service Package 3

**emosun** · 01-12-2009, 09:17 PM

Thats your windows version. It will simply say on the front of the tower , Hp , then Pavilion , then the model number.

prequal · 01-12-2009, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emosun

Thats your windows version. It will simply say on the front of the tower , Hp , then Pavilion , then the model number.

Ahhh, a1357c

**emosun** · 01-13-2009, 02:31 AM

Thats it thank you. If we fill the budget up you could get this setup.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703015
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814141081

It's actually 7$ over , but only 137$ after rebate. And it would be a heck of an upgrade over a xpress 200.

prequal · 01-13-2009, 03:31 PM

Hmm, one of the buyers had inputted a con about how loud the card fan was, I was hoping for a quiet one. Or is that what the "Silencer" is for?

Anyway, me being not-so-great at installing these kinds of things, would it be extremely difficult for me to do? I checked out the guide on installing video cards and it seems like a really long process, not expecting it to be super easy or anything but to me, hopefully newb-friendly.

Thanks for the advice.

**emosun** · 01-13-2009, 05:34 PM

There are a lot of video tutorials aswell you can view. It seems like a long process but it's really as simple as just, open up the case, put in the card , close the case. Except in your case you would be installing a powersupply aswell becuase your stock hp power supply isn't going to run the card.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvClS_M-09o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ILrq7lMe-0

**emosun** · 01-13-2009, 05:40 PM

And as for the cards fan being loud , It's usually just a very tiny fan sound comming from the pc. Since your moving from a silent gpu to one with a fan you may notice it more. But it's just a little "whir" sound.

prequal · 01-13-2009, 05:45 PM

Alright. Anyways, I was looking around at some local shop's websites and trying to look for the radeon hd 4670 and the closest one I found to it was: http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...22233(ME).aspx

as I am not the biggest fan of shipping unless absolutely necessary. That would also mean for the psu too applies, do you think you can find a just as good psu from http://www.memoryexpress.com? Thanks.

**emosun** · 01-13-2009, 05:56 PM

There are several good units on that site. However , you will be well over 200$. It would actually be cheaper to buy the parts on newegg and pay for the shipping then buy them locally.

It's mostly due to the fact that the 4670 is a new card and local shops or stores will want an arm and a leg for it.

prequal · 01-13-2009, 06:00 PM

So even the sapphire radeon isn't worth it? I don't mind paying that $30 extra. Also it's not instock at newegg. I will probably ship that psu over though, just not the video card.

**emosun** · 01-13-2009, 06:28 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121274

prequal · 01-13-2009, 07:23 PM

Okay thanks, that's about all then. Thanks for all the help!

**grimx133** · 01-13-2009, 09:22 PM

Might ship faster from BC, take a look at www.ncix.com I order from them and www.newegg.ca . Couple others too, but those are the main two that I use. Newegg can take a long time when whatever you buy is shipped from California, goes faster from New Jersey for me, but I'm in n ont, so that makes some sense. Oh yah, I picked up a couple of 500GB hard drives last week from ncix and they were shipped on thursday or friday and I got them today. That's not too bad from BC, specially when I did Canada Post this time instead of UPS.

01-11-2009, 12:42 AM	#1 (permalink)
prequal Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 32 OS: windows xp	[SOLVED] Upgrading ATI Video Card Hello, seems like a googled up a good and nice place for some help/advice on which Video Card I should upgrade to. CPU Specs: Hp Pavilion AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+ 2.19 GHZ, 960 MB of RAM ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series (integrated/motherboard) Soo, i've been wondering what kind of video card I should be upgrading to because currently the games I want to play aren't running all that smooth. I want to spend around/at least $65-$150. But this has been on my mind for a while now: Seeing how my video card is integrated/motherboard, how would I go on about installing the new video card? Thanks in advance! Last edited by prequal; 01-11-2009 at 12:44 AM.

