# HELP! UPGRADE PSU on an HP pavilion m8300f



## Masta Meeks (Aug 4, 2010)

Hi guys, I am trying to upgrade my entire system gor general reasons but also so I can play Starcraft 2.
Here are my Specs:

OS: HP Pavilion m8300f w/ Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 2
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ 3.00 GHz
RAM: 3GB PC2/5300
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 6150se (integrated)
PSU: LITEON 300w Model #: PS-5301-08HA (HP model # for PSU: 5188-2625) ps Someone also said it may be a standard ATX or a Merlot C but am unsure, it does not say on the PSU itself.

I have just purchased a new Video Card:
1024 MB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 465 by EVGA Requires: 550 Watt PSU with a minimum of 38 amps on a +12 volt rail with TWO 6 pin PCI-E connectors

My problem is I don't know what type of PSU will first of all fit inside my tower as I don't know if my PSU is standard or not, and more importantly what is compatible with those specs. Are all PSU's the same? Any suggestions on a good PSU that will work with everything?

The PSU seems to be the only thing holding me back from the upgrade.


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

Based on the LiteOn model number, that is a standard ATX power supply. Any standard power supply will work. There is a sticky list of power supply info in the RAM and Power Supply forum

http://www.techsupportforum.com/f210/


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

That'll take a ATX sized Power Supply your best bet for the GTX465 is a 650TX> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=650tx
And no all power supplies are not created equal Corsair and Seasonic are among the best.


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## Masta Meeks (Aug 4, 2010)

Thanks guys so much, you are ballers. ray:

I have purchased the Corsair 650w that you reccomended and now just need to wait. Once I have it I was going to take it somewhere(Geek squad) to install the video card/RAM/PSU. Do you think it's necessary that I do? I'm pretty computer savvy but don't want to mess anything up, It's a bit crowded in my computer. 
Anyway thanks again.:grin:


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## Masta Meeks (Aug 4, 2010)

Oh one more question? One reason I don't want to do it myself is because, well for one thing the graphics card is huge and there is a TV tuner card right next to it that I never use. Can I take out the TV Tuner card without damaging anything so that the GTX 465 will fit nicely?

Thanks.:smile:


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

If you use the tuner card you can probably move it to another PCI slot, if not it's easily removed.

Here's HP's instructions on replacing the PSU> http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...8091/loc:4&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=3644702



The tuner card should have a screw holding the bracket on rear remove the screw and pull straight up.


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## Masta Meeks (Aug 4, 2010)

You're ma' boy wrench, yur ma' boy! 

I have been trying to find a simple answer to a simple question for so long now, and I come here and it's resolved in an hour. Thanks Dogg, and Thanks Wrench.:luxhello:


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Let us know how it goes


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## Masta Meeks (Aug 4, 2010)

Okay so after all the ordering and the waiting, I was able to upgrade the PSU to a Corsair 650 and put some RAM in there. The issue came with the GTX 465 vid card. It is freakin huge! seriously like a foot long and 2 inches thick. It fit in the case fine but i ran into trouble because at the end of the card, a few SATA cords that were connected to my hard drives and my dvd-rom were in the way sticking straight up and not allowing the card to be pushed down. I am severly disappointed, but have not given up yet. My question is, do you think there are different angled or super SUPER flat SATA cables out there that I can buy to accommodate this behemoth of a card? Or is there a card out there that will have comparable graphics to the GTX 465 that isn't so freakin' gynormous and thick? I cant seem to find physical dimensions on cards out there. Last question; This cideo card is held together my 6 pins, can I take the part that is majorly just plastic off without hurting my card so that it is half as thin? I know that it is mainly for directing airflow. What should I do? What is the best course to take?:sigh: YOUR HELP PLEASE! I'M SO CLOSE!


