[Locutus of Borg]

All right,

could people just give me the names of the cards they think I should buy. ALl this ATI vs nVidia discussion makes it very confusing.

[Stealth]

here, you want good video cards? buy my 4890 XXXs.

Bought both of them within 2 months, and one of them isn't even out of the box yet...

I paid $220 plus shipping, but i'll give it to you for $200 shipped

buy them both, and you can have them for $375 shipped.

[Locutus of Borg]

Ok, I've settled for 4980s

The thing is, I will need to replace my power supply. Will buying a 500wat supply fry my computer which currently runs on a 300wat supply, or is energy supplied to the computer's parts based on demand.

I don't want to cook my computer

[BloodEagle]

Will buying a 500wat supply fry my computer which currently runs on a 300wat supply, [...]

No.

Just make sure you get a PSU with a lifetime warranty.  Antec (I recommend their Earthwatts models) and Ultra offer those at a decent price.

[Locutus of Borg]

and those should probably fit in my computer?

[Rodo]

thinking about a cheap satellite SL-8600EPS, will deliver 600W so you wont have problems at all.. I have it runing on my pc (4400+ ; GTX260) for like 3 months now, running smoothly.

[Liberator]

and those should probably fit in my computer?

They should...

But as I noted above, there's a distinct possibility that it won't as HP, Dell, ect like making things as proprietary as they can get away with so users are forced to purchase they're overpriced, underpowered "upgrades".

[Locutus of Borg]

I've very close to just taking it to the store with me. I don't want to order this part and the card, then not have it fit; especially considering the amount of effort required to take out the PSU

[MR_T3D]

I've very close to just taking it to the store with me. I don't want to order this part and the card, then not have it fit; especially considering the amount of effort required to take out the PSU

yeah, its almost to the point thaat you might aswell build a new machine...
but then there is the money issue, putting you in the similiar boat as i am...

[Locutus of Borg]

def. buying a custom computer next time around

[Liberator]

Make sure you get a quote/parts list and research the parts before you buy.

[Locutus of Borg]

So what should I do if I don't want to buy a super expensive 500w PSU from HP? I hope it isn't true that they've built the machines so other ones won't fit.

[BloodEagle]

You should check the size of and the cables connecting to your current PSU.  If they match ATX specs, then you're gold.

[Locutus of Borg]

grrrr, I feel so silly asking so many questions but...

I looked up my power supply and I seem to be getting different dimensions wherever I go, HP says that the dimensions are 6in x 5in x 3.25in (they don't say for specifically my PSU, but for most) then others say 5.9 x 5 x 3.4 etc. etc.

How can I buy a new PSU that doesn't exactly match the measurements of mine? I'm 99% sure it's an ATX supply, but all the dimensions I find for replacements vary. If you want to look it up, I'm using an HP Media Center m7760n. The power supply is a replacement, but I didn't replace it. I had to have someone replace it with a similar part because the first one broke. (So I'm assuming they're the same dimensionally)

[QuantumDelta]

...Uhm.
Measure it yourself?

[Locutus of Borg]

That would require taking it out, and I don't feel comfortable doing that  

Obviously, someone is gonna be helping me with this. While I know he feels comfortable replacing parts, he';s never swapped PSUs.

[BloodEagle]

Measure the socket, then. And give us a picture. 

[Locutus of Borg]

I got about 3.25 tall by 5.5 wide

[BloodEagle]

Nope, not ATX standard.

[CP5670]

Uh, if that is in inches, it is about the right size for ATX.

The best low priced power supplies are probably the FSP and Antec Earthwatts units for around $50, and the Corsair 450VX for $60.