230 volt psu, which Graphics card ??

[rocketpants]

Hi there
ime a bit of a novice but in the process of buying a system off a friend, the spec is as follows..
Athlon (socket A) 2000 xp 1.7 ghz
512 mb sd ram
80 gb H/D

Unfortunatley its only got a 230 v psu, whats the best graphics card i can put in ? something that will say play battlefied 2 ? without having to buy a complete new tower & transfering it all over or can you just buy a new say 350 v psu on its own ?? or perhaps i could go for a slightly lower spec graphics card & put in another 512 mb of ram ??
any advice would be much appreciated...Andy c

 

[catalyst1]

By 230v, do you mean 230W? And if you do mean 230W, you won't be able to get anything very powerful. In fact, that's quite low. I highly suggest getting a new PSU. At least 350 - 400W, if not more depending on what you want. Just out of curiosity, what are the rest of the specs of the computer?

 

[Kage]

Hey,

Well for one thing, there is no point going for a lower spec video card is there if you can just change the psu?

Loads of PSU's are around that you'll just have to port over. Most cases nowadays are made so the PSU can be replaced without taking the motherbord out first for example, so check how it is stored in your case first of all.

If its fine, all you'll have to do is switch power cables around, and you'll be able to get a much better video card

Even if you do have to remove everything, if you are careful, you shouldn't have to move it that much. For instance, it might slot out if you pull the motheboard slightly outwards, which will just mean unscrewing the screws and being careful not to knock off anything else. If you do this on the floor with the case side down, it might make it easier for you so to not brek off the heatsink connecting to the CPU.

I hope this helps.

*edit* sorry, i must have been writing this at the same time, and yes, those wattages are what your looking for round about. I'd go for a 400watt just to be safe, and might last for another computer update if you were to do one

 

[rocketpants]

By 230v, do you mean 230W? And if you do mean 230W, you won't be able to get anything very powerful. In fact, that's quite low. I highly suggest getting a new PSU. At least 350 - 400W, if not more depending on what you want. Just out of curiosity, what are the rest of the specs of the computer?

to be honest i dont know, i think the main board is an asrock or something, the unit itself is less than a yr old & its up 4 £130, not sure if i should put this towards a better system built by an aquaintance & go for the more modern 64 bit athlons ?

 

[Kage]

It might be worth doing if you do alot with the PC thats quite heavy on the processor. Do you find you get slow down with what you do?

If you do decide to get a video card though, and your CPU is rather slow, it can slow down the video card too. Plus, if your motherboard can't handle AGP 8x, this will also slow it down, so its up to you.

I'd first upgrade the PSU, as that seems like your next step, as you'll need a new one to power a newer system anyway.

 

[rocketpants]

It might be worth doing if you do alot with the PC thats quite heavy on the processor. Do you find you get slow down with what you do?

If you do decide to get a video card though, and your CPU is rather slow, it can slow down the video card too. Plus, if your motherboard can't handle AGP 8x, this will also slow it down, so its up to you.

I'd first upgrade the PSU, as that seems like your next step, as you'll need a new one to power a newer system anyway.

Thanks a lot for the advice !!!!! might be back for more soon

 

[Kage]

No problems

 

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