i5 750 - 2.67ghz - Upgrade graphics card or does current cpu need replacing?

user700 · Feb 18, 2015

I have had my system for around 5-6 years and I am at the point where I need to upgrade or buy a new pc and don't have the funds for a new pc. So I am looking at probably just upgrading my graphics card and would like some advice please.

Here is my system:

System Model: Dell Studio XPS 8100
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz (4 CPUs) Lynnfield 45nm Technology
Motherboard Dell Inc. 0T568R
Memory: 6144MB RAM Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600)
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
W2361 (1920x1080@60Hz)
1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 5700 Series (ATI)
Hard drive 1192GB ARRAY0 (SATA)

Do I buy a reasonably priced average card like a GTX750ti or spend more on a R9 280x/GTX 770 that I could carry over to my next pc. I would like to be able to play newer games like The Witcher 3 but do not expect high settings. Any other GPU recommendations welcomed.

The next question is will my cpu bottleneck my system and therefore make it pointless buying a better GPU? I have had some experience with overclocking a gpu in the past so was going to overclock my cpu but the stock dell motherboard does not allow overclocking through the bios. Is it possible to overclock my cpu without having to buy a new motherboard?

2 years ago I was having high temps on my cpu so I replaced the cooler and thermal paste with Akasa K32 Intel Socket 775 1150 1155 1156 Processor Cooler. It improved but I am still seeing higher temps than I would like, around 55-60 deg idle and around 75-80 under load (I have not cleaned it recently so am sure that will improve temps slightly). What temps should I be getting?

jazzy663 · Feb 18, 2015

There's kind of a lack of information here, but I'll do my best.

Despite being about six years old, the Core i5-750 is still a pretty darn good CPU. If you installed something like a GTX 770 or R9 280x, you might see a slight bottleneck but probably nothing noticeable, unless you're playing a shoddy console port or something extremely CPU-intensive/unoptimized. But, that brings me to my next concern:

What I'm concerned about more than bottlenecks here is your power supply. You didn't list what kind of power supply you have installed. I am always very cautious working with OEM machines; in my experience the quality, wattage, and amperage of the OEM PSUs can vary (nine times out of ten OEMs like to put PSUs that are just barely enough for the system to run and maybe a low-power dedicated card). Thus, you should check what kind of power supply you have. You didn't list what card you have in the HD 5700-series, thus that could mean the 5750 or 5770. It looks like they both need 450W/30A and 450W/34A respectively. If that is the limit of your power supply, then based on that information alone I wouldn't recommend anything above a GTX 750 Ti. The 750 Ti has been proven to run on mere 300W power supplies.

Here's the bright side though - if you do end up going with the 750 Ti, I can say that there is almost no chance of a bottleneck as the 750 Ti is not terribly fast, yet it is still a solid card for gaming and it will net you a pretty good-sized performance boost from your 5750/5770, whatever you have. I will say that, if you wanted to spend a bit more, and your power supply is at least 400W with 29A on the +12v rail, then you might look at a GTX 960. That would give you an even bigger performance increase than the 750 Ti and I still doubt there would be a bottleneck.

And, as far as temps: I don't know what kind of temperatures you'd be getting after a good cleaning, that is impossible for me to tell. However, your system would definitely benefit from it, so please do so.

EDIT: Also, whatever card you're going to buy, make sure your PSU has the power connectors for it. There are models of the GTX 750 Ti that don't need external power, so check on that and make absolutely sure of it before you buy.

user700 · Feb 18, 2015

jazzy663 :

There's kind of a lack of information here, but I'll do my best.

