Upgrade help, please!

[ssgperry18]

Hey guys. I have a Compaq CQ5700F desktop. AMD Athlon 170u 2.0GHZ, ATI Radeon HD 3000 IGP, 500GB WD Caviar HDD & a fan controller installed.

I only have one real problem with it. The graphics card/ chip. It sucks :thumbsdown:
I would LIKE to put in a real card, but cannot find a card that will fit. I don't have PCI X16 slots.

Could I upgrade the motherboard to something with the right slots? I know it's MicroATX. Should I do the PSU while I'm at it? The current one is 250W. Don't know the form factor. I would like to keep my current CPU, but wouldn't mind getting a newer, better one.

 

[denis280]

Sorry but this is the best you have. upgrading it would be like building a new pc.

 

[ssgperry18]

So, no point in getting a new motherboard to get a good video card? Why would I want to spend $600+ to build a PC when all I need is a video card which is about $70 for the one I want? Plus a motherboard for $60.....Maybe $100 for a CPU & $70+ for a PSU.

 

[denis280]

Sorry my mistake.Yes you can get a new mobo+cpu.and yes a psu. because 250Watt is low if you want to put in a video card

 

[ssgperry18]

So, what would I want to be looking for? I know a MicroATX motherboard and a PCI Xpress X16 video card (ATI or nVidia?). I don't know what kind of PSU I need, though. Don't know the form factor. Anyone know by chance?

 

[Bubbaleone]

The microATX (uATX) board measures 244mm (9.6") x 244mm (9.6"). HP lists your case as a Mid-size ATX: Height: 38.40 cm (15.12 inches), Width: 16.58 cm (6.53 inches), Length: 42.9 cm (16.89 inches).

Most mid-size ATX cases have tapped mounting holes for both microATX, and ATX; 305mm (12") x 244mm (9.6") motherboards. Take a look and see if there are tapped mounting holes, in the case, 61mm (2.4") down from the bottom mounting screws on your microATX motherboard.

If there are ATX mounting holes, and there doesn't appear to be any obvious clearance issues, you could upgrade to an ATX motherboard and have far more selection.

The power supply dimensions (3.4" x 5.9" x 6.2") are a standard size, so upgrading would be determined by the requirements of the motherboard and video card you plan to run.

Compaq Presario CQ5700F Desktop PC Product Specifications

 

[LurchFrinky]

I checked to see what slots your board did have and whoa! Visually, I thought there were none, but there are two x1 slots tucked in there.

You have an easier/cheaper route by getting one of these. It will not be as good as an x16 card in a new mobo with a new psu, but it should still be way better than what you have now.

I would say it depends on what games/framerates you would like to see out of this upgrade.

 

[ssgperry18]

So, from the video cards Lurch posted, what do you think would be best? I play racing games like rFactor and NFS Shift and other games like Battlefield 2. Want to be able to put the graphics up at something pretty good (not full graphics) and still maintain, hopefully, 27+ FPS

 

[ssgperry18]

bump....anyone?

 

[LurchFrinky]

I don't know about those games, and I don't actually use one of these cards, so I'm really just basing my recommendation on the reviews from Newegg. And based off of those, I would say go with one of the Zotac cards. I would recommend the Fermi based one, but it appears to be out of stock. You could look on Amazon or elsewhere if that helps.

I don't know how to tell if any of these cards will play your games at playable levels. If they don't, then you will probably want to start from scratch as mentioned earlier.

If you are playing those games now with Ati HD3000 graphics, then I would expect more than doubling of framrates with a discrete card. Again, I'm not really a graphics person, so this is more of a ballpark estimate.