Upgrade now or wait (from i5 750)

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
C

chris7175

Honorable
Aug 30, 2013
11
0
10,510
Hi,

I want to upgrade my current gpu (gt220) to be able to play games at high quality settings (on 1080p or 1440p resolution).

Is it possible to use my current i5 750 (on a non overclockable motherboard) with a new 700 series gpu? Or do i have to upgrade to a newer cpu? (like an i5 4670k which is overclockable).

I'm also considering upgrading my entire rig if I can't use my current cpu.

 
Solution
coozie7
Couple of concerns:
Non overclockable motherboards are usually installed in prebuilts-Dell, Lenovo, HP etc and they usually have weak power supplies, so check the installed unit has the Wattage and PCI-E leads to run a more powerful card-you may need to factor a new PSU into the budget.
Some prebuilts have small cases, if it has a slimline case you're going to be very limited in the choice of upgrade.
A small number have no PCI-E slot so you upgrade path will be zero if that is the case.
'm running a (overclocked) i5 750/HD7950 and there's nothing out there it can't play smoothly, if my concerns not a problem I have no hesitation in recommending either the GTX760 or HD 7950 as a great upgrade (The 7950 will be better if you play at 1440...
Sort by date Sort by votes
logainofhades

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
Apr 27, 2009
37,538
3,213
143,290
You will be fine using up to at least a GTX 760 with that CPU. It will work fine faster cards but might bottleneck them a little. Make sure your PSU is up to the task of supporting a faster GPU. In your case, that is far more important than your cpu as it is still a decent CPU.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
coozie7

coozie7

Champion
Jun 2, 2007
10,015
10
59,215
Couple of concerns:
Non overclockable motherboards are usually installed in prebuilts-Dell, Lenovo, HP etc and they usually have weak power supplies, so check the installed unit has the Wattage and PCI-E leads to run a more powerful card-you may need to factor a new PSU into the budget.
Some prebuilts have small cases, if it has a slimline case you're going to be very limited in the choice of upgrade.
A small number have no PCI-E slot so you upgrade path will be zero if that is the case.
'm running a (overclocked) i5 750/HD7950 and there's nothing out there it can't play smoothly, if my concerns not a problem I have no hesitation in recommending either the GTX760 or HD 7950 as a great upgrade (The 7950 will be better if you play at 1440 res BTW).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
C

chris7175

Honorable
Aug 30, 2013
11
0
10,510
It is indeed a prebuild system, the power supply is to light (450watt) I considered a 7950/70 but i don't want to buy "old" hardware (760 and 770 is also old but new at the same time or something :/ ) Too bad i can't get my hands on a non pcbrand motherboard for OC'ing.

Thank you all for helping me.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
H

henkbas

Distinguished
Sep 12, 2011
91
0
18,660
Well, at least it has Pci-e so the cards would fit the slot. But 450W is going to limit you a bit. Especially if you're going the amd route... another thing to think of is the pci power connectors you're going to have to use. Most of these powersupplies don't have any on them.

You could just replace the psu as well of course...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jaguarskx

jaguarskx

Titan
Apr 19, 2006
27,979
3
84,965
If you feel that your PC no longer provide the performance you like to have then upgrade. If you feel that the performance is still good enough for your needs then wait. The refresh of Haswell is not expected to be released for maybe another 9 months or so (2014).

Now is not a bad time to upgrade though. The refresh of Haswell is still pretty distant and it is unknown what the performance increase will be. Therefore, there is no real reason to wait for the refresh. Skylake is a major redesign, but it is going to be released until 2015.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
coozie7

coozie7

Champion
Jun 2, 2007
10,015
10
59,215
Probably would be a good idea to get a better powersupply with the correct number of the right type of PCI-E connectors to feed the card you choose rather than risk a failure.
Prices and availability vary but the good names are Antec, Corsair, Silverstone, Seasonic, OCZ, Pc Power and Cooling, XFX and FSP, between 500 and 550 Watts will be ample, in the US expect to pay less than $60.
Before going to 'checkout' make sure the card will fit! Some OEM cases will not accept long cards or those with thick coolers.
I suggest you stick with the Nvidia GTX760 reference design: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130938 and do not consider an AMD card, their single fan coolers are noisy and run hot while the better coolers all dump their heat into the case which may cause issues with other components, particularly since OEM cases are not usually well ventilated.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
HardwareGTX

HardwareGTX

Honorable
Nov 19, 2013
51
0
10,640
Try a corsair 500w or 600w there is a used or rebuilt 500w at sears for 30-40 bucks. I think but not sure the 600w is 45-55 bucks. But if you can't upgrade the psu. Try a decent performing low watt card like the 7790 ,120 bucks after rebate at newwegg which can use a 450w fine, or a GTX650Ti it uses a 450w fine and is a great card too at 98 bucks after rebate at newegg, if you must go Nvidia,

I went from a 5850 to the 650Ti, I wanted performance low cost and I did not want to replace my 500w Exploding Fish on a rocket (RocketFish RF-500WPS2). Anyway The GTX 650Ti plays all games, and a lot at high settings, but not all at high settings. It goes well with the i5 750. So if you choose the 7790 it should be smooth with you'r i5 750 too. AMD makes good cards, But with a mid card the Nvidia cards might be a bit better with games. Due to under the table deals, For example Call of Duty Ghosts. Yes it's dirty pool. But it is what it is. I know the Huntkey "Alias RocketFish" is a crapo PSU (go easy on me) But this rig was gave to me with it already in it. (but it actually performs ok). But I in no way said I recommend the Huntkey "Alias RocketFish".
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom