Upgrading Family Computer

iaharco

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I am thinking about upgrading the family computer. The family computer is an HP pavilion p6-2016 (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03073678&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en). I want it to be able to run games, not at ultra, just at okay settings and at 30fps, so not much. What would be my best course of acts to make the family computer more of a gaming computer. I am on a budget, if you could keep it around $200-$300 that would be great.
 
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On Battlefield 3 32 to 64 player large multi-player maps the CPU will definitely become a bottleneck. Even the quad core Sandy Bridge i5-2500 lags with that many players on a large map.

On a single player map the Pentium G620 will probably be running at 90% or higher.

Running at lower display resolutions actually places a heavier processing load on the CPU so your idea to run at 720p will definitely expose any CPU bottleneck with the Pentium G620. Running at a high display resolution places the bottleneck on the graphics card where it should be.

Get the i3-2120 later if you find that the Pentium G620 is causing problems.

exroofer

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I looked up the system, you have a 300 watt psu, and an open pcie x-16 slot. And an 1155 socket. So if you were to get a new video card, a 7770 is the highest one I think that would run on that psu. 750 ti shows as 300 watt or greater.

For longevity and budget, I would say something like http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202081 , R7 260x
psu http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094 something like that or equivalent brand name psu. Do not skimp on psu, Cheap ones are cheap for a reason.

That puts you around $200 for those two items. Your pc already has 6 Gb of ram, should be ok there, and the cpu will suffice until you decide to upgrade that.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115234 is the cheapest quad core for your socket I see on Newegg right now, at $220 plus tax and shipping. Some of the intel guys may have better/cheaper solutions for you there.

With just the video card and psu to drive it, you would be in the range you were asking after, with some cpu bound games being choked a bit.

If you just got a 7770 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121642&cm_re=7770-_-14-121-642-_-Product

2GB model at $150, having 2 gb vram is a goodness thing, it would run on your current power supply, and be acceptable. Although on the low end of what you are after. Perhaps pair that with a cpu upgrade, or not, as you see fit for yourself.


Large video cards will not fit inside your case most likely. Keep that in mind.

* edit.. The 260x looks like a stronger performer in either case, and is cheaper.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html Best video cards for the money article.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106.html Best cpu's for the money article.

Highly suggested reading before doing anything, keep in mind your socket and psu limitations.
 

iaharco

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I did put some thought into it myself. I was thinking that if I upgrade the cpu to an Intel Core i3-2120, which is a sandy bridge cpu like the one in the computer, and a r7 250 graphics card that it would run nice. Is that a good solution to my problem or am I on the wrong path here.
 

exroofer

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Not at all. Just make sure you will have enough psu to run anything you add, and enough space inside the case.

Also a discrete video card WILL add heat to the inside of your case, though not huge amounts. An extra case fan or two may be in order.
Is the system off warranty by now? Or do you need to budget for installation at a PC shop? Things to keep in mind.
These "minor upgrade" adventures have a way of snowballing........

If you keep to the budget bracket you are looking at, it is a reasonable gain for the money. Once that upgrade budget hits the $500 plus mark, it begins to make more sense to look at complete budget gaming builds for a few hundred more with 5 or 10 times the performance.

I upgraded my PC one component at a time from something very similar to what you are starting with. Never spent more than $300 at one time, but it didn't end there...:)

 
An NVIDIA reference design GeForce GTX 750 Ti draws less power than an AMD reference design Radeon R7 250.

An AMD reference design Radeon R7 250 has less than half the performance of an NVIDIA reference design GeForce GTX 750 Ti. Or to put it another way the NVIDIA reference design GeForce GTX 750 Ti has more than twice the performance of an AMD reference design Radeon R7 250 at less than twice the price so it has a better performance/$ ratio.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT the crucial factor in power supply selection!!! Sufficient Total Combined Continuous Power/Current Available on the +12V Rail(s) is the most critical factor.

What is the model number of the 300W power supply unit in your HP Pavilion p6-2016?

