# Packard Bell iMedia S2870 Upgrade Question.



## Rob86993

First off sorry if this is in the Wrong place it is my first time Posting.

I have had my Computer for about a year now, when i go it it was mainly for writing out my Uni assignments and watching Netflix and suck. now that i'm out of uni i find myself playing more games in my free time to the point where i would like to upgrade my PC's graphics card.

Specs:
Computer Model - Packard Bell iMedia S2870
Processor - Intel i5 3350p 3.1 GHz
Graph Card - Nvidia GT620
RAM - 8 gb
Operating system -Windows 8

But i know next to nothing about computer so thought it best to ask before i did anything.

I saw a post on here from a while ago talking about upgrading the graphics card on the same PC i have and from what i remember it ended with the guy rethinking and buying a different PC altogether, because the case for the iMidia was to small to fit the required parts for upgrading it, that unfortunately isn't an option for me right now.

So onto the actual question. Can i take the parts out of my current PC (above) and place them into a Bare-bones PC like this one (link), without much trouble? or are they sized to the mini case of the iMedia?

OCHW Barebones Home Office Gaming Computer Pc AMD FM2+ Socket ATI HD Van Red | eBay


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## Masterchiefxx17

Hi and Welcome to TSF!

There are no pictures on a quick Google Search of the inside of your case, but one picture does appear to show no room for a new GPU.

How much are you looking to spend on the upgrades?

If you want a new case, then you first need to make sure your motherboard supports the standard ATX form factor. Some OEMs use custom boards.

You will also most likely need a new power supply along with the GPU upgrade.


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## DBCooper

Hi there,

Is your computer a mid-tower or a slim desktop? If you want, you can open up your case and take a pic of your motherboard and post the pic here. 

Hope your computer upgrade goes well and feel free to ask more questions, thank you.


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## Rob86993

So here are the pictures you asked for, i hope they help:

















My main question isn't so much about upgrading the computer i have but if it is possible to move the processor hard drive and ram from my current pc to one like this (link) that comes with a bigger case as well as everything other than what i mentioned above already included, and then just buy a new Graphics card for it? 

OCHW Barebones Home Office Gaming Computer Pc AMD FM2+ Socket ATI HD Van Red | eBay 

Sorry if this isn't very clear, i hope the pictures help

Rob,


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## Masterchiefxx17

No, you cannot do that. That ad uses an AMD socket so you won't be able to use an Intel CPU. Also what is the configuration of your memory?

I'd honestly recommend just saving up more money then building a whole new machine in the spring.


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## Rob86993

my memory is two 500GB hard drives located to the left of the fan behind then disk drive, i'm not sure what type they are, hopefully that is what you meant.

and OK i see what you mean so would this be closer to the sort of thing i would need, again assuming that it is even possible. 

Gigabyte Intel Carbon Barebone System 450w PSU+KB/Mouse+B85M-D2V MB - Aria PC


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## Masterchiefxx17

Memory or Random Access Memory (RAM) is different from a hard drive. I am speaking about the memory sticks in your system, the 8GB you listed.

That system won't work either as you have a third generation CPU.


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## Rob86993

Hogg ok, in that case I beleive that it is one 8GB stick, but I could be wrong, I remeber being told that I could upgrade to 16GB I assume that means adding another 8GB stick.

And I beginnig to agree that it's probably better for me to just save up and buy a better computer down the line.


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## Masterchiefxx17

The best bet is to save up and build your own system using this guide:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f255/tsf-hardware-teams-recommended-builds-2015-a-668661.html


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## khaldac

Hi there.

This is just a thought, and Masterchief is *far* more knowledgeable in this area than I so take this with a grain of salt, but if you are as inexperienced with hardware as it sounds from your responses (we were all there once) building your own system might be a bit intimidating. You don't mention what type of games you play so it's a little difficult to estimate the degree of computing power you might need, but if the games aren't too graphics intensive, it might be an idea to look at buying a complete gaming system. There are parts to these that you'll need to look at - particularly the power supply - but you can find some good ones. Checking some online retailers, such as NewEgg.com, might give you some ideas. At the least, before you seriously consider building your own, look at some videos on youtube to get an idea what you may be up against. You can do it but it might be more involved than you want to attempt.

Best of luck with the new system whichever way you decide to go!

Michael


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## Masterchiefxx17

khaldac said:


> Hi there.
> 
> This is just a thought, and Masterchief is *far* more knowledgeable in this area than I so take this with a grain of salt, but if you are as inexperienced with hardware as it sounds from your responses (we were all there once) building your own system might be a bit intimidating. You don't mention what type of games you play so it's a little difficult to estimate the degree of computing power you might need, but if the games aren't too graphics intensive, it might be an idea to look at buying a complete gaming system. There are parts to these that you'll need to look at - particularly the power supply - but you can find some good ones. Checking some online retailers, such as NewEgg.com, might give you some ideas. At the least, before you seriously consider building your own, look at some videos on youtube to get an idea what you may be up against. You can do it but it might be more involved than you want to attempt.
> 
> Best of luck with the new system whichever way you decide to go!
> 
> Michael


You have a good point Michael, but I will say that computer building is very easy to do. Especially with written guide and many YouTube videos to help you along the way.

Although, computer building isn't for anybody and the only OEM system I would recommend is a desktop from Asus as they will use all of their quality parts and most come with a Seasonic PSU.


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