Best PCI x16 I can get to upgrade old computer?

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mlah384

Senior member
Dec 17, 2008
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I'm trying to upgrade an old computer so my 11yr old can play modern games like Diablo 3, Battlefield 3, etc...

It is a HP Pavilion Slimiline s3500f (not much room!)
AMD Athlon x2 5400+
4gb ram
nvidia geforce 6150se (on board)

it has 1 PCI x16 slot and 1 PCI slot...

What's by best bet for a video card?
Could I put everything in a larger case to solve the room issue?
Or is this a hopeless cause?

Thanks!
 
nickb64

nickb64

Member
May 8, 2011
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That athlon x2 will choke on BF3. My best guess is something like a 6670 might work.
 
cmdrdredd

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
The CPU will really hold you back for modern games and semi-modern cards.

You might find a used something...maybe an AMD 5770 or something?
 
MrK6

MrK6

Diamond Member
Aug 9, 2004
4,458
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Pretty much any decent graphics card made within the last three years will easily overpower that CPU. I'd say your best bet is to grab a really cheap graphics card off the for sale forums and you'll at least be able to play D3 on the comp. However I don't think there's anyway that CPU will power BF3 with decent playability.
 
cmdrdredd

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
The 5770 is a video card. I don't think it'd be worth it to upgrade the CPU because there isn't really anything you can upgrade to. Might be time to consider a rebuild?
 
toyota

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
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you have a slimline pc so you need a low profile card. and I guessing there is a very cheap 220-250 watt psu that was only "rated" for unrealistic 12-14 amps on the 12v even when brand new. after all these years I would not really trust that psu to power anything extra. heck most of those cheap oem psus rarely make it more than 5 years just powering the standard configuration.
 
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nonameo

Diamond Member
Mar 13, 2006
5,949
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mlah384 said:
Yeah.. I might just have to build a new one and sell this one on craigslist...
Click to expand...

That sounds like a good idea to me. I mean if you wanted to, you could probably get an athlon II x4 to work in it with a bios update, then you could upgrade the PSU and get a slimline graphics card, but in the end it won't be cheap and you can probably do a lot better for yourself for not much more money if you just start from scratch. Slimline PSUs and graphics cards tend to carry a premium for what you get.
 
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Gordon Freemen

Golden Member
May 24, 2012
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Radeon HD 7750 is your best bet without a doubt do not look anywhere else cause that CPU will hold anything more powerful back and the 7750 is VERY small and cool running and requires no external power so you are guaranteed to not run into any compatibility issues with an OEM machine like HP.
 
toyota

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
Gordon Freemen said:
Radeon HD 7750 is your best bet without a doubt do not look anywhere else cause that CPU will hold anything more powerful back and the 7750 is VERY small and cool running and requires no external power so you are guaranteed to not run into any compatibility issues with an OEM machine like HP.
Click to expand...
that is NOT a guarantee at all. those slimline psus HP uses normally are rated for like 12-14 watts when new. there is no way it makes more than about 10 amps in real world conditions after years of use. just his system without a video card will use within 15-20 watts of that.
 
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Gordon Freemen

Golden Member
May 24, 2012
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toyota said:
that is NOT a guarantee at all. those slimline psus HP uses normally are rated for like 12-14 watts when new. there is no way it makes more than about 10 amps in real world conditions after years of use. just his system without a video card will use within 10-15 watts of that.
Click to expand...
AMD understood this and that it the market they have aimed the 7750 at and the 7750 is the lowermost power consumption card that can still play most modern games reasonable well to some degree.
 
toyota

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
Gordon Freemen said:
AMD understood this and that it the market they have aimed the 7750 at and the 7750 is the lowermost power consumption card that can still play most modern games reasonable well to some degree.
Click to expand...
lol, what? that a nice theory but I am talking about reality here. you are ignoring the simple math here.
 
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blckgrffn

blckgrffn

Diamond Member
May 1, 2003
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nonameo said:
That sounds like a good idea to me. I mean if you wanted to, you could probably get an athlon II x4 to work in it with a bios update, then you could upgrade the PSU and get a slimline graphics card, but in the end it won't be cheap and you can probably do a lot better for yourself for not much more money if you just start from scratch. Slimline PSUs and graphics cards tend to carry a premium for what you get.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree. Craiglist and then a bargain bin PC is the way to go. There are some very nice setups hitting the FS/FT forums here all the time - x58/i7's, etc. Heck, even a Phenom 2 x4 or something is going to be cheap and very, very effective compared to what you currently have.

Just sold a Phenom 2 x4 840 (the good one, 6MB l3, etc) @ 3.15 Ghz on a gigabyte 780G matx, 4GB ddr3, GTS 250 512MB, 250GB HD in an Antec Solo case with a Cooler Master GX450 PSU for $250 on CL here... which would curb stomp your HP, obviously. There has some deals you can find there if you look.
 
toyota

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
Gordon Freemen said:
a 250watt PSU will power up this rig with a 7750 no problem mate.
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how many times do I have to repeat myself? you clearly know nothing about oem power supplies. at best he has a 250 watt psu but most likely its 220 watts. and its NOT the watts that matter but the amps on the 12V line that do. AGAIN those psus are only rated for like 12-14 amps at an unrealistically low 25C when brand new. in other words it cant even make 14 amps in real world conditions out of the box. next the psu is several years old and cant even make that now. AGAIN he would be lucky to get more than 10 amps in real world conditions after all these years. that's 120 watts. his pc without a video card would easily pull around 100 watts or more. he does NOT have room to add ANY video card to that old pc.
 
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Gordon Freemen

Golden Member
May 24, 2012
1,068
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toyota said:
how many times do I have to repeat myself? you clearly know nothing about oem power supplies. at best he has a 250 watt psu but most likely its 220 watts. and its NOT the watts that matter but the amps on the 12V line that do. AGAIN those psus are only rated for like 12-14 amps at an unrealistically low 25C when brand new. in other words it cant even make 14 amps in real world conditions out of the box. next the psu is several years old and cant even make that now. AGAIN he would be lucky to get more than 10 amps in real world conditions after all these years. that's 120 watts. his pc without a video card would easily pull around 100 watts or more. he does NOT have room to add ANY video card to that old pc.
Click to expand...
I have been getting tired of all the PSU Nazis as of late.
 
toyota

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
Gordon Freemen said:
I have been getting tired of all the PSU Nazis as of late.
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well that is great but nobody is acting like that in this thread. what I stated was factual about the oem psus that are used in the pc that the OP has. simple math shows what you were suggesting to be foolish for this situation.

he is going to build another pc anyway so really this thread can die.
 
M

mlah384

Senior member
Dec 17, 2008
228
1
71
thisonlinething.com
toyota said:
I think so because you are wanting to play newer games which will also need a faster cpu. and I thought you were building another pc?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was deciding to build another pc since this old one seemed not worth it... But I'm curious about how far a Psu and vid card will go with it... I've also considered using it on a 4:3 19" LCD for lower res... But it's probably still better to build a new one.... Although, it would be nice to upgrade old one and save the money!
 
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