Despite being about six years old, the Core i5-750 is still a pretty darn good CPU. If you installed something like a GTX 770 or R9 280x, you might see a slight bottleneck but probably nothing noticeable, unless you're playing a shoddy console port or something extremely CPU-intensive/unoptimized. But, that brings me to my next concern:

What I'm concerned about more than bottlenecks here is your power supply. You didn't list what kind of power supply you have installed. I am always very cautious working with OEM machines; in my experience the quality, wattage, and amperage of the OEM PSUs can vary (nine times out of ten OEMs like to put PSUs that are just barely enough for the system to run and maybe a low-power dedicated card). Thus, you should check what kind of power supply you have. You didn't list what card you have in the HD 5700-series, thus that could mean the 5750 or 5770. It looks like they both need 450W/30A and 450W/34A respectively. If that is the limit of your power supply, then based on that information alone I wouldn't recommend anything above a GTX 750 Ti. The 750 Ti has been proven to run on mere 300W power supplies.

Here's the bright side though - if you do end up going with the 750 Ti, I can say that there is almost no chance of a bottleneck as the 750 Ti is not terribly fast, yet it is still a solid card for gaming and it will net you a pretty good-sized performance boost from your 5750/5770, whatever you have. I will say that, if you wanted to spend a bit more, and your power supply is at least 400W with 29A on the +12v rail, then you might look at a GTX 960. That would give you an even bigger performance increase than the 750 Ti and I still doubt there would be a bottleneck.

And, as far as temps: I don't know what kind of temperatures you'd be getting after a good cleaning, that is impossible for me to tell. However, your system would definitely benefit from it, so please do so.

Thanks for the reply, sorry yes it is the 5770 and the power supply I couldn't find in my settings or using speccy and didn't have time to open up the case. I will open it up tomorrow to check power supply and give it a good clean. I could always buy a better power supply.

Kari · Feb 18, 2015

55-60c idle / 80c load are certainly high, i got those on the 750 stock cooler when oced to 3,2GHz prime 24h stable, and it needed some extra volts to get there, also the case airflow wasnt the best at the time, just one 120mm exhaust + the psu.... at stock it should be like 20c lower or more... So clean the heatsink

D

Also if the mobo/bios doesnt offer any oc mechanics, you're out of luck, sorry. Bying a new mobo would also mean a new windows license since the oem codes are tied to the bios onboard. If you can find a used P55 based mobo and a good deal on a retail windows it could be a viable option... and you could reuse the windows on the next build as well, retail versions allow for 3 installations on different machines...

jazzy663 · Feb 18, 2015

user700 :

jazzy663 :

Thanks for the reply, sorry yes it is the 5770 and the power supply I couldn't find in my settings or using speccy and didn't have time to open up the case. I will open it up tomorrow to check power supply and give it a good clean. I could always buy a better power supply.

Please do. If your power supply will limit you, then buying a new one will open up a lot of doors. While you're thinking about a new card and power supply (should you choose to get one), keep in mind that the AMD R9-series, while they are great in terms of price to performance, are quite a bit more power hungry than their Nvidia equivalents.

user700 · Feb 19, 2015

jazzy663 :

user700 :

Please do. If your power supply will limit you, then buying a new one will open up a lot of doors. While you're thinking about a new card and power supply (should you choose to get one), keep in mind that the AMD R9-series, while they are great in terms of price to performance, are quite a bit more power hungry than their Nvidia equivalents.

You are correct, it is not a good psu. It is a Dell 350W PS-6351-2 which only gives a output of 12A on the =12VA and 18A on the =12VB. So it looks like I need a new PSU, please could you suggest a suitable psu and what GPU options you think best? I would probably prefer to go for a better card than the gtx750ti to make the pc last a bit longer and perform better. Also any suggestions on places to purchase them, I generally look at amazon and ebuyer for pc parts but am open for suggestions.

I managed to clean and re-seat the heatsink which has improved my temps to a more reasonable level.

jazzy663 · Feb 19, 2015

It's good to hear you've lowered your temperatures. You weren't in the danger zone, but Kari was right, they were a little high.

If I may ask, what is your budget for upgrades? It will affect what I recommend.

AgentLOL · Feb 20, 2015

user700 :

jazzy663 :

You are correct, it is not a good psu. It is a Dell 350W PS-6351-2 which only gives a output of 12A on the =12VA and 18A on the =12VB. So it looks like I need a new PSU, please could you suggest a suitable psu and what GPU options you think best? I would probably prefer to go for a better card than the gtx750ti to make the pc last a bit longer and perform better. Also any suggestions on places to purchase them, I generally look at amazon and ebuyer for pc parts but am open for suggestions.

