Radeon HD 6550D upgrade Skyrim

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Joda90

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Jan 22, 2016
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Hello everyone! I'm new here and I hope someone of you experts can help me.

I have a PC with this specs:

Windows 10 64 bit
AMD A8-3870 APU with Radeon HD 6550D graphics 3.00 GHz
RAM: 4 GB (3.73 usable)
Monitor: HP C4D30AA Pavilion 22xi
500watt power supply

Since I'm only able to get around 10 FPS on medium settings with Skyrim, I was thinking about a graphic card upgrade. Could anyone suggest an upgrade (around 100$) which would fit with the other specs?

Thanks in advance to anyone who will answer.
 
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voltoid27

voltoid27

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Only 10 FPS? That seems curiously low for medium settings. At 900p you should be getting ~45 fps: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g620-amd-a8-3870k-radeon-hd-6670,3140-6.html
I'm guessing you're running on crappy RAM to be getting framerates that low. I don't know what motherboard you have so I couldn't say what the best upgrade to the RAM would be, but that's definitely something to consider.

Anyway, back to the question at hand, if you have an OEM motherboard I'd be hesitant to drop a new PCI Express 3.0 card in there due to BIOS incompatibility. I can tell you that a PCIe 2.0/2.1 card like the Radeon HD 6670 (http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sop=15&_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=HD+6670+2gb&rt=nc) would be guaranteed to work, and (in most cases) will let you run Hybrid Graphics with your HD 6550D on-chip graphics. If you can reply with the model number of your motherboard, I'd be able to give you a more relevant answer.
 
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Joda90

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Thank you very much for your reply!

The motherboard is Asrock A75M-ITX. I hadn't thought about upgrading RAM because it's 4GB (but I'm not an expert), so I accept suggestions about that too.
 
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xxxhomie21

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3.73 gb usable that means Ur running 32 bit os try to get 64 bit one after that 4 gb can fully usable
and for gpu U can cross fire 6550d with some hd6000 series cards of amd check there website if cards availability is no more U can swith to gt 740 or r7 250
in that budget
 
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voltoid27

voltoid27

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Happy to help! That's not a bad board all things considered, it'll let you run overclocked RAM (2400 MT/s vs 1866 MT/s) and does indeed support Hybrid Graphics. I have a few recommendations:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233536 - This is the RAM to get if you're concerned about staying "in spec" for your hardware, i.e. not overclocking. This is what I would get if I had your system.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CRF9WR8/ - This is much more aggressive RAM, aimed at maximum performance, but AMD's not going to help you if something goes wrong while using it. You'll get better framerates with it, but the possibility of damaging a component with the extra speed and voltage is real.
Back to the original question of the GPU, if you can find a good deal on an HD 6670, it may be a good option for you, but otherwise it's much better to get something newer. In that case, this is the card for you: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150753 This little beast will blow the HD 6550D + HD 6670 out of the water, and is hands-down the best $80 (post-rebate) you can spend on bolstering your rig. Just make sure that your power supply has a 6-pin PCIe connector on it, and you'll be all set. If you're missing that connector, go for a GTX 750 Ti instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133531
With all that out of the way, I have to strongly recommend against continuing to use only 4GB of RAM. You need at least 8 these days, and although a new GPU will get you better performance in games (and is a better idea if that's the sole use of your system), new RAM will make your system an all-around better performer.
 
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voltoid27

voltoid27

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Seems legit. I'm glad you brought that up though, because it raises a very good point. 3.73GB available indicates that ~0.25GB is assigned to the HD 6550D graphics, and Skyrim needs at least 0.5GB. Maybe that's why your framerates are so bad; you need to enter your BIOS and give the onboard GPU 512 MB instead of 256 MB, and that may help boost performance for free.

 
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Joda90

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Ok, I set the onboard GPU to 512 Mb, now I'm at 16-18 FPS, still it's annoying because I should have more. I'll consider upgrading the GPU, thanks again for the help.
 
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