Hey everyone,
My friend just gave me his old video card since he just upgraded. Here is a link for the exact one:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/Sea...&CatId=2349
Right now I have on board video so I was looking to upgrade the GPU anyways and lucked out with this card. Anyways, I know the basics as far as disabling on board video, shut down, install new card, and reboot. I was wondering is there any advice or maybe something I'm missing before I attempt this. Here is a link for my system and thanks in advance for your help!!
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Acer-Aspire...roductDetail.do

There's really nothing else to mention as far as replacing the graphics card on your computer. Just make sure you don't static-zap it (you can do this by touching a metal object that has been earthed before touching the card).

Also, make sure you plug your monitor into the graphics card once you're read to start it.

After the graphics card has been plugged in, make sure that the fan starts when the card is running.

Nothing else I can think of. Good luck!

Thanks man, I just installed the card and everything is working great except the resolution. I used to have my resolution set to 1440x900 but since I just installed the card I can only go up to 1280x1024 before the screen starts to stretch. I'm not sure why an upgraded card would lower my screen res. Thanks again!

Have you installed the latest drivers for the card? You can find them here.

Thanks!! That worked perfectly, you all are awesome. The spec's on the card say it "recommends" a min of 300W psu and mine is the factory 250W. What could happen if I leave the psu as is?

Overheating would be the obvious problem, I assume.

You may run into instability issues.

Currently, your system (without the graphics card) doesn't use all 250W of power (it may come close, though). When the graphics card is added, it could be that you're still not using the maximum power output of your supply. Under circumstances where your power supply is under load (let's say you've loaded your USB ports, using a CD and the HD, as well as playing a graphics-intense game), your power supply may not be able to handle the load given to it, and may start to 'choke' out the graphics card, which will, as dc3 stated, cause the graphics card to have a lower performance, and then, in effect make the computer crash.

Alright, so I just opened my case to swap out the power supplies with an old 430W Thermaltake I have. Here's a link to the exact one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817153023
But it only has 2x S-ATA connectors which are really close to each other and the hard drive and DVD drive are at the top and bottom of the case so the connectors won't reach. Do you all have any suggestions on what PSU to get???/

For Consideration

I have a couple of different Ultra power supplies and I have no complaints.

Louis

Glad you got it working Your Welcome