I managed to clean and re-seat the heatsink which has improved my temps to a more reasonable level.

You changing your PSU means really unplugging literally everything that's connected to the PSU. Your GPU, Motherboard, everything. But, even if you do change it, don't get a GTX 960. The power it has compared to the GTX 970 for just $100 less isn't worth it. Also, what is your budget? We can't reccomend much if we don't know how much you're willing to spend.

jazzy663 · Feb 20, 2015

...you shouldn't be saying things like 'don't get xx GPU' and 'xx is not worth it' and whatnot. The reason being we don't know his budget. Perhaps he can't afford a 970? Look at the original post. Who knows, maybe he can, we don't know yet. But the 960 offers stellar performance for its price point and it's super energy-efficient to boot.

The ideal is to get the best performance for the money.

user700 · Feb 20, 2015

jazzy663 :

I have replaced a psu before so understand it means unplugging everything.

I was expecting to spend around £150-200 on a card. I assume a sufficient psu will be around £30-40? If I could get a decent card for £180 and psu for £30 I would be happy with that.

Would I see a significant performance improvement if I increased my ram by taking out my 2x 1gb sticks and replacing them with 2x 2gb taking me from 6gb up to 8gb?

jazzy663 · Feb 22, 2015

Sorry for the late reply, I suddenly got sick over the weekend and could barely pull myself out of bed.

First, I'll address the memory: I doubt you'd see anything significant from adding another 2GB of memory, save perhaps a little better performance on the desktop when running multiple applications at once. If you're buying a new graphics card for gaming, you might see a negligible increase in framerate with the added memory. 6GB is fine.

As far as the power supply: If my currency conversion is correct, then £30 is equivalent to about $46. You can buy a power supply with that, but it won't be a very high-quality one. I was taught that you should never skimp on the power supply, as such I'm going to have to stretch that budget a bit.

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card (£168.00 @ Amazon UK)
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/mr/amazonuk/msi-video-card-gtx960gaming2g
Power Supply: SeaSonic EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£67.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/mr/scancouk/seasonic-power-supply-ss620gm2
Total: £235.94

EDIT: I was going to recommend this PSU before, but I could find any links to it on PCPartPicker. I did some Googling though, and found it on Amazon UK. It is also a very good quality unit, still more than enough for the 960 yet quite a bit cheaper. Get this one instead, if you so desire: http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-ATX-550-Power-Supply/dp/B004RJ8EKI I have actually seen this XFX PSU come recommended more often than any other here on Tom's.

Before you buy any parts, I feel it is my duty to warn you that you should check the inside of your case to see if you have enough space to fit the card. Modern graphics cards are big, and you are working with an OEM case - GPUs don't always fit in those cases (trust me, I know from experience). The card is 267mm long, and it is rather wide as well.

The graphics card is a GTX 960 out of MSI's Twin Frozr line. These are great cards, I have built two rigs with them (an R9 270X and GTX 970) and they both perform like champs. A friend of mine also owns a 780Ti out of that line and it performs like a champ as well.

The power supply is quite a bit overkill for the graphics card here (400W/29A requirement vs 620W/49A supply), but it is a very good quality SeaSonic unit (Tier 2 Class A) that you should be able to carry over into your next build. SeaSonic units are known for their quality and that one was the cheapest I could find on PCPartPicker.

I would like to recommend a 970, but I doubt I'd be able to find one for £200. Even the used ones I'm seeing are going for around £240. If you can find one that's within your budget it would be great, the PSU I recommended would work and both parts would easily carry over into your next build.

coozie7 · Feb 22, 2015

Good call from Jazzy663 on the case dimensions, pop the tape measure out and check before ordering. Although the Dell site shows the XPS Studio 8100 as having a conventional layout there seems to be limited space, so a long card will not fit.

