Buying a Video card and power supply help

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cletus22

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I have a new gateway, currently it has 2 gigs of ram, 4600 AMD athlon duo processor, a 300 watt power supply, and a geforce 6200 OC...the video card is terrible, going to return it. Looking to upgrade both the power supply and the video card, i have a pci and a pci-express slot, and im looking to spend around 200$combined. I want to be able to play games like oblivion, half life 2, world of warcraft...mainly oblivion. What would be the wisest spending of my money?
 
if possible, i would return the machine or sell it. the best choice for a new computer is a standard PC, not a mass-produced name-brand OEM rig. OEM vendors such as gateway, dell, sony, and HP use specialized parts that are all too often incoherent with industry standards. consequently, attempting to interchange your stock parts (namely the power supply) with normal parts may result in failure.

if your gateway happens to be compatible with a standard power supply, i recommend the antec smartpower 2.0 SP-500. it is a 500W ATX supply with modular cabling and thermally controlled fans. it's a reliable, quiet, and powerful supply that costs $70 (USD) and is available at most local shops and online retailers.

as for video cards, i recommend that you get an nvidia-based card, 7600GT or higher. BFG, asus, gigabyte, msi, and XFX are all good brands that have competitively priced models. i reccomend the asus 7600GT model, it costs $140 (USD) and is a solid choice.

getting a decent card and power supply as mentioned will cost you about $200 (USD), or a bit more depending on your choices.

remember, because you have a new gateway, that even opening the case may void the warranty, and changing parts definitely voids the warranty.
 
Well ive allready voided the warranty. Is there any way of knowing wether or not the power supply is upgradable?
 
all gateway Powersupplies are upgradable. I would NOT recomend any Antec Smartpower 2.0 Most Antec PSUs are verry good but the smartpower 2.0 series has a poor record.
I recomend one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817371006

For that budget a Geforce 7600 or Radeon X1600/X1650 video card would be your best option. get at least a 256mb card.

This lists some good cards for you (it does extend beyond your budget but there are also plenty of cards within your budget in it as well)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=Property&Subcategory=48&Description=&Type=&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&PropertyCodeValue=696%3A9641&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A20129&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A20130&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A23289&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A24922&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A24921&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A18889&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A18888&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A27796&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A23258&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A25606&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A20639&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A19676&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A21616&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A19674&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A23298&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A27762&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A24896&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A25339&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A23257&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A20619&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A20131&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A19571&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A17485&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A16838&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A23220&PropertyCodeValue=683%3A9611&PropertyCodeValue=683%3A24927&PropertyCodeValue=683%3A27613&PropertyCodeValue=683%3A20729&PropertyCodeValue=683%3A10557&PropertyCodeValue=683%3A14597
 
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