Newbie looking for some custom pc advice

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Combo Breaker

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I'm looking to upgrade a couple of parts on my slim profile pc, which are the motherboard, cpu, memory (both RAM and Storage), and graphics card. I've decided on what products to buy for each respective category, except for the graphics card. I'm kinda stuck on what graphics card I should buy. I wanted something for casual to moderate gaming , as well as watching hd movies and hd streaming. I was leaning towards a Sapphire Radeon HD 7750 1gb but I wanted to know where this card stacks up against other similar cards. Also, I should mention that my pc case is an Antec Minuet 350 with 350w power supply, so I can only fit in low-profile graphics cards. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

My current build:
ASUS Rampage III Gene, Motherboard (Upgrading to Asus Maximus VI Gene)
Intel Core i7-950 Quad-Core 3.06GHz (Upgrading to Intel Core i7-4770K Quad-Core 3.5GHz)
Asus GeForce GT 430 (Undecided)

Thanks!
 
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DonQuixoteMC
Considering your low profile GPU needs, perhaps you should look into this thread. Although, I'm worried about you not having enough power. You already have some high performance hardware running off not a lot of power. Be careful there.
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DonQuixoteMC

DonQuixoteMC

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Here, use this guide to pick the GPU. Just find your price range and the listed card will be the best for that price. I've found it to be an incredibly valuable resource with accurate suggestions.

Personally, I would get an HD 7770 instead of the 7750. It just gives you some extra performance for the same price. Plus, the one I linked you can get a mail in rebate for. So it's even cheaper than the 7750!
I hope that helps!

DonQuixoteMC
 
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Sorry, I forgot to mention that there's no limit regarding the price of the product. Anything that fits in my case and is compatible with my setup (with upgraded parts) is fair game. I'm even willing to put in a gtx titan graphics card if its compatible with my current setup.

 
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Combo Breaker

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Thanks for the link! I looked some of the graphics cards, but how can I tell if they'll fit in my case, or if they'll even be compatible with my setup? This is my first time tinkering with my custom pc so I'm being really cautious and trying to get as much advice and recommendations as possible before I get in there and start swapping parts.
 
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Spartans

Spartans

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Alright so, your mobo is great it supports x16 PCI so I would roll with a powerful Gpu,because your mobo cries for a wicked Gpu, buy 550w psu and go with r9 290/290x you will play games at ultra with 60fps. That it's the whole point for playing on PC,if you go with lower Gpu, than you are far better with a console rather than a PC. CHEERS
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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I'm wondering why you're upgrading, my brothers old C2D E6600 dual core rig can do that stuff, an I7 950 should breeze through your uses.
Agree with the HD7750/7770 ideas they're both decent gaming cards for light or casual use, but check the specs on any 7750s you look at, a lot use slow DDR3 memory which cuts into the performance.
As long as it's a decent powersupply and you don't overclock 350 Watts will do the job but the small case is severely restricting your options because only 'low profile' (or 'half height') cards will fit and they are not widely available.
 
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DonQuixoteMC

DonQuixoteMC

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I ran into the same problem when I was upgrading my slimline PC. The only thing I could do (which worked perfectly) was look up the physical dimensions of the card and measure if the card would fit in my case.

For the HD 7790 the link suggested (which I agree is a great choice), the physical specs are as follows:
7.99" x 5.35" x 1.65"

The first number is length of the card, the second is width (Distance from one side to the PCIe connector pins), the third is thickness (top of the card to the bottom).

Try to measure inside your case and see if those dimensions will work. The most important measurement is the 5.35" width. That's how far the card will stick out from your motherboard, so make sure there's room for it.

Be careful when you're poking around inside your case though. Make sure you aren't wearing socks, or are standing on a rug or any other statically charged surface. And before you touch anything make sure to ground yourself by touching the metal of the case first. This is to ensure static shocks occur before you touch the vulnerable components of your computer. (And of course unplug your computer :p)
I'm sure you already know all of this, I just wanted to make sure.

I hope the card will fit! Best of luck!

DonQuixoteMC
 
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Combo Breaker

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That card looks beast, I'm gonna have to check the physical specs and see if it'll fit in my computer, as well as other cards I found. It's looking like I am gonna have to upgrade my power supply to be able to juice up any other parts I put in. Thanks for the info!
 
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Combo Breaker

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I really want to build a full tower pc, and most definitely will in the future, but unfortunately I don't have the space to put it, hence why I have a slim profile pc. I need something that will fit in a tv unit, and this fit the profile. Thanks for the info!
 
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DonQuixoteMC

DonQuixoteMC

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It's essentially the size of your case and the low wattage of your PSU that are holding you back from getting a very powerful graphics processor. Get a bigger case and a bigger PSU and you can run just about any GPU without fear of bottlenecking. If you do have a large budget, I would absolutely invest in a new case, new PSU and get something like the GTX 760. Or, if have enough, go for the Radeon R9 290X as Spartans said.

 
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Combo Breaker

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Thanks for the info! I'm definitely leaning towards this card, but I'm also keeping my eye out for anything else on the market. All signs point to me having to buy a more powerful power supply, as it's looking like 350w is not gonna cut it.
 
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DonQuixoteMC

DonQuixoteMC

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Yeah, unfortunately you won't be able to get anything much more powerful than what you already have with 350W. I think it would definitely be a worthwhile investment to also upgrade your case and PSU.
You'll also get better airflow from a larger case, and that's always a good thing. (Lower temperatures and stuff).

Best of luck with your decision!

DonQuixoteMC
 
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