New power supply question

[Lalena75]

I'm wanting to upgrade my graphics card to at least a nvidia geforce 8400 but have to upgrade my power supply. I'm not sure about what to look for compatibility wise (this is my first attempt at a hardware upgrade so I'm reading a lot)

I currently have
* Hi-Pro Power Supply Features:
* 230 Watt max. power
* AC input: 115/230V ~ 6A/3A, 60/50 Hz
* 20-pin ATX power connector
* 4-pin 12V connector
* Five (5) 4-pin Molex power connectors
* Two (2) ploppy drive power connectors
* +3.3V/16A
* +5.0V/25A
* +12V/10A
* -5V/0.3A
* -12V/0.8A
* +5vsb/3A
And I am wanting to replace it with:
HIPRO
HP-E4009F5WR
Type ATX12V
Maximum Power True 400W
Fans 1 x 120mm Fan
PFC No
Main Connector 20+4Pin
+12V Rails 2
PCI-E Connectors 1 x 6Pin
NVIDIA SLI Support No
Modular Cabling Support No
Hold-up Time 16ms minimums with full load 115 VAC/60HZ
Efficiency at full load provide DC conversion efficiency 70% min.
Over Voltage Protection +5V: 6.8V Max, + 3.3V: 4.5V Max, +12V: 16.0V Max
Input Voltage 115/230 V
Input Frequency Range 50/60 Hz
Input Current 10A @ 115V, 5A @ 230V
Output +3.3V@30A, +5V@28A, +12V1@14A, +12V2@15A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2A
MTBF >100,000 Hours
Approvals IEC950, UL1950, CSA C22.2 NO.950, EN 60950, CCIB, BCIQ, CE
Features
Connectors 1 x Main connector (20+4Pin)
1 x 12V (P4)
8 x peripheral
2 x SATA
1 x Floppy
1 x PCI-E

[Ajmukon]

what make/model of computer?

[Lalena75]

Insignia D300a (best buys PC)
pentuim 4 2.08 GHz
1gb ddr sdram
60GB internal HD, 120 external HD
windows xp

the point to the power supply upgrade it to support a new graphics card (researching what will work for gaming, and I can afford)

[Ajmukon]

You have Windows XP.
DX10 Cards ONLY work with Vista.
the DX10 Cards (Like the 8000s) will work in XP, but YOU WILL NOT GET THE FULL GRAPHICAL SUPPORT OF THE CARDS,
AND THE ONLY ONE WORTH BUYING FOR DX9c GAMES is 8800GTX 640MB
ALL OTHER DX10 CARDS PERFORM WORSE FOR DX9 GAMES.

hope this helps
also, read this thread:
http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=58955
and read this:
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/print.php?cid=3&id=2351

http://www.hardwarezone.com/img/data/articles/2007/2351/N_3dmark061600a.gif

[saphalline]

You have Windows XP.
DX10 Cards ONLY work with Vista.
the DX10 Cards (Like the 8000s) will work in XP, but YOU WILL NOT GET THE FULL GRAPHICAL SUPPORT OF THE CARDS,
AND THE ONLY ONE WORTH BUYING FOR DX9c GAMES is 8800GTX 640MB
ALL OTHER DX10 CARDS PERFORM WORSE FOR DX9 GAMES.DX10 only works with Vista. DX10 vid cards work fine on WinXP. They just revert to DX9 mode. DX9 doesn't use all the DX10 features, obviously, but DX10 vid cards work great as DX9 vid cards! (It's all about set theory.) However, the lower end DX10 vid cards don't perform very well. Not because they suck at DX9 games, but because they just plain suck at everything! :p

Lalena75 - Upgrading from a 230W PSU to a 400W PSU for gaming purposes is sort of like upgrading from a unicycle to a bicycle for traveling purposes. Neither one is going to cut it! For modern systems, 400W is the starting point for a budget internet-surfing system! For a modern gaming-oriented system, 450W or more is required. I have 650W, but you don't need to go that high. Just higher than 400W. ;)

Also, a GeForce 8 series vid card requires a PCIe slot. Do you have that on your current mobo? Judging from the low speed P4 you have, I seriously doubt it. What games are you trying to play, anyway? If you're looking at things like World in Conflict, Crysis, or Bioshock, you should dump that system and start over. If you're looking at older games, a nice PSU upgrade and GeForce 7950 GT or Radeon X1900 Pro would do wonders for your system's gaming potential.

[Lalena75]

Currently I'm playing World of Warcraft (other than a few kids games it's the only game on my PC) it works just fine and I don't have any issues with how the game looks but I'm getting more into video editing as well and as games get better and better I don't want to fall to far behind. Trying to convince my husband we need a new pc has become a near daily issue. He's convinced I can just upgrade what we have cheaper or about the same price (he wouldn't know a graphics card from a stick of RAM) I'm just now figuring out the insides of my pc and couldn't tell you if I have a PCIe slot (if I saw a pic or knew where to look I could)

[Ajmukon]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCIe
are pics Of PCIe PCI and AGP
and Saph- that was what i meant. ;)
The PC you have is not worth upgrading and probably CAN'T Be upgraded totally.

[George Hallam]

if you you were to buy/build your own PC what sort of budget will you have. and like Ajmukon said a full upgrade is prob your only choice to get good performance. Especially for COD 4 :D can't wait it looks fab

[saphalline]

Trying to convince my husband we need a new pc has become a near daily issue. He's convinced I can just upgrade what we have cheaper or about the same priceNo, it doesn't work that way. New hardware has new slots and sockets. It's not like a standard outlet where every microwave oven ever made can just plug in and go. The physical hardware interfaces for internal components changes every 18 months or so (for something but not everything at once). You can't upgrade from an AthlonXP to a Core 2 Duo because they physically do not fit each other.

It's sort of like buying a new hardtop for your pickup truck - except you don't have a pickup truck, you have a VW Beetle! :p Just because you can buy it doesn't mean it will work. Everyone who bought a copy of Halo 2: Vista found that out the hard way - it doesn't work on WinXP, only Vista! :eek: Shocking, I know! :rolleyes:

I play WoW on Vista Ultimate 64-bit using an Athlon64 FX-60, 2GB dual-channel DDR400 RAM, Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer, and a GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB OC'ed version. My settings are: 1280 x 1024, all graphics & audio details at max, LoD turned off, 16x AA, 8x AF, HDR turned on, and I get about 65 fps on average. You want to convince your husband you need a new computer? Try running WoW at my settings and see how slow your computer really is! :D

[Lalena75]

Well not having a PCIe slot finally convinced my hubby to let me start looking into what I would want in the way of building my own. Our budget for it will be tight (new PC build or feed the kids:D ) But we have time as what I've got is still kicking just fine I just want better, and I definately want it to be upgradeable, and as easy as possible (this will be my first build) Basicly my most important is graphic, and speed, HD space not so much since all my pic's video, music we keep on our exteranl drive and our 60 GB internal is only at half capacity after 4 years (it's been that long already:eek: ) and in the end I think my daughter will be getting the pc we have now but she can't have my flat panel screen.:)

[saphalline]

HDD space isn't a problem, and in fact it would be wise to upgrade the hard drive for performance considerations. Modern SATA 300 HDD's w/16MB cache can be up to 3 times faster than that old 60GB HDD of yours! :eek: And you can buy one of these new hard drives for less than $100 USD! Something to think about...

New purchases we can deal with later, then. What's important for us to know now for planning is your current situation. What assets do you have now? For instance, if you plan to pass your current computer onto your daughter, that implies a new build as a replacement and not a major upgrade. In which case, will you need another monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speaker set? What about Windows? Do you need a new copy for the new computer? Or will this be a transfer in the sense that your daughter already has a computer and this will be an upgrade for her, too? Depending on what you have now and what new hardware/software will need to be purchased, this could either be moderately expensive or very cheap (as computers go).