[StuOnThis]

A few months ago I purchased this computer from NewEgg to use in my living room since it was small, affordable, and due to me being somewhat out of the loop regarding video cards was duped into believing it was passable as a gaming system. Now that I've loaded some of the more graphics-intensive Steam games that I play on my legitimate gaming laptop to this system, I've found out the hard way that a Radeon HD 5000 series card is pretty weak.

 

So I just figured I'd slap another more powerful video card in there, and voila, problem solved. I found this 7000 series card and was about to order it before my spider sense tingled and I decided to take a look inside the computer before I did something stupid. Sure enough, the power supply was nowhere near powerful enough (only 235 watts as opposed to at least the 400 this card requires), as well as there simply not being physically enough space to put the new card in, since the smaller existing one is sitting practically against where the hard drive resides in the only video card slot available. Any card I'd be upgrading to rightly has it's own fan, so there's simply no way I'm getting a better graphics card in this case.

 

So started looking around on NewEgg and TigerDirect for new cases and power supplies and realized I have no idea whether the motherboard in this thing would even fit in the cases I was looking at without having to settle for a giant case that doesn't fit in my living room TV area. So now I'm stuck with the some serious buyer's regret. I want another small, affordable, nice-looking case with a compatible power supply that I can transfer the guts of this system into without having to find out the hard way again that there's no room for a video card with a fan on it. Anyone know what I can do?

Edited by StuOnThis, 13 March 2015 - 12:08 AM.

[Advertisements]

   StuOnThis,

 

Two checks that I suggest that you do before going any further;

1: Establish the dimensions of the MB, is it 9.625 X 9.625, if yes then it most likely will fit in an alternative case that will allow for a standard ATX power supply to support a decent add on video card.

2: Check the 24 pin main ATX power supply connection, the 760 SFF may have a smaller connector so make sure a that there is room for a standard 24 pin connection block, there are no MB capacitors in the way for example, see attachment below and read the product description here for further info.

 

If both of the above check out ok we can then suggest some upgrades for you.

 

 

[phillpower2]

   StuOnThis,

 

Two checks that I suggest that you do before going any further;

1: Establish the dimensions of the MB, is it 9.625 X 9.625, if yes then it most likely will fit in an alternative case that will allow for a standard ATX power supply to support a decent add on video card.

2: Check the 24 pin main ATX power supply connection, the 760 SFF may have a smaller connector so make sure a that there is room for a standard 24 pin connection block, there are no MB capacitors in the way for example, see attachment below and read the product description here for further info.

 

If both of the above check out ok we can then suggest some upgrades for you.

 

 

[StuOnThis]

I had also posted my query on Reddit and found out it's a BTX mobo, so apparently those exist. The whole project is a wash; I'm better off just getting a whole new legitimate gaming system.

[phillpower2]

Thanks for the update StuOnThis, sorry to hear that it is not better news though 

 

Let us know if you need any help when it comes to either purchasing or building a new gaming rig and we will do our best to help.