Vista - Pavilion Slimeline.....any possible upgrade?

Okay no matter what....

is there a way i could upgrade my graphics card on my Hp pavilion slimline s3300f pc?

or maybe somehow get another one on their for support for two screens?

upgradeable?

Hi Adeang,

According to the product specifications, there is a PCI Express x16 slot available, so it should be possible to insert a 3rd party graphics card. Here is the main support page for your PC. I found the information by clicking on 'Product Information' and then 'Product Specifications' and scrolling down the list to the section headed 'Expansion Slots'.

HP Pavilion Slimline s3300f Desktop PC*

not sure what that means can you explain? as in how? and/or are you talking about the hp pocket media bay drive? and/or are you saying i can add another graphics card?

according to those specs your running integrated graphics currently....

there should be an un populated PCI-e slot on the motherboard
so it would just be a case of .....
disabling on board graphics in the BIOS
then opening your case & popping in the 3rd party card....

your generic PSU wont be able to handle much though....
its doubtful it even has a dedicated 6pin .....so this will limit your card selection

okay when i went to best buy not to long ago they told me HP Pavilion Slimlines are not able to have graphics upgraded. but you guys are telling me I can??? and then if so, you say their are restrictions on the card i can get, then what card can i get?

thanks for help,
adeang

Hi Adeang,

Best Buy aren't renowned for their knowledge of computers, so take what they say with a pinch of salt. Here is a link for the 'Upgrading and Servicing Guide' for the Pavilion Slimline series of PCs. This is a PDF file, and you will require Adobe Reader to view it. You will find the necessary instructions in the sections headed 'Removing a PCI-E Card' and 'Replacing a PCI-E Card'. Note that it mentions using a low-profile card. To give you an idea of what to look for, here is a link to Amazon (note that this is the UK version of the site).

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00877796.pdf

Adobe - Adobe Reader Download - All versions

Amazon.co.uk: low profile pci-e graphics cards

i have geforce 6150se nforce 430

are any of those better than this?

thanks for the large amount of info, i have tipped ur scales!

Hi Adeang,

They should all give you better performance, if for no other reason than that they have dedicated RAM on the card (in-built graphics have to use a portion of the system RAM for their own use). Since your current graphics solution is NVidia based, I recommend that you stick with that manufacturer. Any of the NVidia based cards would be suitable. The link I gave in my previous post gives some idea of the types of card you could get - I recommend that you actually get the card from your local PC shop and use the links for guidance only. Check first that your PSU can support the extra load that will be put on your system with a new graphics card.