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

Masta Meeks said:


> Okay so after all the ordering and the waiting, I was able to upgrade the PSU to a Corsair 650 and put some RAM in there. The issue came with the GTX 465 vid card. It is freakin huge! seriously like a foot long and 2 inches thick. It fit in the case fine but i ran into trouble because at the end of the card, a few SATA cords that were connected to my hard drives and my dvd-rom were in the way sticking straight up and not allowing the card to be pushed down. I am severly disappointed, but have not given up yet. My question is, do you think there are different angled or super SUPER flat SATA cables out there that I can buy to accommodate this behemoth of a card? Or is there a card out there that will have comparable graphics to the GTX 465 that isn't so freakin' gynormous and thick? I cant seem to find physical dimensions on cards out there. Last question; This cideo card is held together my 6 pins, can I take the part that is majorly just plastic off without hurting my card so that it is half as thin? I know that it is mainly for directing airflow. What should I do? What is the best course to take?:sigh: YOUR HELP PLEASE! I'M SO CLOSE!


all of the cards made (basically) since the 8800 GTX all use the same PCB and cooler/general design. It's a centrifugal fan, so the ducting is required to work properly. Can you not move the drives up or down in their cages to rectify the fitting issue? Elsewise, may have to get a new case.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

90 degree ends on the sata cables will solve that issue.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...6028&cm_re=sata_cables-_-12-226-028-_-Product


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## Masta Meeks (Aug 4, 2010)

No, unfortunately it is not the location of the drives, but rather the SATA sites on the motherboard that are the problem. The SATA extend outwards right where where the card would sit. 
SO, I did purchase two right angle SATA cables and found that I may need some Side angle SATA's as well, so found a couple of those and have ordered them. Once again wrench you're ma boy! 

Now all I need to do is wait. If these cables don't work however I really don't know if this is going to work. Let's hope for my sake it does. I'll let you know, thanks guys.:grin:


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

"I did purchase two right angle SATA cables and found that I may need some *Side angle SATA's* as well.

Not sure what you mean by Side Angle Sata's


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## Masta Meeks (Aug 4, 2010)

I found a place that sells side angle SATA cables. the three SATA docks on my motherboard are very very close in proximity to one another so two 90 degree sata's wouldn't work. For instance if the 90 degree sata's cord pointed south when plugged in, the side angle sata would go west or east.

Here is what they are:
http://www.cpustuff.com/sata-side-angle-latching-to-left-angle-latching-10-inches.html


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

With angled cables you use the angled plug on the motherboard and the other end is a straight plug that goes into the drive.


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## Masta Meeks (Aug 4, 2010)

Okay, so I wanted to tell you that everything has worked out! The cables you suggested did the trick, however needed to be modified a bit. :tongue: The back portion of the cable, the plastic housing was still too thick and didn't allow the GPU to sit plushly. I knew it was only millimeters that was stopping me from ultimate domination, so I took the cable and literally shaved it down on the back side until the gpu fit. It worked! My GTX 465 now sits plushly in the system, and I can play SC2 on Ultra across the board without any problems. However, I did have to sacrifice my 'D' drive because I couldnt get the cable in there to fit because the sata ports are too close together. So far I haven't needed the D drive for anything and no system files seem to be missing. In fact I did a performance check on my machine and my performance has DOUBLED in every category. Anyway Everything is now great and I did it all by myself thanks to you guys, escpecially you Wrench, you ma' boy Wrench! So Kudos to you sir!:grin: 

One last question and then I think this can be case closed: The corsair I bought emits a lot of heat, there are no problems and I'm sure the fan is on, but is it normal to feel heat emanating from the system? The card is contributing I'm sure. Nothing to worry about?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Make sure the fan is spinning in the power supply, they do get warm but not overly hot.

Good to hear you got the cables connected, sometimes mods are needed. 
There are 4 Sata connectors on the board how many drives do you have?
If worse comes to worse you also have a IDE port you could use a IDE DVD drive.


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## Masta Meeks (Aug 4, 2010)

I can feel heat from about a foot away. The fan is on, but is there a way to make it spin faster? I'm not really worried, it's just that I can feel heat coming from the power supply from a foot away. Thanks.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

No the fan is temp controlled from inside the PSU, is this when it's idling or under load while playing a game?


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## Masta Meeks (Aug 4, 2010)

It is definitely hotter during the game, but I can always kind of feel heat or warmth coming from it. The video card also has a directional heat release design too, so I'm thinking it may have something to do with it.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

It's probably from the card, video cards tend to run warm.


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