Media Center 7277c Video Card Upgrade

[AlwaysLearning]

Well, after purchasing the new Call-Duty, Modern Warfare 2, I found my video card would not support this game.  So I am looking to upgrade to a more suitable card.  My computer is three to four years old and I would like to upgrade to an ATI HD4670 1 Gb PCI-Express Video Card I think.  What information would I need to decide if this is the correct card and if this card will not work, t what card do you professionals recommend.  

RAM 1022

Pentium (R)

CPU 3 GHz

2 CPU's

(Does this help?)

Thanks...

[old_geekster]

AL,  your biggest concern for upgrading the video card is the power supply unit (PSU).  I believe your current PSU is only 300W.  You can check by opening the case and reading the tag on it.  The video card that you want to install requires a minimum of 400W.  This is simply too much of a difference.  You would need to upgrade your PSU.

Let us know the wattage of your PSU and we will help you with the upgrade.

[AlwaysLearning]

Thanks OG,

The tag on the power supply unit on the insode of the computer stated 400w max.  Are there other concerns since this is an older computer?

AL

[Dartan]

For first person shooter games, I would suggest having 4GB of RAM, at least a dual-core processor which you have, and a good gfx card.   From your RAM statement, it looks like you only have 1GB. 

[AlwaysLearning]

Hello Dartan,

To increase my RAM, what steps would I need to take or what hardware would I need to replace?

Thanks

AL

[old_geekster]

AL, your operating system is 32-bit.  This means that if you install 4GB of memory, all of it will be recognized, but only 3.3GB will be utilized.  Since your memory is not dual-channel, I would simply buy 2 x 1GB of memory and install it in the open slots.  I believe that the two 512MB sticks are in the Blue slots.  The 1GB sticks could go into the Black slots.  Here is the 'Motherboard Specifications' page for your computer.  Look at the section titled 'Motherboard layout and photos' to see what I mean.  It would be better if you could match the brand of the existing memory.  I know that at one time HP used Crucial.  The brand should be on the sticks.

Here is your memory at Crucial.  Read all of the information on the page, especially the Q & A section.  It will answer most of your questions.

By the way, the 400W max power for the PSU is just that, the max.  I believe that it may only be 300W to 350W.  So, a PSU upgrade would definitely give you more choices for video cards.

Message Edited by old_geekster on 11-19-2009 01:15 PM

[avish]

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AlwaysLearning wrote:

Well, after purchasing the new Call-Duty, Modern Warfare 2, I found my video card would not support this game.  So I am looking to upgrade to a more suitable card.  My computer is three to four years old and I would like to upgrade to an ATI HD4670 1 Gb PCI-Express Video Card I think.  What information would I need to decide if this is the correct card and if this card will not work, t what card do you professionals recommend.  

RAM 1022

Pentium (R)

CPU 3 GHz

2 CPU's

(Does this help?)

Thanks...

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AlwaysLearning wrote:

Well, after purchasing the new Call-Duty, Modern Warfare 2, I found my video card would not support this game.  So I am looking to upgrade to a more suitable card.  My computer is three to four years old and I would like to upgrade to an ATI HD4670 1 Gb PCI-Express Video Card I think.  What information would I need to decide if this is the correct card and if this card will not work, t what card do you professionals recommend.  

RAM 1022

Pentium (R)

CPU 3 GHz

2 CPU's

(Does this help?)

Thanks...

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AlwaysLearning wrote:

Well, after purchasing the new Call-Duty, Modern Warfare 2, I found my video card would not support this game.  So I am looking to upgrade to a more suitable card.  My computer is three to four years old and I would like to upgrade to an ATI HD4670 1 Gb PCI-Express Video Card I think.  What information would I need to decide if this is the correct card and if this card will not work, t what card do you professionals recommend.  

RAM 1022

Pentium (R)

CPU 3 GHz

2 CPU's

(Does this help?)

Thanks...

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AlwaysLearning wrote:

Well, after purchasing the new Call-Duty, Modern Warfare 2, I found my video card would not support this game.  So I am looking to upgrade to a more suitable card.  My computer is three to four years old and I would like to upgrade to an ATI HD4670 1 Gb PCI-Express Video Card I think.  What information would I need to decide if this is the correct card and if this card will not work, t what card do you professionals recommend.  

RAM 1022

Pentium (R)

CPU 3 GHz

2 CPU's

(Does this help?)

Thanks...

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