If the 300W PSU's maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating is 19 Amps (i.e my guess) then you shouldn't have any problem using a GeForce GTX 750 Ti model that doesn't require a 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connector in your system.
 

exroofer

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Ah thanks for that clarification. This is why I come to Tom's, to learn new stuffs!

I knew he could use a gpu that did not need a 6 pin power plug, but since his budget was $200-300 ish, he might want to a bit more card, and the 300 wouldn't cut it. Like for example a 260x or greater.

I don't know if there is a thread dealing specifically with upgrading HP or other off the shelf computers.
 

iaharco

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The power supply in the computer has the +12V continuous current rating at 19 amps. If I upgrade the cpu to the i3-2120 and add the 750ti what kind of performance would I see considering that the 750ti is twice the price of the r7 250, or should I go with the 750, which falls between the two prices. Also, is it a possibility to just get the graphics card or would they just get bottlenecked by the low end cpu.
 


A GeForce GTX 750 Ti has slightly more than twice the graphics performance of the Radeon R7 250.

What game titles are going to be played and at what display resolution?
 

iaharco

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The highest performing game that would be played on it is battlefield 3, I believe. The monitor's resolution is 1600/900, but playing the game at that resolution isn't necessary. If I could get it to play something like battlefield 3 at 30+ fps at median with a resolution of 720p that would be just fine on this budget.
 
Playing at the monitor's native resolution gives the clearest image.

You can see on this graph that the NVIDIA Reference Design GeForce GTX 750 Ti is able to deliver 60.5 FPS at your monitor's native resolution. The AMD reference design Radeon R7 250 would give you less than half of that (i.e. less than 30 FPS). Playing a game at 60FPS feels much more responsive and enjoyable than playing at 30 or less FPS.

bf3_1600_900.gif
 

iaharco

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ko888 I see no graph in your response, so I have a few questions. Clearly the gtx 750 Ti is better, but what are the settings of that test, and what is the cpu used in the test. Will the old cpu bottleneck. Also, how would the gtx 750 do in that test.
 


The graph shows up following the second paragraph in my reply above.

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_750_Ti_Gaming/images/bf3_1600_900.gif

Battlefield 3 @ 1600 x 900, 4x Anti-aliasing

Test System - VGA Rev. 31

Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K @ 4.2 GHz (Haswell, 8192 KB Cache)

Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VI Hero Intel Z87

Memory: 2x 4096 MB Corsair Vengeance PC3-12800 DDR3 @ 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24

Harddisk: WD Caviar Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB

Power Supply: Antec HCP-1200 1200W

Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit Service Pack 1

Drivers: NVIDIA: 331.82 WHQL
AMD: Catalyst 13.11 Beta 9.4
HD 7790/R7 260X: Catalyst 13.11 Beta 1
GTX 750/750 Ti: 334.69 Beta

Display: LG Flatron W3000H 30" 2560x1600
3x Hanns.G HL225DBB 21.5" 1920x1080

The ASUS GTX 750 OC 1GB [GTX750-PHOC-1GD5] reached 54.5FPS on that same test (i.e. 90% of the performance of the Ti version).
bf3_1600_900.gif

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_750_OC/images/bf3_1600_900.gif
 
 

iaharco

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I believe that the gtx 750 would be just fine in my case. Now on to the cpu, is the Pentium in the computer strong enough to carry the game. I think that I should upgrade the cpu to a i3-2120, a sandy bridge cpu which is compatible to my motherboard, or is there a better cpu for my situation.
 
On Battlefield 3 32 to 64 player large multi-player maps the CPU will definitely become a bottleneck. Even the quad core Sandy Bridge i5-2500 lags with that many players on a large map.

On a single player map the Pentium G620 will probably be running at 90% or higher.

Running at lower display resolutions actually places a heavier processing load on the CPU so your idea to run at 720p will definitely expose any CPU bottleneck with the Pentium G620. Running at a high display resolution places the bottleneck on the graphics card where it should be.

Get the i3-2120 later if you find that the Pentium G620 is causing problems.
 
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