Gateway e4100 micro atx cheap overhaul / upgrade

Hi first of all I want to say MG is my place for info and I've learned a lot from this forum and the website. And I know this is the best place for advice and guidance and feel like I have a good reason to post my new project.

All items discussed will be listed below in links.

Ok so I bought a Gateway E4100 SFF (micro tower) on ebay for $80 to hook up to my 40" 1080p Sony tv just for internet. This computer is fully upgradable for my needs so I would like to upgrade it for as cheap as possible while maintaining quality. I'm pretty good with PCs but am a little bit out of the loop and will need some help making sure the components I use are compatible with this old desktop.

I'd like put a low profile AGP HDCP video card in it and 2gb of memory and if I have to change the case I'd like to add an extra hard drive.

So first of all I'd like to know if I install the new video card and memory if A. the case will be too stuffy and overheated or B. if the default PSU will be too weak to run the upgrades.

Also I'd appreciate if you guys could let me know the right low price 100gb+ hard drive to purchase for the e4100 mobo.

Thanks for your help. Below are all the products discussed above.

Link: The e4100 I bought on ebay.

Specs for e4100 SFF

Link: The video card I will install

Link: The case I'll buy if needed.

 

Hi Epiphony,
Here are some things to consider before you upgrade.

1. You should buy Acronis True Image Backup and install it on the old HD before you put in the new HD you plan to purchase because you probably didn't get any OS disks or other software and driver disks with this computer of yours.
2. You should get a DVD burner at Newegg. A decent Liteon IDE burner is about $22 with the s/h. You'll need this to make an image of the old HD using the least amount of disks. Be sure to create a bootable CD with Acronis before you change out the HD's. Make sure to do a"Disk Integrity Check" after Acronis has created the backup disks. Last disk goes in first, just like a WinZip spanned disk set.
3. You'll need a DVI to HDMI cable to connect your new video card to your SONY TV. About $7 plus S/H for a 6ft. cable, more if you want a longer cable.
4. Have Crucial or Newegg do a "RAM configurator" to determine what kind of RAM your computer needs.
5. You'll need to know how much power your current power supply puts out and buy one that has a bit more wattage than the Gateway PSU presently in the case because the video card you're thinking of getting has a Molex power connector on it. Just make sure it will fit in the case and has the same pin-out configuration. Some Gateways, like Dells had a proprietary MB/PSU pin setup.

That's all for now.

 

Thanks Puppy. Actually I was going to just keep the first hard drive for now and add a second one.

Ok so if I need to upgrade the PSU then I'll definitely have to transplant this mobo to another case.

Can anyone tell me if the PSU in the new case I listed will be compatible with the E4100 guts?

I might just do what you suggested Puppy. I might just do ONE new Hard drive.

And yes I was aware of the DVItoHDMI thanks. Right now my sony has a VGA but I am sure I'll prefer HDMI:drool

P.S. the 4100 uses pc2700 333mhz memory max 4gb