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Upgrading GPU, Newbie, $600 budget

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  • GPUs
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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July 22, 2014 12:53:28 PM

I got my computer about a year ago, and was entirely new to PC-anything. As such, I bought pre-built (blegh). It's not too terrible, really, but the graphics card is significantly behind and terrible. I'm looking for something gaming oriented, and would prefer to be able to play modern games at, at least, medium graphics.

Here is the store page with most of the specs. The only other thing I know is that it has a 350w power supply, which to my understanding may also need upgraded.

I've heard that upgrade options are limited for pre-built PCs, but would at this time prefer upgrading rather than getting a brand-new custom one (the thing is barely a year old, would seem like a waste). I do have a $600 budget, though the line COULD potentially be crossed one way or another if necessary.

I'm really just way over my head here. I don't know much of anything about computer hardware. I even intend to find a service to install the hardware for me, just need help finding parts that will do what I want and will work together while also staying in line with my budget. Any helpful tips / ideas would be greatly appreciated!

And if you need any more info just ask. I really have no idea what's needed to figure this stuff out.

More about : upgrading gpu newbie 600 budget

July 22, 2014 12:56:27 PM

Is your entire budget 600 or are you looking for a GPU 600 and under?
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July 22, 2014 1:10:34 PM

The most I'd put in that system, if you're not going to upgrade the CPU, would be a r9 270x or something, even that would get a bit of a bottleneck.

If you don't want to upgrade the PSU, you could go with a gtx 750Ti, but that'll most likely get some kind of bottleneck too.

I feel like with 600$ just take like ~100-150$ for a new card, ~50-80$ on a new psu, and the rest on a new cpu+ motherboard. And all this together is more or less just a new system:

This is just a little upgrade thing to consider, with 600$ you can get an r9 290x or something for the system you already have, but you're going to get heavily bottlenecked by the apu in most games.

600$ can get you something where you can upgrade most parts of your computer that'll benefit from an upgrade, which includes the cpu. But it's also practically just building a new one at this point.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($180.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.66 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $507.61
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July 22, 2014 1:16:52 PM

From the spec page, this is what I would do, to improve performance.
1. Get a GTX750Ti. No PSU upgrade will be needed. You will have significantly better performance than your APU offers. $400+ graphics cards will be bottlenecked by that APU, so would not be your best use of funds. A GTX750Ti should be able to play modern games on mostly high settings; perhaps some medium, but it would be better than your requirements indicate.
2. The HDD is only 5400RPM; that is basset-hound muttly. Either clone the boot partition to a new 256GB SSD and retain that drive for data / backups, or at the very least, get a 7200RPM hard drive like a WD Black and clone the drive to it.

You can get all this for around $145 (EVGA GTX750Ti) + $140 (256GB 840 EVO) or + $80 (1TB WD Black); substantial upgrades and all well within budget.
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July 22, 2014 1:52:50 PM

I would almost just sell the computer for a few hundred and start over. If you get $300 out of it that makes a $900 total budget which will get you a decent gaming computer.
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July 22, 2014 2:20:49 PM

^That is not a bad idea. Then start with Calnin's build and add RAM, a boot SSD and a data drive to it.
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July 22, 2014 2:43:30 PM

i don't think a full system overhaul is worth it unless you can sell your system the way it is for like $250-300. if you could do that and add in your $600 budget for a $900 total, you can have something like this….
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($198.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.71 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Dual Superclocked ACX Video Card ($234.99 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $911.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-22 17:34 EDT-0400

its definitely an option, and picked a few of the parts quick and dirty, you would likely want to change a few things like the motherboard changed to a h97 model.. but it gives you a sense of what the budget would be for a great performing system. give it a try, go list it on craigslist for like $300… maybe you will get some bites. someone out there will likely pay $200 or a little more for a fairly new great working non gaming computer with windows 8, a 1tb hard drive, and a plenty fast A8 processor for run of the mill web browsing, media center, word processing…. consider the fact that windows 8 alone is $90…. you can hardly even build your existing computer for under $300.

otherwise, i would save your money and just get a gtx750ti since it will drop right into your existing system and you wouldn't need to upgrade your power supply.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $129.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-22 17:36 EDT-0400

this way in about 2 years you can start over again and build yourself a $750-900 computer. an ssd is nice right now but its not totally necessary, and the ssd market is changing and in 2 years its very likely we will see 1tb ssd's for under $200, also gpus will be much more powerful and cheaper, along with more options from intel cpus(hopefully some competitive amd cpus also) at better price points as well.
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July 22, 2014 3:02:35 PM

A SSD is certainly not a requirement, although I will no longer build a PC for myself without one; but the slow 5400RPM HDD will make that whole system drag on many tasks, including simply loading your games (although not FPS). At the very least, a WD Black drive will be a significant improvement without costing a lot, and can be moved into a new rig if you sell that one later.
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July 22, 2014 3:41:57 PM

Thanks everyone! I'm going to just save my money for awhile so I can jump in with a really great custom PC down the line. Just going with the GeForce GTX 750 Ti that most of you suggested so that I can at least enjoy some of these modern games while I wait. Thanks again!
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