Upgrading... need a little help

[Happyhannah]

Hello

Okay, I need to upgrade my PC, well... my graphics card, and to do so I need to get a new PSU and possibly a new case. Here's my current spec:

Make: Medion
CPU: Pentium 3.06 GHz
GPU: Nvidia Geforce 6200 (with TurboCache)
PSU: Fortron/Source 350W
1GB RAM
250GB Hard drive

... and a CPU fan and a PSU fan...

I want to upgrade my graphics card to the Nvidia Geforce 7600GT (BFG OC version, from this site) but to do so I'm sure that I'll need a new PSU. Now, I *could* just get a new PSU too, but then I'd still have the tremendous problem with cooling.

My current case has no room for a case fan without drilling the case, and at the moment my graphics card is overheating so much that I've had to take the side off my case and point a desk fan at it (seriously, while playing certain games my PC was rebooting itself from overheating graphics card! 150 degrees is NOT a good number), so I KNOW that it really wouldn't be happy with the new card, even if it has it's own fan.

SO, plan B... buy a new case. I like the look of the Antec Sonata II case (and with all the extra fans I think it would be great), but I really don't know if the PSU that comes with it is any good. The amp rating doesn't sound so great, but would it be enough for what I need? The components in the new case would be:

3.06 GHz CPU, Geforce 7600GT OC graphics card, 250 HDD, DVD Writer, DVD ROM, 2 sticks of 512MB RAM (possibly upgrading to 2 GB soon) DVB TV card, mouse, keyboard etc.

Is 450W enough? More to the point, is the Smart 2.0 one that comes with the case any good? Or should a get some random other case and a specific CPU. My max. budget is about £200, which just about covers graphics card + case with PSU, or graphics card + PSU, or graphics card + slightly cheaper + case.

Opinions on any of these ideas would be much appreciated, thanks

 

[semi-pro waster]

Welcome to the forums, I'd go with the Antec Sonata II and the graphics card. It is a good case and the PSU is also good, more than sufficient considering you don't have a particularly demanding system. The graphics card is about the best you will get for the budget unless you are willing to go secondhand and maybe you can find an X1800XT or 7800gt in the price range

 

[Happyhannah]

I don't really know about second hand graphics cards... I don't know of anywhere/anyone I'd trust enough to get it from.

Random question, what is the ATI equivalent of the 7600GT? I'm really only getting the NVidia one as I know NOTHING about ATIs at all.

 

[semi-pro waster]

Probably an X1800GTO although I don't actually know how well it performs in comparison with the 7600GT, I think the 7600GT can also be overclocked pretty well so I'd go with that in the absence of any more knowledge.