UPGRADING AN HP PAVILION p6203w: SUGESTIONS NEEDED.

[Mister.Dovahkiin]

I'm going to be turning a p6203w into something that i can game with. I have something that i use now but its time to really have fun.

What i want to do:

1. Reuse the case ( its a Mid-size ATX )

2. Replace the MOBO and CPU. Any suggestions on MOBO and CPU? I will start with 8GB ram and grow from there. I have read that ATX MOBOs will fit but not eATX.

3. Upgrade the PSU ( since its only 250W ) to 600W, but what will fit

4. I WILL be using an EVGA GeForce GTX 970 FTW ACX 2.0 so will fit in this case?

Did i miss anything?


Another question is about the BIOS. I will be reusing the HDD. Its running WIN7. Down the road i will bump it to 1TB or more. My question is, will it recognize the new hardware or will there be a conflict with the BIOS and software. If there is, what do you suggest. I know i have to install the drivers too.

Its been ages since i have opened a case so i know things have changed a bit.

I dont want to spend a ton but i also know that its not going to be "CHEAP". Especially the GPU. LOL

Thanks in advance.

JJ

[Air]

At that point, just build a new PC. For one, HP doesn't make very good cases(cable management is a nightmare in those things and airflow is bad as well) and the hard drive isn't exactly top-of-the-line. You'll need to replace Windows regardess of which you choose, anyway.

Overall, you're already upgrading pretty much everything to the point where you're practically building a new computer, anyway. So you might as well just go all out and only spend a couple hundred more.

[_I_]

http://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-Pavilion-p6000-Desktop-PC-series/3999459/model/4006775/document/c01859861/

its not worth trying to reuse the case
a decent case is around $30
and will save trying to rewire the front panel connectors (power/reset buttons and hdd/power leds)

you can reuse the drives (hdd/odd/card reader)
but beyond that start over

[100% Recycled Awesome]

I agree with not bothering to save the case. Most OEM cases will hav very minimal upgrading capacities. Dell for one tends not to ship cases with extra 3.5 drive bays and instead installs the HDD vertically on the side. And cable management is piss poor to nonexistent. You can get decent cases for $25-35 that won't hinder you.

The only reason to save the case is if you're building a very low powered machine that won't get upgraded again. But you're here posting about a GTX 970....

EDIT:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883147195

Your computer's drive bay is a vertical mount.

[Mister.Dovahkiin]

So i guess i will be using that pc for some low*powered work.

Now, I was on NEWEGG and i saw this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1870374

My question is will this GPU work for GTA V or Dying Light?

[_I_]

ewww newegg super combo
most are mismatched or have poor selection of parts
that one the psu/case, raidmax case is ok, but their psu is pure garbage
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/03/18/raidmax_cobra_power_500w_supply_review/9
(* not that exact model, they send very few to get properly tested)

the rest looks decent enough, but for the price of the fx8000 and decent board you can get a low end i5 and b85+ board and be better off with most games

[Mister.Dovahkiin]

HOw do you feel about this case, it also comes with a PSU

Case [www.frys.com]


This is the PSU [www.newegg.com] thats in it.

Everything else i can just use the specs from the combo to get things together.

Thoughts?

One more thing, I know that WIN10 will be out this year, but for now, should i use 7,8 or 8.1?

[_I_]

for a case, look for bottom mount power supply, top fans, usb 3.0 ports

for a psu, look up reviews or get a trusted brand
avoid power supplies with a 110/220v switch (passive pfc) they are a very old design
good brands, corsair, seasonic, silverstone, xfx, evga

get the os you are most firmiliar with, 8 is slightly better for gaming, and can be modded to look like 7

[Mister.Dovahkiin]

So after doing some research, i think were going to get this one with these specs:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-4690K 3.5 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1150
HDD: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Drive)
MEMORY: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/2133MHz Dual Channel Memory (ADATA XPG V3)
MOTHERBOARD: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX w/ GbLAN, 2 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x1, 2 PCI, 6x SATA 6Gb/s
VIDEO: EVGA Superclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Maxwell) (Single Card)
POWERSUPPLY: 600 Watts - Standard 80 Plus Certified Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready

Those are just the major specs. If this works out, were getting 2 of them.

Now i'm off to play some FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS, my head hurts...........

[_I_]

should be fine
no point in ram over 1866 tho, faster than 1600+ cl9- 1.5v kit will make no difference for games