01-11-2009, 01:31 AM	#2 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 6,982 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card Welcome to tsf. What specific hp pavilion do you have? __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-11-2009, 05:27 AM	#3 (permalink)
akedm Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Anchorage, Alaska, USA Posts: 336 OS: Win XP Media Center SP2	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card Tom's Hardware is a website that publishes a monthly article on the best (their opinion) video cards by price range. Personally I love the article. Here it is for January 2009 if you want to read it : http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...card,2118.html Side note : A computer I own also has an AMD 4200 processor, like yours. It's a Compaq (owned by HP, your brand). And I placed an ATI HD4850 graphics card into it, which may be a bit overkill, but it was such a good deal at $130 especially if I get another newer system. Post your computer's information please. Thank you. PS : If you've changed anything in your computer's hardware from it's purchased condition, please post that information too. Oh and post whether or not you plan to upgrade to Vista or a newer Windows in the foreseeable future. Last edited by akedm; 01-11-2009 at 05:38 AM.

01-11-2009, 05:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,630 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card you will probably find you will also need to upgrade the psu __________________

01-11-2009, 09:12 PM	#6 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 6,982 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card You actually just posted the specs of it , we need to know which specific hp pavilion media center it is. It will have a number after that. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-12-2009, 09:17 PM	#8 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 6,982 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card Thats your windows version. It will simply say on the front of the tower , Hp , then Pavilion , then the model number. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-13-2009, 02:31 AM	#10 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 6,982 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card Thats it thank you. If we fill the budget up you could get this setup. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703015 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814141081 It's actually 7$ over , but only 137$ after rebate. And it would be a heck of an upgrade over a xpress 200. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-13-2009, 03:31 PM	#11 (permalink)
prequal Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 32 OS: windows xp	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card Hmm, one of the buyers had inputted a con about how loud the card fan was, I was hoping for a quiet one. Or is that what the "Silencer" is for? Anyway, me being not-so-great at installing these kinds of things, would it be extremely difficult for me to do? I checked out the guide on installing video cards and it seems like a really long process, not expecting it to be super easy or anything but to me, hopefully newb-friendly. Thanks for the advice.

01-13-2009, 05:34 PM	#12 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 6,982 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card There are a lot of video tutorials aswell you can view. It seems like a long process but it's really as simple as just, open up the case, put in the card , close the case. Except in your case you would be installing a powersupply aswell becuase your stock hp power supply isn't going to run the card. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvClS_M-09o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ILrq7lMe-0 __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-13-2009, 05:40 PM	#13 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 6,982 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card And as for the cards fan being loud , It's usually just a very tiny fan sound comming from the pc. Since your moving from a silent gpu to one with a fan you may notice it more. But it's just a little "whir" sound. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-13-2009, 05:45 PM	#14 (permalink)
prequal Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 32 OS: windows xp	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card Alright. Anyways, I was looking around at some local shop's websites and trying to look for the radeon hd 4670 and the closest one I found to it was: http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...22233(ME).aspx as I am not the biggest fan of shipping unless absolutely necessary. That would also mean for the psu too applies, do you think you can find a just as good psu from http://www.memoryexpress.com? Thanks.

01-13-2009, 05:56 PM	#15 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 6,982 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card There are several good units on that site. However , you will be well over 200$. It would actually be cheaper to buy the parts on newegg and pay for the shipping then buy them locally. It's mostly due to the fact that the 4670 is a new card and local shops or stores will want an arm and a leg for it. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-13-2009, 06:00 PM	#16 (permalink)
prequal Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 32 OS: windows xp	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card So even the sapphire radeon isn't worth it? I don't mind paying that $30 extra. Also it's not instock at newegg. I will probably ship that psu over though, just not the video card.

01-13-2009, 06:28 PM	#17 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 6,982 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121274 __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-13-2009, 07:23 PM	#18 (permalink)
prequal Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 32 OS: windows xp	Re: Upgrading ATI Video Card Okay thanks, that's about all then. Thanks for all the help!

01-13-2009, 09:22 PM	#19 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,144 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: [SOLVED] Upgrading ATI Video Card Might ship faster from BC, take a look at www.ncix.com I order from them and www.newegg.ca . Couple others too, but those are the main two that I use. Newegg can take a long time when whatever you buy is shipped from California, goes faster from New Jersey for me, but I'm in n ont, so that makes some sense. Oh yah, I picked up a couple of 500GB hard drives last week from ncix and they were shipped on thursday or friday and I got them today. That's not too bad from BC, specially when I did Canada Post this time instead of UPS. __________________ Last edited by grimx133; 01-13-2009 at 09:25 PM. Reason: Freudian slip, perhaps.