@ User700: Check the motherboard BIOS options, some of the older Dell XPS systems did allow for overclocking, if not you're pretty well stuck, P55 motherboards are non existent retail and, as Kari points out the Dell Windows License will be tied to the current CPU/MB, by the time you've swapped 'boards and purchased a new license you're halfway towards a full rebuild...Not what you're asking about.

If you cannot overclock (or are not willing to) the GTX750Ti is a big upgrade over the HD5770 and it should run off the existing PSU, most of those older Dells used very good quality power supplies. The GTX750Ti draws a little over the 75Watts the PCI-E slot can provide so it does need an additional 6 pin PCI-E power lead (or 2 spare Molex plugs) from the PSU to run.

If you can overclock something around the GTX960 is a good option but it WILL require a upgraded PSU and you'll need to get the CPU to about 3.2-3.4GHz otherwise the graphics card will be held back. That's what happened with my i5 750/HD7950 setup, at 3.4GHz it would use the graphics at 100% almost continuously but at 3.2GHz several games would drop to 96% or thereabouts, not a big drop but I think you get the idea.

How the cards roughly compare: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32899-7.html the GTX960 falls between the R9 270X and R9 280X a little faster than one, a little slower than the other BTW.

Some places to shop: Overclockers, Aria, Dabs, CCL, Scan, Novatech, Ebuyer, Amazon, Maplins.

sora · Feb 22, 2015

jazzy663 :

Sorry for the late reply, I suddenly got sick over the weekend and could barely pull myself out of bed.

First, I'll address the memory: I doubt you'd see anything significant from adding another 2GB of memory, save perhaps a little better performance on the desktop when running multiple applications at once. If you're buying a new graphics card for gaming, you might see a negligible increase in framerate with the added memory. 6GB is fine.

As far as the power supply: If my currency conversion is correct, then £30 is equivalent to about $46. You can buy a power supply with that, but it won't be a very high-quality one. I was taught that you should never skimp on the power supply, as such I'm going to have to stretch that budget a bit.

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card (£168.00 @ Amazon UK)
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/mr/amazonuk/msi-video-card-gtx960gaming2g
Power Supply: SeaSonic EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£67.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/mr/scancouk/seasonic-power-supply-ss620gm2
Total: £235.94

EDIT: I was going to recommend this PSU before, but I could find any links to it on PCPartPicker. I did some Googling though, and found it on Amazon UK. It is also a very good quality unit, still more than enough for the 960 yet quite a bit cheaper. Get this one instead, if you so desire: http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-ATX-550-Power-Supply/dp/B004RJ8EKI I have actually seen this XFX PSU come recommended more often than any other here on Tom's.

Before you buy any parts, I feel it is my duty to warn you that you should check the inside of your case to see if you have enough space to fit the card. Modern graphics cards are big, and you are working with an OEM case - GPUs don't always fit in those cases (trust me, I know from experience). The card is 267mm long, and it is rather wide as well.

The graphics card is a GTX 960 out of MSI's Twin Frozr line. These are great cards, I have built two rigs with them (an R9 270X and GTX 970) and they both perform like champs. A friend of mine also owns a 780Ti out of that line and it performs like a champ as well.

The power supply is quite a bit overkill for the graphics card here (400W/29A requirement vs 620W/49A supply), but it is a very good quality SeaSonic unit (Tier 2 Class A) that you should be able to carry over into your next build. SeaSonic units are known for their quality and that one was the cheapest I could find on PCPartPicker.

I would like to recommend a 970, but I doubt I'd be able to find one for £200. Even the used ones I'm seeing are going for around £240. If you can find one that's within your budget it would be great, the PSU I recommended would work and both parts would easily carry over into your next build.

+1; This is the best price to performance upgrade! The GTX 970 or 960 would pair up nicely with the i5 750 haha.

user700 · Feb 23, 2015

Thanks everybody for the great replies. I will digest all the information and check the size of my card/case. My current card shows up online at 22 X 12 X 4 cm so is certainly smaller than the GTX960 so I will need to measure inside the case.

