Upgrading RAM and Graphics Card
You can use generic ram of the same speed and type. However unless you play hardcore 3d games or work with very large files in Photoshop (over 100mbs) you will not see much real world difference in performance over 512mbs.
For PII CPU, it's definitely out of warranty. The PC had one PII CPU wits own fan (I think it's not likely to replace with a third party fan, right ?). No other fan used (graphic...
Before you plunk down your hard earned pounds-euros for a top of the line 3d gaming card you should understand that except for 3d games hi-end cards like the NVidia 7800 perfrom no better for ordinary uses, including Photoshop, than the lowliest card in the manufacturer's line-up. Unless you play Doom4 for hours on end and want to see every scab on every monster I would scale back on whatever video card you plan to buy.
goolu1 I thought you were sure that the noise is coming from the CPU fan. After reading this, I have a feeling that you are actually not very...
The other thing you need to understand is the reality of HP manufacturing. If your new whiz-bang video card requires additional power you may be out of luck. HP computers have lo-ball power supplies which could not handle that card. In fact, the power supplies in HP-Compaq computers can barely handle the components that ship with the computer. Also the power supply in the computer may not even have an availabe power cable for the video card. You can always get a splitter but, again, the power supply in the computer will not be able to handle a monster card like the 7800 at full tilt.
You also may not simply be able to swap out power supplies as HP may use proprietary connectors for the power supply and motherboard and-or non-standard pin-outs. The latter was standard practice the last time I had to take care of Compaq computers and is the way Dell does things also.
The computer is indeed upgradeable, but you should be clear about what it can handle before you buy.
Alt Computers from Newsgroups