[Ollie_3670]

Hello,

Firstly, great site. I've been browsing the forum for about an hour now, really interesting..learning a lot!

Onto the problem, recently, I have found that my graphics card no longer functions as it should and I need to purchase a new one. My current PSU however, is Delta Electronics 220w that came with the desktop when I bought it 2 1/2 years ago. So from what little I know will be restrictive..

I'm looking to spend £80-100 altogether, obviously at this price, something midrange at best would be great


So the question really is in the title, what do I need to look for?

Power supply unit: Physical size, connection points, wattage, coolant? (I have a large fan near the PSU..not sure if they are 'together' or separate!)
Graphics Card: Memory, connection points

Are there any other restrictions that I should be aware of? My computer is a Acer Aspire Ax3810 which has a 'mini tower' base unit.. will this restrict me in terms of space etc or are these components fairly standardised in that respect?

Thanks in advance!

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the lovely thing about dell, acer, sony etc is they try as hard as possible to make non standardized systems. So that I may answer your questions accuratly could you please post the model number on your psu. Also What are your plans do you intend connecting multiple drives? Any future plans?

[spaceagecow]

the lovely thing about dell, acer, sony etc is they try as hard as possible to make non standardized systems. So that I may answer your questions accuratly could you please post the model number on your psu. Also What are your plans do you intend connecting multiple drives? Any future plans?

[Digerati]

This being a "mini" tower may mean you have a low profile or small form factor (SFF) PSU. That may greatly restrict your options and unfortunately, the specs Acer provides don't help much.

Because graphics cards are often the most power hungry device in a computer, you need to determine the card's power requirements before you can decide on a PSU.

[phillpower2]

Hi Ollie_3670 and
Here is a pic of the inside of your case, it suggests you will need a low profile video card and a propriety (stock) type PSU, a bigger case and appropriate PSU would give you more options;
http://support.acer....SX5810_0513.pdf

[Ollie_3670]

Thanks for your responses!

The model of my PSU is: DPS-220UB-1 A

My plans are to squeeze the life out of this one by a year, preferably two. Then to buy something a bit more customisable! Which is why I need this on it's feet.. but don't really want to reinvent the wheel in the process.

And the link that Phillpower provided does indeed show, on pg7, the inside of my case! So you can see, the space for the card etc.. is quite limited.


A few more probing questions:

1) Can I get a 1gb graphics card which uses a 220w power supply, is that a reasonable ask?
So I know what to look for, does this meet the low profile criteria? (obviously over the wattage limit)

2) You mentioned I had a propriety (stock) PSU, does this mean I can't change it with that case?

3) If I have to get a case (which really, I didn't want to do due to extra cost...more chance of me breaking something), are there any other stock hardware items which I'd probably also have to replace?

4)The aforementioned graphics card is what I'm looking for otherwise, where is best to find these 'SFF PSUs' Having a look on places like Amazon.co.uk doesn't seem to help, where should I be looking?

Edited by Ollie_3670, 29 November 2011 - 04:25 PM.

[spaceagecow]

Sorry to put a damper on your party ollie but doing anything with this SFF pc is a recipe for silicon toast.

[Ollie_3670]

If the situation is as lost as you suggest, do you think I will have to get a case, a PSU and a new graphics card? Will the motherboard etc.. be ok to pull out and place in a standard sized tower?

Can you recommend me any makes, websites to purchase one? I'm from the UK, if that affects what you suggest

[phillpower2]

Your MB and CPU will be fine for now.
Provide us with a maximum budget for all 3 and we can make some suggestions for you.

[Ollie_3670]

My maximum budget for all three would be £200. Thank you for your continued help

Edited by Ollie_3670, 30 November 2011 - 07:24 AM.

[spaceagecow]

power supply 36 pounds http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139028
video card 87 pounds http://www.mwave.com...0Mhz_Clock_PCIe
case 42 pounds http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/B000VAL2BK
Total 165 pounds

Edited by spaceagecow, 30 November 2011 - 06:49 AM.

[Ollie_3670]

Apparently new egg don't deliver deliver to the UK

I can't find out whether mwave deliver to the uk, but if it's being shipped from Australia guessing not? Their sales guys aren't online yet and can't find information pertaining to it on the website.

If the case is suitable though I can get that, £42 seems reasonable

Edited by Ollie_3670, 30 November 2011 - 09:40 AM.

[spaceagecow]

good points lol

http://www.ebay.co.u...y-/170663782463
http://www.ebay.co.u...=item20bf574dea

[Ollie_3670]

One question is whether the case is sufficient, I mean.. for the same price I apparently I could get a bundle which someone mentioned to me earlier, something like this.

I really don't know what I'm looking for though, is my motherboard ATX? Or if you don't know, how do I find this out? Also, is Sapphire a reputable make, the Sapphire variant of the AMD Radeon offering is 25% cheaper, I won't touch it though if it's not worth going there.

I mean, if I have to over spend slightly and I can, if I got the above case/PSU and the graphics card I think I'd be sorted. Unless anyone has any other ideas?

Edited by Ollie_3670, 30 November 2011 - 10:50 AM.

[spaceagecow]

No your motherboard is not atx but an atx case will accomodate the board. Havent heard anything bad about sapphire personally. thats a nice bundle.

[Digerati]

Yeah, you can put smaller version of ATX boards, such as a microATX into larger ATX cases. And yes, Sapphire is good brand.