Does anyone know if there is a site that can list the compatible hardware, such as power supply and video cards, that can go into my computer. I contacted HP and they would sell me the hardware, but not tell me what brand or model. (I didn't want to buy without checking other prices). I did google, but that just gave various products and stores, but could not tell if they were for my specific model.

I doubt there exists such site. The main reason is that HP consider all product info to be "trade secret" and "proprietary." As such they will be very stupid to share it with their competitors.

i_XpUser

Thanks for the reply XpUser, I thought that might be one of the reasons that I could not find anything on the net.

Perhaps you could enlighten us with the model number and we could show you how to find the information?

My it's nice to see you posting again
GX1_Man.

My neighbor gave me the very same computer that I am writing this from a little more than a year ago. And it is an H-P.

Via school, figured that it was power supply problem.

I went to standard electronic swap meet that is held once a month. Vendors there either get new stuff right off the boat, or they tear into an old computer and then try and sell it. Took my old power supply to the place.

Found generic one at $7 new, 1000 watts, had extra cords, and same mounting system. Bought it right away. Then on other side of swap meet found used one which had H-P part numbers similar to mine, but wattage was a bit more at 850. Bought it for $5

I installed the new one, turned on computer which called up new CMOS, then continued and continued going. The neighbor was upset, for he had been quoted something like $200 at downtown computer store to get going once again.

I still have the $5 used power supply just in case the new one goes bad. I think Generic powere supply will work, if you can find appropriate mounting one.

As for modem, the one inside is obsolete US Robotics obtained five years ago for $5, and it seems to work OK. I dunno about video though.

Wm.

As GXI Man said:
"Perhaps you could enlighten us with the model number and we could show you how to find the information?"

HP does not make most of the components in their computers - they are supplied to them OEM by other manufacturers - e.g. hard drives, CD drives (though they may have HP trim), mboards, floppy drives (though they may have HP specified fronts to conform to some cases), power supplies, ram, etc.
If your HP model is not all that old, say less ten years old, there's a very good chance all or most of it's components can be interchanged with standard components, especially if it's a desktop, except in the case of some server mboards and power supplies.
As far as the power supplies go, most of them are in a standard sized PS/2 form factor box, just like most other computers. The wires going from the PS to the main connector for the mboard on any computer are standard colors for specific purposes - if the wire colors and the numbers of wires in each position are the same (some positions have 2 wires) and in the same positions as those for a standard PS main connector, you can use a standard ATX PS.

"As for modem, the one inside is obsolete US Robotics obtained five years ago for $5"

If it's 56Kbps it doesn't matter - there hasn't been any improvement in speed - and if it's a hardware based modem it is better than newer software based one (win modem, amr or mr modem, etc.) A hardware based modem can easily cost you $100 these days.

Thanks for the info Tubesandwires - I have an HP Pavilion 554Y D7218E, which is 3 years old. It runs fine and has always run fine. My problem is that the newer games will not run on this machine with intergrated intel graphics. I have updated all drivers and direct X. I went to purchase a video card and was told that to be perfecly safe and not to be wasting my money, that I should check to see if the power supply is at least 300 watts. Well, it is only 200 watts and I want to get one that is at least the 300 watts.
Thanks for your help!

With that model number I can tell you...

HP Pavilion 554Y (D7218E)
is basically the same as what you get in an el-cheapo EMachines minitower computer, in a HP box.
The mboard is made by Trigem, a Korean company, and it's mboards are found in EMachines and other el-cheapo models of other brands. The mboard is probably a standard size (form factor). It was cheap because most other mboard makers had stopped using that Intel chipset as much as two years before you bought it, and it doesn't even have an AGP slot.
Power supply is HP part no.0950-4107
which is actually a Bestec ATX-1956F.
We have had many reports of Bestec power supplies failing in EMachines computers, and when they do they often fry other components.
The HP partsurfer also says:
Type OEM microATX(12V) Warranty 1 year
Dimensions 100L x 150W x 86H mm Dimensions US 3.9" x 5.9" x 3.4"

This place has a direct replacement of the same capacity
http://www.power-on.com/miathppa1.html
Micro ATX-V200HP
PS3 Form Factor

If you hold your cursor over the connector pictures it shows you the wire colors and what they're for - the main connector is wired the same as a standard 20 position ATX or mATX PS.
"Includes proprietary 4 pin video power connector used by some HP systems. If not needed, leave unattached."
oddball HP video connector Blue Black Black Yellow
According to this picture of HP part no.0950-4107 you probably don't have that:
http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/sp...

So that shows you how the PS is wired to the connectors. If you don't have the oddball HP video connector, everything else is standard ATX or mATX wiring, but then there's the size of the box.
PS3 Form Factor
It is in the micro atx - mATX - family, but it's not a standard mATX size, so it's very unlikely you're going to find one made by a major power supply manufacturer and get a decent warranty of at least 3 years. www.power-on.com has no mATX PS's with more than 200 watts capacity that would fit in your case. Enermax doesn't. Antec doesn't.

Searching the web with: upgrade 0950-4107
produces some "hits", such as this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/320W-ATX-250-12...
Dimension: 5.75"(W) x 4"(D) x 3.25"(H)
(Dimensions US 3.9L" x 5.9W" x 3.4"H HP for part no. 0950-4107)
"original HP 4pin p9 video connector also included. This is an extra feature for people who had HP Video Card in the PC."
It's listed both as a direct replacement /upgrade for HP part no.0950-4107
, and fitting the Pavilion 554Y (D7218E)case.

They all seem to be el-cheapo's and the warranty is probably 90 days or 1 year or you may have no warranty unless it's DOA.
....

"Found generic one at $7 new, 1000 watts, had extra cords, and same mounting system. Bought it right away. Then on other side of swap meet found used one which had H-P part numbers similar to mine, but wattage was a bit more at 850. Bought it for $5 ."

I don't know whether there are typos in that, or what you were looking at, but it's extremely unlikely they are 850 or 1000 watts capacity unless the labelling is an outright lie, which is common with proprietary el-cheapo PS's, and will they actually fit in the case?
At places that have lists of name brand PS part numbers such as
http://www.power-on.com
you can look up HP model numbers and find out what the dimensions of direct replacements are.
......

My advice to you?
A mATX PS is much more likely to fail such that it damages more than just itself while failing, especially if it is an el-cheapo.
Keep a close watch on the PS for this computer, even if you replace it. Look at the current voltages in your bios frequently, or use a monitoring ulility in Windows that runs all the time and that can be set to warn you or turn off the system if the PS voltages get out of whack. The fan tends to fail earlier than on standard sized PS's - frequently check that it is spinning.

For the Future?
Never buy a computer with a mATX PS again. Don't buy the cheapest models.

Thanks for the information, Tubesandwires. I have printed out all the information and will check again my power supply - especially size dimensions and will take your reccomendations seriously.
As I said before this unit, even though of the "el cheapo" type, has run without any problems for three years and I keep a close eye on temperatures and fan speeds.
It is really nice that you would take the time to do all this for a stranger. Thank you

Tubesandwires, Just checked my power supply and it s not a Bestec - It is a HIPRO with model no HP-A2027F3. I will look it up on google and parts search.

HP lists the Bestec as a replacement - they may have used other brands as well. The HP part number is probably the same whatever one it has if it is an original, and the box would be the same dimensions, within a small variance.

Most of the links in the above post are truncated for display purposes - if you just copy the page all you will see of them in your printout is what you see here.
If you want to have the full links in your printout, you also have to click on the link and copy the location, paste it into what you're going to print in place of the trucated links.