Video Card Upgrade For My Inexpensive HP Presario...???

oldave

Solid State Member
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I know absolutely nothing about these types of upgrades and whether my "Motherboard" can handle this and that...
I have Microsoft`s Flight Sim X and was advised by a few people on one of the Flight Sim Forums to upgrade my Video Card and my Ram Memory to increase the performance and quality when "Flying" FSX...
I described my computer to them in detail and they told me I should look for a: Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 pci-express X16 video card...*$120 - $145...???

My question is: if I can use the above card would this card work: Nvidia GTX 285
1gb-GDDR3-Nvidia 3D Vision Ready-HDTV-2 Dual Link DVI-Graphics Clock 648MHz
Processor Clock 1476MHz
*I can buy this used in my local classifieds for $80*
The "Ram" upgrade suggested was a matched set of 2gb sticks of 400MHz *effectively 800Mhz in dual channel mode*
*Corsair Twin 2 X 4096 -6400C5*
Is this ram available in other brand names...
Thanks for any help or additional info for a complete Newbie...
oldave...
 
Ok after cifting through all that I think I know what u want but need to know one piece of vital info what's the power supply?
 
Thankyou for your reply and help...
Here are the detailed specs of my computer:
Power Supply is a 450 Watt (Upgraded from a 200 watt *Original*)
HP Presario PC #CQ5210F...AMD 2.7GHz Athon II X 2...215 Dual Core
Main Board - Pegatron Corp. # NARRA 5 - 5.00
Chipset - Nvidia - MCP61
Bios: Phoenix Tech Ltd. Version 5.52 Date 09/14/2009
3gb DDR2 Ram...750gb Hard Drive*Upgraded from the Original 500gb*
Nvidia GeForce 6150 SE 256mb Shared Memory up to 1404mb total available Video Card *Original*
Memory Speed: PC2-6400...Memory Type: DDR2-SD Ram
I hope this info helps you as I appreciate all help and advice as a Newbie trying to upgrade my "Cheap" computer...
*I wish I had spent another $300 or so when I bought this 2 years ago*
Thanks again...
oldave...
 
If you want a GTX 285 you're gonna need a much bigger PSU - 700W + I'd say, you're also going to have to make sure it'll fit in your case. I have a GTS 450 and a 650W PSU and it runs well, not sure how it would do on a 450W PSU though, but my recommendation to you for FSX would be to get a bigger PSU, 700W or higher and a GTX 560, or the GTX 285 if it's cheaper for you.
 
If you want a GTX 285 you're gonna need a much bigger PSU - 700W + I'd say, you're also going to have to make sure it'll fit in your case. I have a GTS 450 and a 650W PSU and it runs well, not sure how it would do on a 450W PSU though, but my recommendation to you for FSX would be to get a bigger PSU, 700W or higher and a GTX 560, or the GTX 285 if it's cheaper for you.

700 watt is overkill for a 285. 650 maybe, but 700 is pushing the upper limits a bit much, and you'll spend more.

But you're right in the assessment about the 450 watt. It might work, but it'll burn out faster.
 
Thanks Guys...
I`m going to look into a 650 watt or so P.S.U. (I`ll check the dimensions), and upgrade my video card *Thanks for the GTX 560 suggestion* after checking out the prices of these P.S.U. and video cards...
Any opinions on the suggested Ram upgrade: Corsair Twin 2 X 4096-6400C5
I know this cheap computer will never be a "Gaming" computer, but if I can upgrade certain things slowly as I go along (I`m a pensioner...Low Income) I would enjoy "Flying" FXS a lot more...!!!
oldave...
 
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