A fitting Video Card?

[bengjo]

Hello

Let me first say that I have little to no knowledge on this matter.

So I need some help:

My computer: Packard Bell imedia S3810

Specs:
Prosessor: Intel Core i3 CPU 530 @ 2.93GHz
RAM: 6,00 GB
Graphic / Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT320

So I figured out I needed to improve the quality I run my games (specifically: Rift) on.

I looked around a little and found out that everything seems at the very least (?) decent, except for my graphic / video card.

As stated before: I have no knowledge on this matter. So I went ahead (kinda dumb I guess) and bought a new video card; Radeon HD 6850.

When I opened my computer, I found out that the card is too big. It physically does not fit.

So I'm wondering what I can do?:
- Do I have to buy a new card, and if so: which cards are good and can fit in my computer?
- Can I simply buy a new computer case, take everything out of my old computer and put it in the new one with bigger space?

I've got a lot of questions, and no knowledge (as you can tell big-time ).

Please help me?

Help is VERY much appreciated!

ALSO: If I've posted this in the wrong place, PLEASE forgive me.


- Benjamin

 

[BrokenAtari]

Hello, it is a very good chance that all you need to do is find a bigger case. However, that depends on the motherboard. You will need to find out whether or not it is an ATX, BTX or something else form factor. Then find a larger case that matches. However, you may have also forgotten to check if the power supply can handle that video card. AMD recommends a minimum of 500 Watt or greater power supply. (I recommend 650W or higher.)

 

[~Darkseeker~]

Yeah, the beefier radeons have bigger fans and longer boards - obviously meaning longer card size. You can pick up a decent case pretty cheap these days anyway - where abouts in the world are you?

Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Scan.co.uk: Antec 300 Three Hundred Black Mid Tower Computer Case - THREE-HUNDRED EU


Does your PC have a regular ATX power unit, or is it one of those horrible small form factor ones?

 

[bengjo]

I live in Norway and I'm afraid I got one of those "horrible" psu's, came with the comp. Any suggestions to a new PSU?

 

[~Darkseeker~]

My main concern with that was, chances are it won't fit in any other case except the one it was designed for. Looks like you're looking at a New Case and PSU then.

Probably want to be about ~500W or more, it's a good place to start. Most Cooler Master, Antec, Corsair etc. PSUs are very good and very reliable.

 

[bengjo]

Alright. But what cases are good and which can I fit my motherboard into? The motherboard should be a microATX but I can't find diddly about it on the web. Suggestions to fitting and good cases to a good price would be awesome! Unless of course the previous ones you posted might fit it?

 

[TheByteKnight]

I just punched the model number into image search and it's a standard case, and HP tends to use fairly standard parts. No proprietary garbage and such.
Of course you couldn't find the model number, it's not even from the same country. Even fry's and Best Buy have their own model series (the pavilion elites end in f in the fry's model code, y in the bby model code), so another country changes it up...a bit.

The PSU definitely poses a problem, as that's the sister series to the p6x series, all of which have 350 watts or less. More than likely you'll need a PSU upgrade for any decent card, but on that rig just about any modern PSU will work. I would recommend at least 700 watts (it will be high enough to use later on), and cable management never hurt! The good news is these are all regular boards, and you won't have many compatibility issues.

My recommendation would be to go old school and measure the space you have in the case (leaving an inch), and find 5-6 cards you like. Look at the specifications, and manually check the products (NOT the packaging) width and height. Use a reputable vendor though.

http://abc.kharkov.ua/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=17458w
Good thing I can read Russian, but still no data that is 100% on the motherboard. I'm familiar with the sister series' (there are more than one of them), but I can't say for sure. Open the case up and take a picture?

 

[bengjo]

This might be a little too big of a questions? I'm just so bad at this stuff and will probably mess up if I try and fix these things myself, you see.

So if I give you these 4 pictures (of my PSU, whole thing, where the graphic card goes and the motherboard):

I'm just gonna link you to them (if it works), because I don't know how to scale them so they would be like huge.

From the info you can get from these pictures, and from what I previously told you. What are my best options if I want to improve my computer's performance - specifically for games. Not by a TON, but by a considerable amount.

I understand it's asking much, so if it's too much feel free to just say "no".

Help is VERY much appreciated though, and you've been a big help this far!

 

[detox1]

In other words, yes a bigger case is the answer, and a new power supply that will work with your new video card.

good luck!


*EDIT* the links no worky

 

[bengjo]

*Fixed - Don't know how to resize, SORRY!*