Upgrading an AMD Radeon HD 7540D. I have a $150 budget.

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CRTFTW

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Jul 24, 2014
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I'm absolutely terrible at figuring out what parts to upgrade to, and the whole thing gives me a headache. I barely understand what numbers mean a graphics card is better, and I've never managed to figure out if my computer can even USE the card until I've received it. I'm much better with program maintenance, not hardware.

I have managed to figure out that the computer's current card is integrated into the motherboard itself, as the PC was originally one of those premade ones. It appears to have a slot for a graphics card, so I wish to upgrade it so my wife can play games with me. It is a PCI x16 slot, whatever that means.



APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within a week. BUDGET RANGE: USD $150 before rebates.

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming. My wife and I want to play Divinity: Original sin, and other games together, like Wildstar.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY:
AMD Radeon HD 7540D
HP Standard Power Supply Unit 300W FH-XD301MYF

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS:
CPU: AMD A6-5400K APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics
Memory: 5.5 GB
No idea what the motherboard is.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Whatever you think is best. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Once again, whatever you think is best.

OVERCLOCKING: I don't know how that works. SLI OR CROSSFIRE: I don't know what that is.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1600 x 900

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'm really sorry for my ignorance here. I don't understand the parts at all, and the inconsistent number system between brands and developers doesn't make it any easier.
 
Solution
Onus
Uninstall your prior AMD graphics drivers, shut down, then install the new card. When the machine first comes up, go into the BIOS and disable the APU's graphics, or if it won't disable, make sure the new card is the primary display adapter. When it comes up, install either the drivers that come with it, or get the latest ones from www.nvidia.com.
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xTempered

xTempered

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May 2, 2014
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Since your not playing at a high resolution something like a R7 260x or a 750ti should do you just fine.

Not the biggest powerhouses available obviously but regardless of which you get or any other you might get your going to need a new PSU (not exactly 100% but it'll be near maxed out). Your PSU is hardcore low wattage and wont power much. You can get something like a 450w PSU for about $30-40. And that should be able to power either card. If your super budget strict you can go for the 260x which is about $100-$120 depending on brand and the rest can go toward a new PSU
 
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emdea22

emdea22

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Oct 25, 2011
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Your GPU is integrated into your CPU, not motherboard. Its a very VERY weak cpu and gpu solution. As i see it, you have 4 options:
1.Upgrade to 2133 ram and overclock it to hell (as i did with the same APU-CPU+gpu)
2.Get a dedicated radeon r7 260x and a new PSU
3.Get a dedicated radeon HD7570 and run in dual graphics WITHOUT buying a new power supply
4.Sell it and buy something decent...

I'm recommending 3 or 4
 
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Onus

Onus

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Jan 27, 2006
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The GTX750Ti is a little more powerful than the R7 260 but uses less power. The R7 will need a PSU replacement, but the GTX750Ti will not; you'll likely pull only around 150W-175W with that.
Crossfiring another low-end graphics card along with the APU is typically not a good solution. Multi-card scaling is not linear and does work in all games.
 
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C

CRTFTW

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Jul 24, 2014
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Okay! Thank you all for your suggestions. What I think I'll go with is the GTX750ti solution, since it appears to be the cheapest and easiest solution. She doesn't play too many games that require heavy graphics anyway.

Is there anything special I need to know or do after installing it?
 
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Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
37,037
12
89,965
Uninstall your prior AMD graphics drivers, shut down, then install the new card. When the machine first comes up, go into the BIOS and disable the APU's graphics, or if it won't disable, make sure the new card is the primary display adapter. When it comes up, install either the drivers that come with it, or get the latest ones from www.nvidia.com.
 
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