Thinking of upgrading to a gpu...

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thebox458

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So im thinking of upgrading my sff pc with a gpu. I looked at the Nvidia GT 710. Its not the best gpu but it only takes a tdp of 19 which is very low. The only question im asking is can my pc run it. I have a power supply of 90W and it is a small form factor so its small... Heres the link to the pc specs...
https://www.asus.com/Tower-PCs/K20BF/specifications/
It has an amd a8-6500 3.5ghz quad core and 6gb ram. I want to run fortnite at least 60fps because my gpu i have right now runs only at 20-30 fps on very low
Heres the link to the gt 710...
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43&item_id=092978



I know it says it recommends a 300w psu but i just want to see if it works.
 
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Dual Channel helps on integrated GPU. When using a dedicated GPU the performance differences are small. That's what he wanted to say.

To use 12GB you'd have to get 4+8GB as you only have to DIMM slots for RAM. That would be a stupid thing to do. 16GB (2x8GB) would be a decent choice, but massively overkill because the rest of the PC isn't in...
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aquielisunari

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Mar 31, 2011
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100% no. You have a 65W PSU and the rest of your PC and a 90W PSU??????? Then you want to add in a 710? Sorry, that isn't going to work.
 
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thebox458

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How about ram? Can I double it to 12 gb? Sorry im very bad at computer stuff...
 
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ZRace

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I think you meant 65W "CPU" there ;)

But I agree, 90W won't be enough to support an additional graphics card, even if it's only a GT 710.

Cheap-ish upgrade would be to get rid of those 6GB of RAM - they won't run in dual channel because it's most likely a 4GB + 2GB configuration - and replace them by a kit of 2x 4GB of DDR3 memory, preferably DDR3-1866, otherwise DDR3-1600. This should give you a boost in gaming performance, as integrated GPUs benefit greatly from fast dual-channel RAM.

You could also go for a more extensive (& expensive) upgrade, like an A10-6700 (or if you update your BIOS, an Athlon X4 840 or A10-7860K) and either do the RAM swap like above or get a new PSU & graphics card.

TL;DR
1. RAM from (probably) 4+2GB -> new 4+4GB kit with DDR3-1866 or -1600
2. CPU upgrade A8-6500 -> A10-6700/-7860K, Athlon X4 840 in combination with RAM upgrade
3. CPU upgrade + PSU upgrade + GPU upgrade
4. Option 3 plus RAM upgrade.

Option 3 and 4 cost enough to warrant upgrading the whole platform upgrade though - swapping the motherboard too.
 
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jaslion

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Adding more ram will give you maybe 1 more fps.

The only real option for you is to get a whole new system. Since even on a a10 6700 you will still barely stay at 30 fps.
 
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thebox458

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So is it better with dual channel as u said above or 4gb plus 8gb with ddr3 1600mhz? Also does my mobo support ddr3 1866 mhz? (Btw ty for the long explanation)
 
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jaslion

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It's an oem board so most of the time the ram will run at 1333 mhz sometimes at 1600. Again it's not going to give you any performance increase since you are using the gt 710 and not the igpu of the a8.
 
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ZRace

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The A58 chipset that is used supports DDR3-1866, so it should work.
Yes, dual channel RAM is proven to provide an up to 100% boost on AMDs APUs (that's nearly 2x the performance!). - Edit: the boost isn't always that big, but it's always noticeably better.
I'd however first check whether your current RAM really only runs at single channel.
You can check that by getting a small program called "CPU-Z". After starting that, go into the "Memory" tab. The value of "Channel #" will tell you if you're running single or dual channel.

Correction on the CPU upgrades from my part: The A10-7860K and Athlon X4 840 are not supported. The A10-7800 is, however, and that would be the best possible on your system.
 
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thebox458

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What? Im not using the gt 710. Im using the a8 integrated gpu. Anyways im just asking is it better with 12gb of ram which is single channel or should i use dual channel ram (4 + 4)
 
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thebox458

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Sorry for annoying u with these dumb questions. Anyways, im not home atm, but lets say the stock ram on my pc doesnt use dual channel and uses single channel or if it does support dual channel, is it possible if i can get rid of the 2gb ram and find a 4gb equivalent to the stock ram (and clock speed) or do i have to get rid of the stock and ram and but a 4+4 ram kit.

Im really stressed since i use skype and fortnite and it always takes YEARS to switch apps. My ram is always at 90-100% and optimising my pc with ccleaner and advanced system care doesnt work. I really just need a budget solution and spend $90 CAD at most...
 
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ZRace

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Dual Channel helps on integrated GPU. When using a dedicated GPU the performance differences are small. That's what he wanted to say.

To use 12GB you'd have to get 4+8GB as you only have to DIMM slots for RAM. That would be a stupid thing to do. 16GB (2x8GB) would be a decent choice, but massively overkill because the rest of the PC isn't in a performance class that would make more than 8GB worth it ;)

Edit: Getting another 4GB stick that's the same model as the one you already have can get dual channel working, but there's no guarantee because RAM sticks mostly need to be adapted to each other to work in dual channel together.
4+4GB kits are guaranteed to work in dual channel.

If your 6GB RAM always fill to 100%, it might be worth thinking about going straight to 8+8GB (16GB). 8GB is not much more than than 6GB, so those might fill up to 100% too...
 
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thebox458

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OH SO IT HELPS WITH GAMING PERFORMANCE TOO? OK IL STICK WITH DUAL CHANNEL. THANK YOU FOR HELPING.
 
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thebox458

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Quick question, what does "cl 9" or "cl 10" mean in ram wise. And which type of this cl work with my mobo?
 
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aquielisunari

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You will probably only see CL9 or CL10. Those are also used to describe the CAS Latency or timing. They really don't amount to any real world difference between 9 & 10. You can pick either one. A lower number is usually preferable. The bigger variable is the speed. You may be able to use 1333MHz or 2133 MHz or 1600MHz or 1866MHz. Those speeds make a more noticeable difference.

If you want to know you can run Speccy which will show you all of your components
2018_PC.png
. You can then go to that motherboard's page and look at the Memory QVL(Qualified Vendor List) which should be in the board's Support page(not the site's Support page). You may instead see Memory Compatibility list. It is not a tell all book about which RAM modules with varying specs. will work with that board. It is a list of RAM modules that have been tested with that board. There's no chance of them trying every DDR3 sticks on the planet.
 
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ZRace

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May 12, 2017
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CL value tells you the latency of RAM. The lower the CL value, the better. Performance impacts are mostly negligible. If the CL difference between 2 RAM kits 3 or higher, it can have a noticeable impact. Go with the lowest CL RAM that's reasonably priced.
Don't cheap out too much, but don't spend everything on it either ;)

Edit: @aquielisunari Now try finding a QVL without having a motherboard model. though perhaps Speccy will be able to read it out. ASUS' site on his PC doesn't say anything about the motherboard model or give a QVL tho.
 
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