1st time upgrading

Hey everyone. I'm not a novice to general PC technomancy but I'm nothing special. I watched/ helped my roomate build his computer this year so I know generally where things go but don't really know what anything is. This past spring my laptop (a piece of crap) died and so I got a refurbed woot HP desktop for $400.

Important Information:

2.80 GHz AMD Athlon II X4 630 Processor

4 GBPC3-10600 Ram

750 GB Hard Drive

IntegratedATIRadeonHD 4200Graphics (only 256 MB dedicated)

Not completely sure but I'm pretty sure the stock motherboard is an H-RS800-uATX (Aloe)

250 W PSU

The computer itself is from 2009 and it's got a fair bit of room for expansion. I'm playing less console games and more PC games so I was goign to up the GPU and PSU. I know there's an onboard carb but it's got (what I believe to be a PCI Epxress x 16 slot and a few other sites/ forums mentioned people upgrading this model.

So I wanted to ask for recomendations, limitations / compatabiltiy issues, and general advice for upgrading. Or should I just forget it and build my own PC when I get a job after college when I have money?

One site said that I shouldn't get a GPU bigger than 9 inches for this desktop and I was thinking about getting a Raedon HD4850. I don't need this to excell at games, just to keep up with my roomate's and not lag when online with a few other games (L4D2 and Magicka).

And I know your power supply should be reliable so can someone reccomend me a solid one.

Lastly I am a bit of an audiophile, have a pair of moderatley nice headphones and tinker in a little music composition/ synthesis myself. I however have not the slightest clue about what audiocard to buy, at what point I need one, or where one goes (seeing as most people don't need them) and was wonderign if anything out there could point me in the right direction.

I'd like to keep this around $150-$200 for a GPU and PSU but will spend more for a sound card. Also considering buying a cheap case more asthetically pleasing and with more fans so that's on the table too.

Thanks in advance to anyone who posts.

Hey everyone. I'm not a novice to general PC technomancy but I'm nothing special. I watched/ helped my roomate build his computer this year so I know generally where things go but don't really know what anything is. This past spring my laptop (a piece of crap) died and so I got a refurbed woot HP desktop for $400.

Important Information:

2.80 GHz AMD Athlon II X4 630 Processor

4 GBPC3-10600 Ram

750 GB Hard Drive

IntegratedATIRadeonHD 4200Graphics (only 256 MB dedicated)

Not completely sure but I'm pretty sure the stock motherboard is an H-RS800-uATX (Aloe)

250 W PSU

The computer itself is from 2009 and it's got a fair bit of room for expansion. I'm playing less console games and more PC games so I was goign to up the GPU and PSU. I know there's an onboard carb but it's got (what I believe to be a PCI Epxress x 16 slot and a few other sites/ forums mentioned people upgrading this model.

So I wanted to ask for recomendations, limitations / compatabiltiy issues, and general advice for upgrading. Or should I just forget it and build my own PC when I get a job after college when I have money?

One site said that I shouldn't get a GPU bigger than 9 inches for this desktop and I was thinking about getting a Raedon HD4850. I don't need this to excell at games, just to keep up with my roomate's and not lag when online with a few other games (L4D2 and Magicka).

And I know your power supply should be reliable so can someone reccomend me a solid one.

Lastly I am a bit of an audiophile, have a pair of moderatley nice headphones and tinker in a little music composition/ synthesis myself. I however have not the slightest clue about what audiocard to buy, at what point I need one, or where one goes (seeing as most people don't need them) and was wonderign if anything out there could point me in the right direction.

I'd like to keep this around $150-$200 for a GPU and PSU but will spend more for a sound card. Also considering buying a cheap case more asthetically pleasing and with more fans so that's on the table too.

Thanks in advance to anyone who posts.

blkmagickid