Upgrading Video Card

Well I am wondering which video card I should buy and if it would be compatible with my HP Pavilion a1324n. It's a pretty old computer nowadays.. so I decided to do a few upgrades.

My budget is around $120-170ish including tax for the video card.

I was thinking about:
ATI Radeon HD 3870 512MB GDDR4 PCI-Express Video Card

from Bestbuy

I'm more of a casual gamer, so things like Sim3 on medium settings would do because right now it lags like hell. I'm just scared of the system requirements it says on that site:

"450 Watts or greater power supply with 75 Watts 6-pin PCI Express power connector recommended (550 Watts for ATI CrossFireX with two 6-pin connectors)"

I'll open up my computer later and see.. what I got. I read something about if I don't have enough power that it may damage the card or it wouldn't run effectively?

I heard the Radeon HD 4870 1GB or the 512mb one is good too.. I am also willing to shop any place else that is cheaper in Canada, Ontario, Toronto.. but I prefer if I can drive there though. So if you know a good place, please tell me. I have a feeling bestbuy sells overpriced computer hardware...

Also, I want to add another 1GB of memory.. I know my limit is 2GB but which stick do i buy? Some sites says that only a certain stick would work... is that true?

And here my specs that I know atm:

System Manufacturer: HP Pavilion 061
System Model: EL464AA-ABA A1324N
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.06GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 960MB RAM

Hard Drive: 300 GB Total
Current Video Card: ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series

Thanks.

P.S.
Another thing came up and.. would the new video card fit?

Check, but this should be your motherboard http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...product=1818052

The power supply in that machine is only 300W. I am not sure if it is a regular ATX size or a smaller unit. I would be careful as this power supply not not be enough to also power your new graphics card.

Maxmimum memory is 2GB (specs are on the link I provided for your motherboard).

Thanks for the link.
What is the difference between the regular ATX and the smaller unit? How do I find out?
What is the required watts for the new graphics card nowadays? Is it only that video card I linked before that needs 450W or do all of the new ones need 450W?

Also about additional memory.. so I can just buy ANY brand 1GB RAM DDR2 PC2-5300 and add it into my final slot? Then I will have 2GB of ram?

Edit: I found out video cards nowadays need 450W for a medium video card and 600W for the high end ones.. sigh.. does this mean i HAVE to buy a new power supply? If so, which one because I don't know if it will fit or work with my motherboard.. and which one is worth it? I read that a brand name 400W can outlast/beat a 600W nameless brand power supply..

Cheapest one at bestbuy is 80bux?
.
I might as well buy something like..
Antec Nine Hundred + EA650 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 650W Power Supply at newegg
I THINK it's a good deal if it comes with a power supply/extra fan.. and looks a lot nicer than my shitty HP box.

If the specs I posted are for your system then any memory that marches the listed specs should work (brand name is not usually an issue for standard RAM).

If the power supply is rectangular measure it's dimensions and compare them to any ATX one that you can google, it yours is smaller or not a rectangular shape then it is not an ATX power supply (it is very unlikely to be bigger).

You also need to check where the fan on the replacement power supply is. On newer power supplies it is normally on the bottom of the power supply. Some older cases had a solid platform the power supply mounted on and the airflow for the new power supply would be totally blocked (not what you want).

Your reading on the power supplies is correct. A good quality brand name power supply will usually outlast a no name cheap power supply.

I popped open my CPU and found out my PSU is the HP-D3057F3R and produces a maximum of 300W.

I have a feeling I don't have a PCI-E. I'm not 100% sure when I opened my computer, so I took a few pictures.

img32.imageshack.us/img32/2928/dsc00196lwi.jpg

iono how to link pics on this forum.. sorry.

It looks like a PCIe slot.

if you check the link I posted it has a picture of the motherboard. If this is the same (it is hard to tell from the picture you posted) as your one; then your one has a PCIe slot.

so the pci-e is the black slot?
theres 3 white and 1 black..
edit: k judging from the link, yeah its the black one..

Yes, and on the picture in the link I posted is says 'PCI Express' above that slot. Older cards have AGP slots.

For the PSU you will have to measure it like I suggested,post a pic if you like but we can only guess based on the picture since we cannot measure it from the pic.

ill do the actual measuring later..

newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817174026

heres the link of my psu.. a pic on it says the cooling fan is 80mm. is that big or small?

im now wondering is my psu a "good" quality psu.. people say i can run a ATI 4670 with my 300W. it is manufactured on 40nm technology which uses less power and therefore less heat.

edit: judging from my pic.. how would the new video card fit? and where is my old one?

alright ima end it with buying the ATI Radeon HD 4670 1GB GDDR3 PCI-E Video Card.
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10114872&catid

145 for the card at FS. if ANYBODY knows a place cheaper for this card, please tell me. i am still not sure what is the difference between the ASUS 4670 and the ATI 4670, besides their price. i am guessing it is the quality.. brand name, etc..

people have said that i dont need to replace my 300W PSU, so that is great news. i also run efficiently with my "old/weak" processor.

hell even these reviews are pretty solid for me. so 4670 is my best bet with my limited budget and my need of not getting a new psu until i start seeing rips and tears in my screen or random reboots.

ati4670 vs nvidia9600
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3405&p=7
power consumption comparison
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3405&p=9

any objections/final comments from the outie community? lol
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member Send Points ($)

You can try

Here @ NCIX as cheap as $80+ tax.
I live in Windsor,Ont...I've ordered stuff from Ncix on a Thursday and had it at my door Tues at 10:00 am