Need help with upgrading Acer M5640

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MartinMorrison

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Hi all,

My last PC was a 3.2GHZ with 1gig of RAM and a 7600GS AGP card. It runs games better than the new PC I recently bought:

Acer M5640
Quad Core Q6600 @2.40GHZ
2 gigs of RAM
Integrated graphics card GeForce 7100/610i
Vista Home Premium


The thing I'm worried about is the motherboard. It turns out that this is a Nvidia MCP73 motherboard, which has some integrated 7100/610i card that really isn't that great. I knew that when I bought the PC but I'm having doubts about me being able to upgrade the graphics card on this board. Firstly I cannot work out the wattage of the power supply, I've opened the case of the PC and it's not on the PSU. The closest I get is "At ambient 25C total output power shall not exceed 250W" which is written on the side of the PSU. I'm looking at getting a 8800GT but it looks like I'll be needing a new PSU? I'm not even sure if this motherboard has a PCI-E slot x16 like I was assured by the salesperson. Any way to double check this?

Please help me out, I've been googling for ages but I'm still unsure. All I want is a PC that can run directX10 games (such as LOTRO) with ease with pretty high graphics. I am sure the 8800GT can deliver this, but will it fit on the board? The RAM and processor looks okay to me.



Thanks
 
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MartinMorrison

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Okay, I'll go for a 500W one. But why do I need a new one even without the graphics card?

Yeah I think I have one of those, mine is brown and longer but thinner than the white ones below (which are PCI slots I think?).
 
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MartinMorrison

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Okay cool, I've been using a program called Everest to check the motherboard model, hopefully it is accurate.
 
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sn3rd

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Your current power supply, although capable of supplying enough for the components at nominal load, might not be able to carry the system under heavy load. This would be bad. For starters, it shortens the life of the power supply.

The white ones could be PCI-Express slots too (just fewer lanes; 1x, 2x, etc)

Edit:
If you plan on upgrading to 8800, you'll have to ANYway... might as well get a jump start on it :p
 
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MartinMorrison

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Okay that program tells me that my motherboard model is a MCP73, chipset Nvidia 7100 and southbridge nForce 610i.

I'd just like to be confident that if I get a new PSU the card would fit inside the motherboard. Is there any reason why it shouldn't run well/fit anyway?
 
Glordit

Glordit

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MartinMorrison said:
Okay that program tells me that my motherboard model is a MCP73, chipset Nvidia 7100 and southbridge nForce 610i.

I'd just like to be confident that if I get a new PSU the card would fit inside the motherboard. Is there any reason why it shouldn't run well/fit anyway?
Click to expand...

lol, think you mean will the GPU fit on the mobo and the PSU in the Case :p the PSU will fit and as long as the GPU is a PCIe card it will fit!
 
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MartinMorrison

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Well got my card today and looks like I've been ripped off. The card does not seem to fit inside the case, it's just too long. The cables going into the HD are preventing it from going further in. Plus the back plates things which I have to remove on this PC don't have any visible screws and I can't seem to find a way of removing them without bashing them apart. Any advice? :s
 
Glordit

Glordit

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MartinMorrison said:
Well got my card today and looks like I've been ripped off. The card does not seem to fit inside the case, it's just too long. The cables going into the HD are preventing it from going further in. Plus the back plates things which I have to remove on this PC don't have any visible screws and I can't seem to find a way of removing them without bashing them apart. Any advice? :s
Click to expand...

Try to move the HDD up a little or is it sitting as High as it can go?
With some cases you just got to push and bend the back plates out.
What card did you buy? and can you post of pic of the inside of the case?
 
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MartinMorrison

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The HDD is screwed in on the lowest slot if you mean I should unscrew it and put it further up which I have no idea how to do.

I bought a 8800GT. I will post a pic of the case, shall I just rip the backplates out? :p
 
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sn3rd

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As Glordit said, it really depends on the case. Usually the manufacturers try to make it fairly obvious, but sometimes they come up with silly designs. A pic of the inside of the case would definitely help us to help you decide what to do!
 
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MartinMorrison

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Any help please? Need a fast reply because I have to decide whether I am going to return this PC to incredible connection now as my '7 days' ends tomorrow!
 
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sn3rd

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That's definitely a PCI-Express slot.

Can you not move the hard drive up or down? It seems the card should fit. With regards to the panels, the screws / clips are on the inside of the box. There's probably a single piece that needs to be screwed / clipped off, then you have access to the card slots
 
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sn3rd

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Oh, and about moving the hard drive to a different slot, those green things either ARE the clips, or are covering screws. You need to investivate them and move / remove them in order to move the hard drive. Make sure you check both sides (i.e. also the side of the case that is closed). Then it's simply a matter of sliding the hard drive out, and sliding it into another slot, then fastening it in the same way that you un-fastened it
 
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