Best replacement for my Radeon HD 6450 that fits my system, expertise. Willing to spend £

MrCabron · Dec 28, 2014

Hi all,

Started to think this week that I needed to buy a new PC to play latest PC games on. As am at home for holidays and had the time I started researching. From there went to considering paying someone else to upgrade. (As I have never done it myself) Having time to research and after reading a lot of Tom's articles am considering upgrading myself. As a first step, I have just purchased and installed a 4GB RAM upgrade. Now ready to upgrade GPU and PSU if required.

Primarily use for Gaming. Looking for something that will play current games, e.g. Far Cry 4, Assassins Creed Unity at 1920 x 1080.

Current GPU is AMD Radeon HD 6450 1024MB. Bandwidth 12.8 GB/s. It has struggled with games 2yrs old so has no hope for newer games. It wasn't until I started reading on here that I realised how rubbish/ entry level this card is. Have looked at the latest 'Best mid range and enthusiast GPU articles, don;t mind spending the money (£300-400, cheaper than new PC) provided it will work in my current PC.

PC is HP Pavillion p6-2053uk, mini tower. Foxconn Motherboard: uATX - 24.4 cm (9.6 inches) x 22.0 cm (8.7 inches). Intel Core i5 2400, 3.1 GHz (up to 3.4 GHz turbo).

RAM 4 GB Type: DDR3-1333 (with additional 4GB of RAM added by me today) = 8GB.

Power supply:
Form factor: Internal ATX
Total wattage: 300W
Nominal input voltage range:
100-127V/6A (50-60Hz)
200-240V/3A (50-60Hz)
Dimensions: 150mm x 140mm x 86mm (5.9 x 5.5 x 3.4 inches)
((opened up PC to get these details) Bestec ATX0300P5WC Rev C. 300W MA.)

Running Windows 7.
Link to HP specs: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=uk&lc=en&docname=c03104401#N1005

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: UK e.g. Amazon, ebuyer (i don't know what else is good)

PARTS PREFERENCES: Not married to AMD, the impression I hae from mags, online and podcasts is the nVidea is better, but that is just an observation.

OVERCLOCKING: Unlikely in with this pc SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Unlikely in with this pc

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080, single screen only

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: After reading various articles/forums in the last couple of days am concered that heat management may also be an issue I have to plan for with this updgrade. Also realise that to get a decent GPU will have to upgrade PSU.

Thanks for any advice.

geofelt · Dec 28, 2014

Without upgrading your power supply, the strongest graphics card your 300w psu can support is a GTX750ti that does not need an auxiliary 6 pin power lead.

It GTX750ti is particularly power efficient and will be a nice jump over your 6450.

If you need a stronger graphics card, you will also need a psu upgrade.
Here is a chart to help with that:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

The cooling you need is proportional to the psu wattage you need.
You can help case cooling if you buy a direct exhaust type graphics card like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487070

CelicaGT · Dec 28, 2014

Looks like a full height case but length may be an issue, check out the GIGABYTE GV-N970IXOC-4GD GeForce GTX 970 4GB, may suit your needs. Definitely gonna need to upgrade the PSU.

jazzy663 · Dec 28, 2014

I concur with the previous post, the 750 Ti would be the best you can do on your current PSU.

I have to suggest you lower the resolution a little though as the 750 Ti's biggest limitation is its 128-bit memory bus, which isn't fast enough for its 2GB frame buffer. I can't speak from experience, but it might have a little trouble displaying textures at 1920x1080. 1600x900 would be better.

LaserNinja11 · Dec 28, 2014

First you would need to upgrade your power supply.
For a cheap yet powerfull gpu for popular title games you have listed I would be looking at maybe getting a nvidia gtx 760, 770ti or maybe even a 780 if you want to show off high frames per second on new games. If you are looking for an amd gpu then somethin like a r9 280/ 280x is what you should be looking for

Karadjgne · Dec 28, 2014

You have a Bestec 300w psu. Based upon that alone I'd not recommended even the 750ti, even though they'll normally run fine on a 300w psu. As far as cpu power goes, a balanced match would be a r9 280 or r9 280x at best, with my preference on the 280. That said, your case may be a hinderence as far as depth goes, so you may need to modify it. Doesn't sound out of reach and is something easily done with basic tools.

