Topic: Upgrading a Medion 8383XL.

[mistybear]

I have been looking at upgrading Michael's computer.
http://217.110.237.67/Manuals/Medion%208383XL%20mit%20MS-7091.pdf

I have already installed 2x1GB Kingston RAM, took out the 2x256MB and put them in mine.

I'm thinking of getting him a Inno3D 7950GT GFX-Card. http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/392/

And I think it will need a bigger PSU, was thinking of an Antec 550W.
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=23550

But then I saw this PSU for GFX-Cards, and wondered if this is all I need, does anyone know anything about these.
http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Power/PurePower/w0099/w0099.asp

We both need a better cooling system, I was thinking of Arctic Freezer Pro7.

I welcome any advice and or suggestions, especially if it saves me money.

[Simon]

I'm a bit out of touch with the latest stuff, but personally, I would have thought a 550W PSU would suffice, without the need for a separate power supply for the GFX card.  Others may disagree though, so don't just take my word for it.

[Sandra]

Either power supply option should work fine MB, what prices are they ?

Have you got a spare 5.25 bay in Michaels pc to take the GFX card psu ?

Dont forget that it doesnt matter how much air you move around inside the case if it cant get cooler fresh air in and the old hot air out.
Medion cases tend to be small and compact but if you can put extra case fans in that may have more benefit than changing the CPU fan.

[mistybear]

I'm not sure how these GFX-Card PSU work, but I thought that if all he needs is more power for graphics that this maybe a better (?) solution. It's $85.
I'm not sure about the spare bay, when you slide the front panel down, there is a spot below the front connections.
http://www.pcparts.net.au/thermaltake-purepower-power-express-250w-power-supply-psu-c-46-pr-541.html

550W Antec TruePower Trio Power Supply $165 -

But I thought maybe a bigger PSU with a good fan, might be a better option?
At least the GFX-Card has its own fan.
As you can tell I'm having trouble deciding as to what is best, I really don't know anything about what requirements are needed.

With it heating up here I suggested to Michael that if he puts his computer on the desk, (if he can find room) take out the case screws and just slid the side off if it starts to over heat. Then simply slid it back on when he has turned it off.

[Sandra]

The extra power supply is the cheaper and possibly the better option MB, providing that there is a slot for it to fit in.
Its the same size one as the CD and DVD use, not the smaller one that the floppy drive uses that you need to have spare.

Most recent pcs have at least a 300 watt PSU so with the additional one that would make yours the same total power available as the Antec would supply, but the 7950GT wouldnt need the full 250 watts available from the seperate one.

The new 8000s series can take up to 140 watt, according to a review I read last night.

So if the current PSU is already running everything on Michaels PC ok at the moment, including the current GFX card then the addition of the extra GFX card PSU is going to relieve the demand on the original PSU.

[mistybear]

I received the GFX-Card and PSU today. Installed the PSU without too much trouble, apart from way too many spare cables.

The GFX-Card was a different problem. As soon as I open the box I noticed that the cardboard that the card sits on had a small amount of damage, like it had been opened a few times. But when I took the card out, the backing plate, that houses the outputs, was bent and scratched. And on the top of the fan assembly it has a sticker saying "remove protective film before using", well what protective film! Plus there were scrape marks on that part of it as well. Not happy.
I emailed them saying that I believed it wasn't a new card and that I wanted it replaced, I received a phone call from them an hour or so later.
It's not the lying about them saying that they get these new from their supplier that annoys me, or the fact that a friend of mine has gone out of his way already to pick this up and bring it up to us, (I don't like the thought of something as expensive and breakable as this in the mail) now he has to take it back and get another one. It's the fact that they tried to get away with selling  an obviously used card and they won't suffer any consequences for their blatant deception.
Has anyone purchased a new card, as I'm curious as to how the packing should look, should the whole box be vacuum sealed as the PSU was, or the card itself, should it be sealed in plastic, as this one wasn't.
He tried to tell me that the little round sticker that holds down the opening flaps of the box means that it is sealed. I managed to open it and then repack everything and seal it back, and you probably couldn't tell it had been open.   

[Sandra]

Thats not good MB.

They always come in an anti static bag, not necessarily sealed but yours does appear to have been at least removed from the box and handled roughly even if its not actually been used in a pc.

[mistybear]

I don't understand how else it could have been bent so much, I'm assuming the metal plate is fairly strong and that it would take some force to bend it back that much.
When the replacement is picked up, he is going to ask for them to open it and show him the card. Which is embarrassing and shouldn't be necessary. Mind you I give them credit for phoning me so quickly after I emailed them.
Now that I have another week before I have to try to install it, I thought I should probably find out how to do that.
http://www.inno3d.com/products/graphic_card/gf7_pcie/7950gt.htm

I have the feeling that it's not as easy as taking one out and putting the other one in.
The power supply connection are different, the new PSU has two connections marked PCI, so I'm assuming I use one of those, yes?
The old card has connections from the card to some sort of board attached to the back of the case, sorry I don't know what it is.
But I didn't see the same on the new card.
I have been looking for a manual for the new card, can't find one. Or any sort manual or instructions on how to install different cards.   
 

