Upgrading a graphics card

S

Shoorik

New Member
Hello, I have never modified a computer and need some help/advice. I currently have a 64 bit Windows 7 operating system installed into a Compaq HP D7700 Ultra-Slim computer. It has 3 GB of ram and has the Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU; 6300 @ 1.86 GHz 1.87 GHz. I believe the graphics card comes integrated with the motherboard; I have the Intel(R) Q965/Q963 Express Chipset Family.

So, I am just curious, what would be a nice and cheap graphics card upgrade for this system?

The current specs on the graphics card are:

Adapter Information

Chip Type: Intel (R) GMA 300
DAC Type: Internal
Adapter String: Intel (R) Q965/Q963 Express Chipset Family
Bios Information: Intel Video BIOS

256 MB of Graphics Memory
0 MB of Dedicated Video Memory
64 MB of System Memory
192 MB of Shared System Memory



Thank you guys. :)
 
Very minimum would be something like a corsair CX430. The cheapest card would be about $50 also. Don't expect night/day difference between a lowend card and integrated.
 
Thank you Clapton. But can you suggest any 1 GB graphics cards? I am not quite sure which ones would be compatible. As I said, I'm not very good at this. At all. :-)
 
Thank you very much for your help, I honestly appreciate it. One more question. The graphics card use DDR3, but my computer has DDR2 ram, does this really matter?
 
Shoorik said:
Thank you very much for your help, I honestly appreciate it. One more question. The graphics card use DDR3, but my computer has DDR2 ram, does this really matter?
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Nope it will work fine. Remember to get a new PSU too though, Corsair CX 430 would be good.
 
Okay, I've run into a little problem you guys. As I said above, my computer is the Compaq HP D7700 Ultra-Slim desktop. Here is how it looks like with the cover off.

79d507%7Cee08_3961-8.jpg


This image is not mine, I found it on the Google search engine.

Anyways, all of the graphics card I've seen, are installed vertically to the motherboard. The thing is, I have the PCI Express x16 Slot, but the physical expansion slot for the card is horizontal to the motherboard, not vertical - since the computer is slim. Is there perhaps an extension cable that can be bought? What do you guys think, or am I just crazy?
 
Lol, I ran into another problem, the PSU is also slim. :-) A bulky one will not fit. Is it possible to just change the casing for this thing?
 
Because I cannot upgrade my power supply, and it currently has 200W on it, is there perhaps a low profile graphics card that doesn't take too much energy out there? Suggestions are highly appreciated, thank you.
 
Shoorik said:
Lol, I ran into another problem, the PSU is also slim. :-) A bulky one will not fit. Is it possible to just change the casing for this thing?
Click to expand...

It probably isn't going to be easy moving the motherboard and the rest of the PC into another case. For a start you'd need an I/O shield which fits your motherboard properly.

Shoorik said:
Because I cannot upgrade my power supply, and it currently has 200W on it, is there perhaps a low profile graphics card that doesn't take too much energy out there? Suggestions are highly appreciated, thank you.
Click to expand...
If you're going to have a GPU in that PC, you're going to have to try and use some sort of low profile card, but really you can't run any sort of dedicated graphics card at all whether it be a low profile or regular card off a 200W generic power supply. Sorry. :(
 
I've read some other posts on different websites of people using a different graphics card with the same power supply and same computer. They said it works just fine. Hmmmm, I am not giving up just yet. :-) Thank you guys for the help. I'll post more if I have any grand ideas. :-)
 
It can be done, but you will have a risk of blowing it up. On 200 watts, the best your going to be able to safely pull off is a HD 6450 or GT210, maybe a 8400GS. Much above that and you run out of power, and these are not going to be a lot better than integrated video.
 
wolfeking said:
It can be done, but you will have a risk of blowing it up. On 200 watts, the best your going to be able to safely pull off is a HD 6450 or GT210, maybe a 8400GS. Much above that and you run out of power, and these are not going to be a lot better than integrated video.
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Thank you, I guess I will try the GT210. Hopefully that will work out on my computer. :-) How about the HD 5450? Would that also qualify?
 
Shoorik said:
Hello, I have never modified a computer and need some help/advice. I currently have a 64 bit Windows 7 operating system installed into a Compaq HP D7700 Ultra-Slim computer. It has 3 GB of ram and has the Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU; 6300 @ 1.86 GHz 1.87 GHz. I believe the graphics card comes integrated with the motherboard; I have the Intel(R) Q965/Q963 Express Chipset Family.

So, I am just curious, what would be a nice and cheap graphics card upgrade for this system?

The current specs on the graphics card are:

Adapter Information

Chip Type: Intel (R) GMA 300
DAC Type: Internal
Adapter String: Intel (R) Q965/Q963 Express Chipset Family
Bios Information: Intel Video BIOS

256 MB of Graphics Memory
0 MB of Dedicated Video Memory
64 MB of System Memory
192 MB of Shared System Memory



Thank you guys. :)
Click to expand...

If you want another opinion (mine), I would not spend any money putting a graphics card in that thing. The obvious part, which has already been stressed, is the lack of power, the other is space, the third and probably not so obvious is that the system itself is weak. As in, the processor/motherboard/RAM will bottleneck almost any graphics card you put in there. And also given that it already has integrated graphics, that will too suck a little bit of power even if you install a graphics card.

But, if you want to be able to play games like CSS nicely, I would suggest:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127602

I think honestly thats the best you will be able to do. And I would bet your system will still bottleneck even that card, but at least it would be a step up from integrated. Im not 100% sure that card will even fit in your computer, but it does say it will fit in slim cases.
 
I have looked at many different graphic cards from the list wolfeking suggested. I have settled down with this one because it seems fit for what I need in a graphics card.

Thanks again wolfeking, I'll let you guys know how it works out. :-)
 
Shoorik said:
Thanks again wolfeking, I'll let you guys know how it works out. :-)
Click to expand...

Please do. Id be interested to know how much better that is over integrated. I havent used integrated graphics, ever haha. Only on school computers when I was in high school :p .
 
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