Dual graphic card

Coffeeband84 · Apr 2, 2013

Hello, I have a question on my graphic card which is the AMD A6-5400K it's the APU that has the GPU in it. If I wanted a dual graphic card what would be the best that will work well with it and would the AMD Radeon work better with my A6 more than the Nvdia GeForce. [$ 250 budget]

DarkSable · Apr 2, 2013

Okay... first of all, what you're talking is hybrid crossfire, which is using a low-end Radeon card with the onboard graphics in crossfire.

Just like how you can't use a GTX chip in crossfire with an AMD chip, you can't use it in crossfire with an AMD APU.

However, studies have been done on hybrid crossfire which show that it provides very poor performance gains, and is by no means worth the money.

Coffeeband84 · Apr 2, 2013

DarkSable :

Thanks for the the reply. So basically you are saying that if I want a good performance, I need a new APU which required the motherboard.

DarkSable · Apr 2, 2013

Coffeeband84 :

As it sits right now, you have a few options:

1) Upgrade to a faster APU. You should be careful about this, because your motherboard might only support a 95w chip, and all the A10s are, to my knowledge, 125w.

2) Buy a discrete graphics card like a 7870XT, and stick it in there. You would be running only the graphics card's graphics, so it would work like a traditional computer, but instead of having a normal processor, you'd have the APU which isn't an amazing processor. However, this is the easiest path for you to take, and would allow you to upgrade down the road.

3) Upgrade your motherboard and CPU to a more powerful model, such as an FX-6300 or a Core i5. This would get you MORE than enough processing power, and would let you upgrade the graphics down the road. (Though the FX chips require a graphics card of some sort.)

Coffeeband84 · Apr 2, 2013

DarkSable :

Coffeeband84 :

As it sits right now, you have a few options:

1) Upgrade to a faster APU. You should be careful about this, because your motherboard might only support a 95w chip, and all the A10s are, to my knowledge, 125w.

2) Buy a discrete graphics card like a 7870XT, and stick it in there. You would be running only the graphics card's graphics, so it would work like a traditional computer, but instead of having a normal processor, you'd have the APU which isn't an amazing processor. However, this is the easiest path for you to take, and would allow you to upgrade down the road.

3) Upgrade your motherboard and CPU to a more powerful model, such as an FX-6300 or a Core i5. This would get you MORE than enough processing power, and would let you upgrade the graphics down the road. (Though the FX chips require a graphics card of some sort.)

I would choose the 2nd way

and if I change my motherboard do
I need to reinstall my Window 8 ? and I don't have the disc since it came with my computer which is the HP Pavillion P6-3220

DarkSable · Apr 2, 2013

Coffeeband84 :

Ok, that's reasonable. I suggest getting a 7870XT. It WILL be bottlenecked by your processor, but it will still be an upgrade now and even more so if you upgrade your processor later on.

Yes, if you change your motherboard, you'll have to reinstall windows - but you can call HP and have them send you an install disk; it'll either be free or you'll just have to pay for shipping.

Coffeeband84 · Apr 2, 2013

DarkSable :

Coffeeband84 :

Ok, that's reasonable. I suggest getting a 7870XT. It WILL be bottlenecked by your processor, but it will still be an upgrade now and even more so if you upgrade your processor later on.

Yes, if you change your motherboard, you'll have to reinstall windows - but you can call HP and have them send you an install disk; it'll either be free or you'll just have to pay for shipping.

Is it the Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHZ OC 2GB ?

Coffeeband84 · Apr 2, 2013

DarkSable :

Coffeeband84 :

Ok, that's reasonable. I suggest getting a 7870XT. It WILL be bottlenecked by your processor, but it will still be an upgrade now and even more so if you upgrade your processor later on.

Yes, if you change your motherboard, you'll have to reinstall windows - but you can call HP and have them send you an install disk; it'll either be free or you'll just have to pay for shipping.

Can I get the link for the grpahic card please

thanks

DarkSable · Apr 2, 2013

Ah, sorry, this thread got lost in my inbox. It's not that sapphire, it's this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202024&Tpk=7870%20xt&IsVirtualParent=1

Coffeeband84 · Apr 2, 2013

DarkSable :

Thanks but what if I wanted to upgrade my APU with out changing the motherboard which one would you recommend to replace A6-5400K

DarkSable · Apr 3, 2013

I couldn't tell you without knowing the exact model of your motherboard.

Coffeeband84 · Apr 3, 2013

DarkSable :

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c03499435&lang=en&cc=us&taskId=101&contentType=SupportFAQ&prodSeriesId=5295969&prodTypeId=12454

Here you go, that should tell you everything ! Basically I just use all the HP processor and put it in the HAF 912 case for more room and the Corsair CX500 watt in case for a new graphic card.

Coffeeband84 · Apr 3, 2013

Well that's actually the answer lol...

DarkSable · Apr 3, 2013

That motherboard will take up to an A10-5800K, if that's the route you'd like to go.

Coffeeband84 · Apr 3, 2013

DarkSable :

Ok thanks, I don't need to reinstall my Window 8 right ? and for the graphic card which one would you recommend that will work well on A10 ? $ 250 budget

Coffeeband84 · Apr 3, 2013

I think I'm good, I have alot of people helping me
On this website. I'm going with the A10 and the HD 7870. Thank you man !

DarkSable · Apr 3, 2013

Wait... if you're upgrading your graphics card then I would highly, HIGHLY recommend that you don't upgrade the APU.

Save that money and upgrade to a proper processor and compatible motherboard down the road, which will give a lot better performance in the long run.

Coffeeband84 · Apr 3, 2013

DarkSable :

Yeah, but I don't want to upgrade my motherboard because of reinstall the window.

DarkSable · Apr 3, 2013

Coffeeband84 :

Wait, why? It's an extremely simple process - backup your data, reinstall windows, restore your data and reinstall programs.

May I suggest, then, that you don't buy the discrete card? It would just be throwing good money after bad - buy the A10, which is a slightly more powerful CPU with significantly better graphics, and see if it suffices for your needs.

Coffeeband84 · Apr 4, 2013

Yeah I understand but the window 8 came with my hp computer and I basically swap the case. I don't know how do I suppose to get the disc of the window 8 from. And to backup how do I do that ?

DarkSable · Apr 4, 2013

Coffeeband84 :

Either call HP and have them ship you a disk, or install it from a USB stick:
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/a/install-windows-8-usb.htm

The process is perfectly legal as long as you have the activation key for your copy of windows, which is easy to find if you don't.

As for backing up, you get an external hard drive, or an online account with dropbox or google drive, and you move the files that you want to save there, then move them back when you've reinstalled windows.

Coffeeband84 · Apr 4, 2013

Ok thanks, I'll find the activate key and what if I want to backup everything ?

DarkSable · Apr 4, 2013

Coffeeband84 :

Read my post again - either you use an external hard drive or you use a cloud storage service.

Coffeeband84 · Apr 4, 2013

http://youtu.be/jOxxFQSPt9s

Does this work ?

DarkSable · Apr 4, 2013

Coffeeband84 :

Sort of. It will only work if you have a second hard drive to back up the files TO.

Dual graphic card

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