Acer Upgrade :S

[Jack6114]

hey guys,Please could you tell me on what i should upgrade,although this doesn't show one thing,and i think that needs to be upgraded the most.Which is my graphic's card..I have ATi 3450 256mb DDR2I have a rough budget of £150-200 also i damn sure that i'll need a new PSU as i only have a approx. 250w at the moment...anyhelp will be greatly appreciated..

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You will need to check the dimensions of the PSU first though!! If you have a smaller case it will limit the choice of PSU!! The same goes for a graphics card too!! What is the model of your PC?? Is your case full sized or a small form factor one??

Is the upgrade to play games BTW?? If not your system seems well specced enough to do most normal things!!

[Jack6114]

You will need to check the dimensions of the PSU first though!! If you have a smaller case it will limit the choice of PSU!! The same goes for a graphics card too!! What is the model of your PC?? Is your case full sized or a small form factor one??

Is the upgrade to play games BTW?? If not your system seems well specced enough to do most normal things!!

Yeah its to play games.I have an Acer M1641.
Hope that helps!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would open up the computer and get the tape measure out. You will need to check the dimensions of the PSU to see if it is a standard sized one!!

If it is a standard sized one I would get a modular PSU as you will not have a mess of cables in your case!!

I would get this power supply:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/525W-...uard-SafeGuard

It is modular,has UK based support,is slightly smaller in size and has high effiency. It has enough power to last you a while!!

Regarding the graphics card I would go for a card which is not too long otherwise it may not fit in your case!! Again you will need to measure the amount of space you have in the case.

I would try going for a shorter graphics card like a HD4850. This should cost around the £110 to £125.

This XFX card has a dual slot cooler and will help vent the hot air from the graphics card out of the case:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/155495

I doubt that your case has any cooling fans so I would go for a dual slot cooler like the one on the XFX case otherwise all the heat from the graphics card is being dumped into the case - not a good idea!!

The XFX card is 23cm so you will need at least 24cm to 25cm between the back of the case where the PCI-Express slot is and the front of the case to fit the card.

Longer cards like the 9800GTX and HD4870 may not fit in your case!

However a new card is coming out from ATI in the first week of April called the HD4770/HD4750(the name has not been finalised yet) which is only slightly slower than the HD4850 but with lower power consumption:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon...-preview-test/

This will mean less heat is generated too.

It should be around £80 to £100(hopefully).

[Jack6114]

Cat,Thank you for that brilliant reply.As my Computer is still in Warrenty I will not even attempt to open it yet ( I've had some OS problems,which they sortted out pretty quickly) so i'd rather keep it shut for the last few months before ripping it open...As i couldn't open it i got the case dimensions which are;
(WxDxH) 18 cm x 44.2 cm x 35.9 cm

Looking at the type of Motherboard (MATX) i have,Unfortunately, a feeling that it is not a standard size PSU.Which is a bugger.

HD 4850 seem to be winning me over becuase of the reviews and the card is shorter than most (fingers crossed that i will fit mine) I've been looking at 9800GT but that seems not to be very good,well not for up-coming games.I think if i'm getting HD 4850 I slide for 1GB version due to having the extra power...I thinking i may keep with the HD 4850 unless a smaller Nvidia card comes up (and betters the 4850)..

thoughts?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The HD4850 is definitely faster in many games than the 9800GT.The 9800GT is basically the same as the 8800GT. I believe a version with lower power consumption is being rebranded as the GTS240.
The other contender is the GTS250 if the PCB is shorter. This is a rebranded 9800GTX+ with lower power consumption.

Remember that there are non-reference cards which have shorter PCBs and various other differences so do your reason beforehand.

However you will definitely need a PSU upgrade to run the HD4850 or GTS250.

You could try this instead:

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=6221

It is a it pricey though:

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Home/Pr...ource=googleps

It would mean that you could keep your existing PSU!!

The other alternative would be to go with a bus powered card which does not require an additional power adaptor.

The HD4670 is such a card and also the upcoming Nvidia 9600GT Green Edition.

I would also wait a few weeks for the new ATI HD4750/HD4770. The HD4750/HD4770 review I linked too is one of a prototype card. There is a good chance that the production version will be shorter. It is very close to the HD4850 in performance.

If you are gaming at 1680x1050 and below 1gb of video RAM does not make much difference with current games.

[Jack6114]

I'm justing going back over the review of the ATI HD4750/HD4770 and like you said if it is shorter,this is going to be #1 for me.For awihle now i've been thinking about upgrading my monitors i think i'll go to 1680X1050 as it seems to get good framerates at that Resolution also.Regarding about the PSU i think i will upgrade just as i'll feel more comfortable...Tbh,at the moment there is 3 main contenders the ATI HD4750/HD4770,GTS 250(if PCB is shorter) and the HD4850.I've looked at the 4670 before but as i mainly want a card that can last a little longer (future proofish)..