looking to upgrade my video card and sound card

[roadust443]

hey everyone,

I have an HP a250n
I have recently upgraded the RAM on it and I am planning on switching over to windows 7 very soon.

I want to upgrade my sound card and video card. I RARELY use this machine for gaming. I will for the most part be using this computer for listening to music through my Logitech Z-5500 speakers and for streaming movies and videos to watch on my HDTV. Other than that I will simply be surfing the web and using Microsoft office for school/business related activities.

I am looking to get the best quality sound and video for my money (obviously).

I am looking to run an optical audio connection to my Z-5500 and I need the video card to have an HDMI output (unless there is a connection that will give me better video quality).

any suggestions??

My price range is flexible but around $100 for each card would be nice.

 

[familyman1]

What is the spec on your psu?

 

[roadust443]

my PSU actually just got replaced also, i am not sure as to what kind it is but on the back of it it says

115/230V~1/0.5A

 

[familyman1]

Look on the side of it. It should have a sticker that has a spec layout on it. You will have to open up the side of the case. Looking for wattage and amperage specs.

 

[roadust443]

ok i just cracked it open

it sayyyys
AC Input: 115/230V~,6.5A/3.5A, 50-60Hz
DC Output: 300W
+3.3V - 15A
+5V - 25A
+12V - 10A
-5V - .6A
-12V - .6A
+5VSB - 2A

 

[familyman1]

You will need to upgrade your psu before you look at upgrading your graphics card. Any card that has an HDMI port will usually require you to have at least a +12v-18A rail. Your other hold back is the age of your mobo. The AGP port limits the availability of picking a decent graphics card, although there are still decent cards on the market. How much ram did you upgrade to? Windows7 will need a minimum of 1GB.

 

[roadust443]

I added 2GB of RAM; two 1 GB chips

what power supply unit would you suggest??

 

[familyman1]

If I were in your situation, I would upgrade to the links below. All three of these items will be within your budget. This is only if you have enough ram to work with.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182202

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161237

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829118103

Looks like you have enough ram. You should be good to go with these three items.

 

[roadust443]

just to clarify I am willing to spend around 100 solely on the video card and an additional 100 for the sound card

not sure if you thought i wanted to spend only 100 for everything

 

[familyman1]

The psu and sound card are all you will need for what you are going to do. Let me look at the graphics card a tad more and try to come up with a better one.

Alright. I have this exact card in a pcix16 version and it kicks some major butt when streaming video over the net. It is a little more than $100 but it will fit into the budget given the lower cost of the other items. Plus it has a rebate which brings it right to the $100 budget.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161284

Actually, use this psu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182199