I assume a GTX960 with the processor holding it back a little will still give me better performance than a GTX750ti? I have checked the bios options 3 times and can't see any possible options/menus to allow me to overclock my i5 750 so the current cpu will have to stay at 2.67ghz until I buy a new pc/new build in 1-2 years. I would like to be able to transfer my GTX960 to my new build in 1-2 years and still be able to play most games on medium settings.

jazzy663 · Feb 23, 2015

The 960 is a good bit more powerful than the 750 Ti, Game-Debate tells me it's almost a 40% difference in performance when comparing the reference models.

As to how much it will bottleneck I can't say; I haven't had the privilege of testing a 960 myself. But, I don't imagine it being much. I imagine the card would last you at least 3 years, probably longer. I actually have a friend that is still using a GTX 460, from 2010, and I plan on keeping my GTX 760 (2013) for at least another year.

Keep in mind that this is only a suggestion, too. That there could be something better for your money is entirely possible.

user700 · Feb 25, 2015

jazzy663 :

As expected my case seems a bit tight. The thickness and length aren't a problem but the height is. My current card is 222mm long (enough room for 336mm to back of the case) x 35mm thick x 95mm high and this one is the problem. I have 110mm height which allows a bit of room to manoeuvre the card into the slot.

The MSI Nvidia gtx960 you suggested is shown as 139mm high on msi website so will be too big, the Geforce version is around 115mm high which would fit if I relocated the hardrive which would give me 130mm.

Is there a suitable card that would fit or do I need a new case as well :sarcastic:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rfpfaz4y0yn1rmd/P1170519.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/c9lskncc2mcz7vi/P1170515.JPG?dl=0

edit: I tried adding the images using the supplied feature but they did not show up so posted direct links instead.

Kari · Feb 26, 2015

user700 :

how about a much shorter card? Asus gtx 960 mini is only 170mm long and 122mm in height, it should stay way clear of the hdd..
http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/GTX960MOC2GD5/

edit might be noisier thou... and the card has just been announced so market availability might be a bit low atm. Also i havent seen any reviews on it yet. :/

jazzy663 · Feb 26, 2015

You shouldn't need a new case, I wouldn't be putting an OEM board in a new case anyway personally. Don't worry, they make small form-factor cards specifically for issues like these.

I was going to suggest the Gigabyte G1 Mini-ITX 960, but the the Asus one Kari mentioned could work too.

But, if you can't find that one, check this one out. 42mm height, 181mm length, 136mm width.
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5369#sp

Edit: That might not work either, I think height and width are mixed up. But give it a look anyway.

AgentLOL · Feb 27, 2015

The Maxwell GPUs are more power efficient. They make less noise. Not sure if the Asus Strix version exists for the GTX 960. Basically 0db in sound for normal use and light gaming. If you're getting a new case, keep the hard drives, RAM, cpu, maybe cpu cooler, but switch the motherboard, gpu, and PSU out. Would also help for a RAM change.

I don't use small GPU cards, so yeah. If only they had that Alienware thing for small PCs. A CPU and full GPU in an external case. Just realized the Strix for 960 is actually dual size, or full size. Yeah, that small card will make a good bit of noise.

And if you can afford, cause its worlds better than the 960.
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-GTX970-DCMOC-4GD5-ASUS-Graphics-Cards/dp/B00RL2SLAG

I believe they may release the Tis Ex. 950Ti, etc. sometime soon.

user700 · Feb 28, 2015

jazzy663 :

I have had a good look at all the variants available of the GTX960 and the following will fit if I move my HDD:

EVGA
Palit Jetstream
PNY
Gigabyte G1
Gainward Phantom

But after another check inside my case I have realised that I can have a card up to 230mm long before it gets near the HDD and makes the height a problem. So the following cards will fit as the length is below 230mm:

Asus GTX 960 Strix http://www.ebuyer.com/698776-asus-gtx-960-strix-2gb-gddr5-dvi-hdmi-3-x-displayport-pci-e-strix-gtx960-dc2oc?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products&gclid=COjXjsW7hMQCFSXItAodfSUA0Q
Zotac GTX960 AMP http://www.ebuyer.com/697837-zotac-gtx-960-amp-edition-2gb-ddr5-dual-link-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-zt-90303-10m?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products&gclid=CJ-h1t2_hMQCFWsCwwodSGIAhw

So as AgentLOL has recommended the Strix version I assume that would be the best option, it is also reasonably priced at £175 as they range from £165-193.

