newbie, help!

[naton]

This is my first time building a computer, and I was given a brand new HP a1710n. Its got a AMD Athlon64 x2 4200+, runs Vista, and came equipped with a GeForce 6150 LE. I practically know nothing about building computers, and I figured I'd ask here. I'm planning on upgrading my ram and graphics card, but how do I know what card will work with my pc? If it came with a GeForce, is it basically wise to stick with GeForces (like, will any ol' GeForce work with it?). I'm under the impression that if it came with a GeForce, a Radeon is probably not compatible with it..but, basically I'm a noob who needs a few questions answered. Any suggestions on what card to get?

[Rob]

I found product information about your comptuer here.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/prodinfoCategory?lc=en&cc=us&product=3340227

I found details about your motherboard here:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00757531&lc=en&cc=us&product=3340227&dlc=en

It appears that you are currently using the integrated graphics on the motherboard, which is not very powerful compared to most video cards.

Your motherboard takes a PCI-E video card. It should be able to take either an NVIDIA or ATI model video card.

I have PCI-E video card recommendations on my home page.
http://www.mysuperpc.com

I discuss video cards in general on this page.
http://www.mysuperpc.com/video_card.shtml

[dadbuilt]

Dito, knowone could have said it better. The card choice is your to make Ati or Nvidia ... You will need to disable the onboard grapics and FIRST make sure the warranty is expired before opening that HP computer tower if it is under warranty you will void the warranty forever . If so contact the nearest hp service center and ask if they can do the install for you those warranties are very exspensive 300+ and someone might get mad as hell if you just void out the thing. But don't just give up figure out a way to build your own rig you can do it.