[QUOTE=barkwoot, post:7, topic:434153]
The first 2 things that I’d look at upgrading on any of these would be adding a discrete graphics card and a SSD.
It looks like the graphics card shouldn’t be too big of a deal as long as it isn’t power hungry. I don’t know what dimensions of card these boxes would accept though.
The SSD might be tricky as there are only 2 drive slots listed and both are already occupied. You would need to either ditch an existing drive or find a creative way of securing it inside the case.
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I own one of these boxes from a previous sale and I can provide some input on the stuff you’re not sure about. I’ve upgraded the power supply and added both a graphics card and an SSD.
-You may not want to upgrade the power supply, but you might need to if you get a better GPU. A lot of newer graphics cards require more PCI Express connectors than the stock PSU in this thing actually has. I don’t remember if the stock PSU even has an unused 12v rail, or what pin configuration it is.
You don’t have to go crazy, anywhere from 500-600w should be fine. If this case is the same as mine, you should be able to fit a normal ATX sized PSU, but absolutely look at the dimensions. The dimensions of the PSU I bought are 3.39" x 5.91" x 6.30" (H x W x D) and that’s about as big as you can fit. When in doubt, measure the old PSU.
-I would suggest against getting any GPU that is overly long or has a huge custom cooler. XFX and EVGA are usually the ones that do this. The board I have in mine is an AMD board but is very similar in configuration to this one. This is the board in these: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03885123
It looks like there’s a poorly placed heatsink right by the PCI-Ex16 slot that may or may not impact your fit, depending on how high it sits. For what it’s worth, these are the dimensions of the card I have (Radeon HD 7850), and the case can’t fit much bigger: 7.76" x 4.37" x 1.5"
-Since an SSD has no moving parts, you can pretty much mount it wherever and however. You don’t want it banging around in there, but it doesn’t exactly need its own cradle either. Mine is mounted with a single (M3 size I believe) screw through a hole in the existing frame for the HDD and optical media drive (specifically the bottom front area inside the case where there’s pretty much nothing else around it). You may need to find your own screw, as my SSD didn’t come with any.
Good luck!