This will mean a psu upgrade for certain.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£149.14 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£46.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £196.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-28 23:45 GMT+0000

MrCabron · Dec 28, 2014

Wow, thanks ^ all for speedy and informative responses. I have resigned myself to a PSU upgrade (after googling BESTEC, suprised it hasn't ruined my otherboard yet, and now share Karadjgne's concerns). Can you recommend a PSU pls?

I have read that GPU's are backwards compatable, so don't assume there will be any issues with putting a PCIe 3.0 in a PCIe 2.0 slot, is this correct?

jazzy663 · Dec 28, 2014

MrCabron :

No, there won't be any problems putting a 3.0 card in a 2.0 slot. I do this myself.

I'll look for a good PSU for you, but I guarantee the others will have already suggested one by the time I get back to this thread.

EDIT: Looks like Karadjgne has already suggested a PSU. As he is a PSU expert I won't try to argue with him. I have seen that particular PSU come recommended more often than any other here on Tom's, so definitely go with that one if you so desire.

Karadjgne · Dec 28, 2014

XFX psus are built by Seasonic, one of the best psu builders in the business. If you Google them, you'll see they have the full load of over-protections, rated outputs at 50°C (vrs other low $ psus at @30-40°C) and a good warranty. To top it off, they offer this quality at a very competitive price, lower than what ppl would normally pay for quality units. They really are very good value for the money.

MrCabron · Dec 29, 2014

Thanks Karadjne, I missed your earlier PSU suggestion. Looks like a winner there. Will I need additional cooling?

Karadjgne · Dec 30, 2014

Not sure. Some of those cases have adequate ventilation, some not so. What you can do is use speccy or realtemp and watch your temps during actual usage. You should idle in the 30's and hard-core game in the 60's. If your normal temps are running higher than that, then yes, you may want to look into better cooling. It may be just as simple as replacing the exhaust fan with a higher cfm like a Noctua s12a, Cougar Vortex or Corsair air performance. If that case has no intake fan, that would be a good start too, just don't forget a dust filter.

MrCabron · Dec 31, 2014

Karadjgne :

I was just about the purchase the above and did a quick check of the dimensions. It says that it is (269 x 128 x 37mm), seems massive in size, almost 30cm long. I am now concerned it will be too big. I knocked up cardboard to those dimensions and put it inside, looks tight.

Karadjgne you mention modifications, don't mind doing this, what do you have in mind?

Thanks

lukaquinn · Dec 31, 2014

I would personally say that with that wattage something like a 270x, they should be slowly price dropping, and get a model with a good cooler, msi-asus and solid amount of memory , 2-4Gb

Karadjgne · Jan 1, 2015

You have the depth front to back in your case for the card. If the card is 269mm long, all you need is 270mm and it's no worries. Sometimes slight rearrangement of things like intake fans, wiring, and especially hdd cages is necessary to get a gpu to fit. This is quite normal for higher end cards in mid tower chassis. Some hdd cages are spot welded, some are screwed so easily moved. And also, there is no saying that a hdd must be installed in those cages directly under the optical drives. It's your case. If you need to modify it slightly, no worries. Need a fan over the gpu? Make a template, drill some holes and viola! Extra fan mount.

I took the slide rule from a circular saw, unbent it, sanded an painted it, cut some slots for mounting adjustments in my case and that's now my gpu support bracket.

If you do have to move a cage, go for it. There's nothing saying that it absolutely has to be in that exact spot.

MrCabron · Jan 1, 2015

I have ordered the GPU and PSU, so will reconfiguring if required when they arrive.

Thanks for all the advise, much appreciated.

Karadjgne · Jan 1, 2015

You are most welcome, that's what we are here for. GL, and hope you enjoy.

MrCabron · Jan 30, 2015

Update: I have received the GPU and PSU. Looking at my case it will be very tight and considering the cost of a new case, am now considering whether I am better off just buying a new bigger case and installing it all in, which will give me more room.

What I would like to know: Is my will my motherboard (Foxconn Motherboard: uATX - 24.4 cm (9.6 inches) x 22.0 cm (8.7 inches).) for a micro tower fit in a full size case?

LaserNinja11 · Jan 31, 2015

yeah that motherboard will fit in the case
uatx is the same as micro atx and will with ease, fit inside your case

Best replacement for my Radeon HD 6450 that fits my system, expertise. Willing to spend £

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