AgentLOL · Feb 28, 2015

user700 :

jazzy663 :

I have had a good look at all the variants available of the GTX960 and the following will fit if I move my HDD:

EVGA
Palit Jetstream
PNY
Gigabyte G1
Gainward Phantom

But after another check inside my case I have realised that I can have a card up to 230mm long before it gets near the HDD and makes the height a problem. So the following cards will fit as the length is below 230mm:

Asus GTX 960 Strix http://www.ebuyer.com/698776-asus-gtx-960-strix-2gb-gddr5-dvi-hdmi-3-x-displayport-pci-e-strix-gtx960-dc2oc?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products&gclid=COjXjsW7hMQCFSXItAodfSUA0Q
Zotac GTX960 AMP http://www.ebuyer.com/697837-zotac-gtx-960-amp-edition-2gb-ddr5-dual-link-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-zt-90303-10m?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products&gclid=CJ-h1t2_hMQCFWsCwwodSGIAhw

So as AgentLOL has recommended the Strix version I assume that would be the best option, it is also reasonably priced at £175 as they range from £165-193.

Be sure your PSU has enough amps and watts to cover. The Strix is what I reccomend because of the 0db technology using the new Maxwell Architecture. Sacrificies little power for less noise. If you want raw power, go for EVGA or some other brand.

Kari · Feb 28, 2015

Strix isnt the only one turning off the fans when idle
"All GTX 960 cards we tested today will, as such, completely turn off their fans when temperatures are low, " page 27
"Yet again, no major differences between our tested cards. All cards turn off their fans in idle, which results in roughly 40°C. " page 32
Gigabyte GTX 960 G1 Gaming
MSI GTX 960 Gaming
ASUS GTX 960 STRIX
EVGA GTX 960 SSC
Palit GTX 960 Super Jetstream
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GTX_960_G1_Gaming/27.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GTX_960_G1_Gaming/32.html

probably every 960 does it...

AgentLOL · Feb 28, 2015

Kari :

Yes, true, when not gaming, they all will obviously not use fans. Duh. Did you not read "also doesn't use them for light gaming?" Anyways, their fans can also run at very low RPM while still maintaining coolness. The max temp I got will fully hitting at my GPU on Furmark was 65 degress Celsius. Others probably won't be like that. This sacrificies a little more power for the extra cooling power.

Kari · Feb 28, 2015

AgentLOL :

well the others dont exactly run hot either, (keep in mind some are overclocked)
Idle Load
Gigabyte GTX 960 G1 Gaming 38°C 67°C
MSI GTX 960 Gaming 45°C 63°C
ASUS GTX 960 STRIX 42°C 60°C
EVGA GTX 960 SSC 40°C 71°C
Palit GTX 960 Super Jetstream 35°C 67°C

edit and in case you missed it the links are for the gigabyte card, not strix, so they all behave the same

AgentLOL · Mar 2, 2015

Kari :

Their Maxwell. They all won't run hot. And unless you overclock, you aint going higher than 70, nowhere near 80. Its also bigger than the Gigabyte. More bigger fans=more cool less noise. Less smaller fans=Lots of noise

I'm not a CPU guy, so I'm not sure if it bottlenecks. I mean, these are pretty powerful. Can your CPU render 4K videos? If it can, it will probably be as good as it needs to be. I don't know any other way of testing them for gaming performance...

i5 750 - 2.67ghz - Upgrade graphics card or does current cpu need replacing?

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