Graphics card upgrade help.?
I bought an HP computer which was faulty, and they are sending me a new one next week. Unfortunately the graphics card they are including in the new computer is not what I want, but they are not flexing at all so I need to deal with it.
With the following specs could you please give me some advice on what I can do to upgrade this computer to make it:
1) a very good gaming computer where I can play most games at a good level, and
2) as good of a gaming computer as possible.
I am willing to upgrade the graphics card and anything else, it may just take a little time.
I ask for both because I do have a budget, so if I can get by saving a few hundred I may need to.
Thanks in advance!
Windows 7 Home Premium [64-bit]
AMD FX-6120 six-core processor [3.6GHz, 6MB L2/8MB L3 Cache]
12GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [3 DIMMs]
2TB 7200 rpm SATA hard drive
No secondary hard drive
1GB AMD HD 7450 [HDMI, DVI, VGA adapter]
300W Power supply
Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
Wireless-N LAN card (1x1)
15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB 2.0 (front), 2 USB 3.0 (top)
Beats Audio (tm) -- integrated studio quality sound
Comments
You've already got a great machine.
But, you definitely need a better power supply; 500-1000W
If you've got the scratch, you could put your OS on a SSD drive and use the 2 TB drive for extra storage.
As for a graphics card, I think the Radeon 7970 is the leader right now. Check notebookcheck.com to see how graphics cards handle different games. From what I remember, the 7970 was on top.
EDIT:
Vodka is right, HP is crowded in the box, might need a better PC case for best performance and cooling.
@ godfatherofsoul:
nVidia GeForce GTX680 or GTX690 are the best graphic cards right now, much better than AMD Radeon HD7970.
Also, all AMD FX "Faildozer" series are crap when it comes to gaming, Intel Core i5-2500K or the new Ivy Bridge i5-3570K are still the rulers of the gaming realm.
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For the asker (Levy):
OK, please read all very carefully:
Your first big mistake was to buy a ready made computer for gaming. YOU SHOULD BUILD ONE, not buy a branded PC.
Besides that, HP is full of crap. All modern computers have dual channel memory, so a 12GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [3 DIMMs] is an improper setup, and will only force single channel memory, much slower. Remove 1 DIMM and use 8GB (Two x 4GB) RAM. Make sure they are in the same color slots (memory channels), for HP I believe they are color coded blue and black, choose either one or the other.
NO NEED for more than 8GB of RAM for gaming and all other applications a home user will run anyways...
That AMD FX-6120 six-core "Faildozer" is not the best choice for gaming, even an Intel Core i3-2130 will be better, but there's nothing you can do about that now....
For any good graphics card, you would need to upgrade your power supply to at least 500W (600W is recommended) and only buy a reliable, brand name power supply like Thermaltake, Enermax, Cooler Master, Antec, OCZ, or Corsair.
The graphics card I recommend is a 1GB GDDR5 nVidia GeForce GTX560 Ti ($240), either EVGA or ZOTAC brand.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...
Good luck.
Hah. with that power supply you won't be able to put a high grade graphics card.
& HPs don't have good airflow so your graphics card will over heat if its high grade.
So you're going to have to buy 3 things to make your computer run perfectly on 'most games on good levels'(Assuming you mean High settings).
#1 A new case($49-$120)
#2 A new graphics card($139-$1000)
#3 A new power supply($69-$200)
This will require a lot of knowledge so you should watch some tuts on building a computer.
If you want to take a risk at your graphics card over heating you can simply change the PSU and Graphics card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
@Godfather:
Geforce GTX 690 > 7970
Upgrading the Power Supply can help, but definitely upgrade your graphics card. Try for 2GB or more, maybe multiple cards with CrossFireX. The processor could be improved to the eight-core FX-8150, competing with the Intel i7 processors with hyper-threading. If you are wanting to upgrade CPU and GPU a better PSU will be needed. Good luck!
You would need to spend about $45ish to get an Antec Earthwatts 430w or XFX 450w in order to get things going.
I would then go with the HD 6770 video card.
Power calculator for PC building. http://www.antec.outervision.com/