• Upgrading an M8330f prebuilt. Thoughts?
    15 replies, posted
So I've been using an HP M8330f (Yeah, I know prebuilt sucks, what can I say, I was young and stupid) and despite being prebuilt, it's actually not half bad (it is half-bad actually, that's why I'm upgrading it.) So I was thinking of upgrading it with a Sapphire Radeon HD6870 ([url]http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6816349&CatId=3669[/url]) and a 600-Watt PSU ([url]http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4435074&CatId=1483[/url]) because the current one couldn't provide enough power to run a lightbulb. Will I have any problems installing and running this hardware? Here's some more detailed info on my current rig in case anyone here forgot that google exists. [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883107514[/url]
Get a decent PSU:[url]http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4362114&CatId=1483[/url] and a new cooler so you can overclock the CPU:[url]http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4950641[/url]
I don't want to overclock the CPU unless I run into trouble running some games later on. I've heard overclocking can shorten the lifespan of your equipment and the CPU's already over a year old. Also that PSU looks nice, and I confess that the one I picked out is a cheap modular, but it's also an extra 20 dollars more.
the BIOS is probably locked anyway
I don't see a 6970 fitting, that thing's weirdly shaped inside.
There's a lot space inside the case where the PCI-E slots are, especially if I take out my current card and move the sound card. Also I'm not getting a 6970, I'm saving a hundred and just getting a 6870. Mainly what I'm looking for is a reason to throw my Xbox360 into a box and forget about it, unless I want to play some splitscreen of course.
Before buying I suggest you measure how much space you have just in case [editline]17th January 2011[/editline] at the most it should be 10.5''
Space with the case empty, or space with all of the components that are staying in it? It's a pretty big case, larger than most, DEFINITELY not one of those slim prebuilts. It's definitely close to that 10.5"
with all the components inside from the back of the case I'd say you want at least 10.5'' of room
Yeah I have about that much, probably enough to fit the Sapphire Radeon, despite it's bulkiness, and there's enough space for the fan to get plenty of circulation. There's plenty of detailed pictures, including the inside, in the last link in the OP.
My friend has an old HP with what seems to be the same case. We had a hard time getting his 9800GTX out of his (How the hel did it survive on his 300W power supply for 2 years by the way!?). Maybe they've changed, but I think you'll need to fix your cables up, it was simply a mess (though my friend may have helped with that).
Indeed, when I first opened the case up the cables were a mess, I've rearranged the wires a bit since then and it's much cleaner now.
Ah Nevermind, made a stupid mistake. Looks like the Mobo in the M8330f is only a PCI-E 1.0, while the Radeon HD6870 is a 2.1. But wouldn't a 5770 work fine? It's a PCI-E 2.0, which is SUPPOSEDLY backwards compatible with 1.0 with only a minor if any performance hit.
[QUOTE=Raok;27506600]Ah Nevermind, made a stupid mistake. Looks like the Mobo in the M8330f is only a PCI-E 1.0, while the Radeon HD6870 is a 2.1. But wouldn't a 5770 work fine? It's a PCI-E 2.0, which is SUPPOSEDLY backwards compatible with 1.0 with only a minor if any performance hit.[/QUOTE] It's compatibel, it'll run no problemo.
Awesome. Upside to that is that I can simply drive to Best Buy. The one in my area has an XFX 5770 that I've been eyeing for awhile. They also have 600w power supply that looks ok. Is ThermalTake a good manufacturer?
Depends on the specific model of the PSU also I wouldn't pay anything more than $140 for a 5770
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