Can anyone help with installing a new vid card on an HP model?...

Yeah, so I just got a new HP m7470n. It's pretty neat...300GB hard drive, 2.0GB memory, AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core processor. The graphics aren't so hot though...ATI Radeon Xpress 200. The model info says it's Integrated, the salesperson I talked with said installing a new video/graphics card is real simple. The thing is, I'm a nub with installing things (also in the process of raising money for better video/graphics) and I don't really feel the need to pay someone to do it for me.

If anyone is farmiliar with this HP model, I'd love some tips

I've just checked and it seems that you have a PCI-e equipped motherboard in that HP. That's good news!

It all depends on how much you have to spend really. Since you're in the US, this may be a good place to start checking out the differences between the various PCI-e cards and the price differential.

Newegg.com PCI-e graphics cards

PCI Express cards have really dropped in the last 6 months. But how good of a card all depends on how much you want to spend.

Even low end X300 cards are better then anything we had less then 2 years ago. And that is basically what you have now, but an on-board version. Above that, you have everything from the X500 ($85) to the newest, the X1950 ($450).

One thing I would recommend, is find a geek buddy that can do a case swap. The 300 watt power supply in them is nowhere near enough for the CPU and accessories. And the cooling is a joke. I have seen a lot of them die in less then a year, victims of poor power supplies and heat. Spending $75-100 for a good quality case and power supply is well worth it. Myself, I would use nothing less then a 400 watt supply, and 3+ case cooling fans.

And if you plan on putting in anything higher then an X500, a minimum of a new power supply is a must! Otherwise you will have constant problems with not enough voltage to run everything.

yep a good quality at least 500 watt PSU (ex. OCZ, Enermax, PC power & cooling to list a few) is a must i think and hey the PSU is the most important part in the whole system if the PSU fries it has the possablity of talking out all of the other components connected to it

Awesome, thanks for the tips

You are very welcome.

HP itself is not a bad company. They simply do not build their consumer grade computers to last anymore. And that is the same with Dell, Compaq, Gateway, and all the other mass-sellers. They build boxes that are "just good enough", that tend to last between 1-2 years. Then normally the Power Supply fails or it overheats, which requires $300+ to fix.

I have had to gut over 60 of those types of units this year alone. And all of them were less then 2 years old. Some died after only 6 months. When you tell a lot of people that their $400 computer requires $300 in work (Case, Motherboard, OEM copy of XP, Fans, Power Supply) , they simply decide to throw it away, and buy another $400 box.

And you can't blame the components used, other then the case and power supply. HP uses a good quality Asus motherboard, and their better quality systems have SATA drives, LightScribe burners, DDR2, and PCI Express.

Normally what happens is that the 5 volt rail in the power supply is overworked and fails. This results in 12 volts going down the 5 volt rail. The Capacitors try to absorb the excess, and eventually swell and burst, destroying the motherboard. And because the motherboard it is replaced with is not "Genuine HP", you have to replace the copy of XP as well. They buy the licenses in bulk, at around $25 a pop. As a retailer, I can only buy OEM versions, and sell them at $95 a pop.

The good news is that with a good case and power supply, it should last you for 5 years at least. If you replace only the powers supply, it should still be good for 2-3 years, until overheating kills it.