[Sandra]

I have the feeling that it's not as easy as taking one out and putting the other one in.
The power supply connection are different, the new PSU has two connections marked PCI, so I'm assuming I use one of those, yes?
The old card has connections from the card to some sort of board attached to the back of the case, sorry I don't know what it is.
But I didn't see the same on the new card.
I have been looking for a manual for the new card, can't find one. Or any sort manual or instructions on how to install different cards.   
 

When you are ready to replace the card MB, then go into the Device manager and uninstall the original graphics card from in there by right clicking and selcting Unistall.

Then shut down the pc.

Disconnect the monitor cable from the card and then remove the original card by removing the screw on the bracket and unclipping the plastic retaining clip at the opposite end of the card and just pull it upwards out of the slot.

Fit the new card in, fasten the screw in place and clip the plastic clip over the lug and reconnect the monitor cable.

Plug one of the PCI-e power connectors to the card, the other one is for if you have dual SLI cards.

I can only think that the connection from the original card to the board at the back of the case is a scart connection for TV out but it may be a different type down under, anyway it wont be necessary for what Michaels been using the pc for

Switch the pc back on and it should detect your new card and install XPs own drivers or if it cant find them then it will ask you for the location, stick the cd in and tell it to install from there.

There may be extra utilities and software on the cd that comes with the card so even if XP installs the card without using the cd then run the cd and see if theres something that you want installing.

Let me know if you dont understand anything I have said.

[mistybear]

Thanks Sandra, that makes perfect sense.
It was suggested to me that with the parts that have been replaced, I could put them towards building a PC for   the friend who has been helping me gather all these bits a pieces. He has an old computer, not sure what it is, but it runs windows 95'. It's a thought, or Michael suggested that I run dual cards in mine. Not really needed.

 

[Sandra]

If it does what you need and youre hapy with how it does it then theres no point upgrading.

If you dont upgrade this year then you can upgrade next year for the same price as it would cost you now but youd get an even better pc.
The longer you go between upgrades/replacements then the better pc you get for the same price as the entry level, mid range and high spec pcs always cost around the same price, they just get faster and better every few months 

[mistybear]

Just an update on the replacement GFX-Card, it was picked up on monday, they took it out in front of my friend, it was bent so they just bent it back into place and reassured him that it was brand new. Yeah right.
Packaging was the same, no anti-static bag.
I posted this on an Australian forum and there are guys who work in retail PC components, and they assured me that these cards weren't new and I should demand a new one. I already did that, didn't work.
So I emailed them saying that they apparently haven't any brand new factory sealed cards so I requested a full refund.
Here's their response.

"Thank you for your feedback, this unit is brand new and with manufacturing seal.
However, if you are not happy with the unit, please send it back, we will refund your money.

Just to let you know, the supplier we sourced this unit was the sole distributor for this brand in Australia, therefore, the new unit which you are expecting "with NEW Condition" from other retailers will be exactly the same condition as you buy from us."

So it seems all Inno3D 7950GT 512MB cards sold in Australia are used or refurbished.
The other forum gave me the distributors link so I may contact them and ask about the condition of the cards they supply, actually I might forward all the emails I've had with these rip off merchants.
I have order another one from another company, and it was embarrassing to ask if they have brand new factory sealed cards. If they have similar cards I think I will contact the dept. of fair trading, probably should do it anyway. Shame I don't have a digital camera, I could have taken some shots of it.
 

[mistybear]

Finally got a graphics card (XFX 7950GT 512mb) and installed it this morning. There was a couple of minor embarrassments which I won't go into, I should never be expected to do anything more complicated than make tea first thing in the morning. It actually was a lot easier than putting the Arctic Freezer Pro 7 in, (5 minute job, be b***ered.)
So he now has 2Gb RAM, 550W PSU, Arctic Freezer Pro 7, XFX 7950GT, Logitech G15 KB, Logitech Mx 518 mouse. Plus 10 new games.
He's a happy kid.

But there is still an overheating problem, someone suggested a Thermaltake slot fan, which looks good for taking out the hot air, but what can I use for getting air into the case.

http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Cooler/TMG/A2414/A2414.asp#feature

Michael would like a bigger case, (I would like a bigger house)
There is one free slot below the GFX-Card, then there is the TV-Card which I will remove. (never gets used)
The old graphics card had an out put to a small board attached to the back of the case which has a scart, composite and S-Video outputs to it. Can I remove that? as the holes it will leave will be useful for ventilation.

[Sandra]

Should be able to remove it if its not connected to anything now MB.

Well done on fitting the new card, Micahael called me on MSN this morning to say how pleased he was with it. 

[mistybear]

Thanks Sandra, I'm pretty pleased myself.

How do you fit a case fan to the side panel of the case? And how do you access the front bays, the 8383XL has a slide down section and behind that is the card readers and imputs and below that is a solid plastic bay. Do I have to remove that whole plastic section from the inside the case? Shame there isn't a manual for the whole computer, would make life a lot easier.