Upgrading Graphics Card

[Marksie]

Hello I just purchased an HP Pavilion HPE Series H8-1214

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=5192450 -pc

And It only has an Radeon 7450 GPU card installed, I'm new to PC gaming and Play Mass effect 2, Starcraft 2, Dead space 2 and hope to get newer games soon. Anyways the 7450 is just not cutting it so I want to get a better graphics card in my system, the problem is the PC only has a 300 watt power supply unit in the computer, so upgrading to anything decent is pretty much out of the question, so what I (hope) to do is to get a 500 watt power supply unit and install it into the computer and get a new Radeon 7770 graphics card in the system, only problem is the card is about 8 inches so I'm not sure it will fit (I measured the case and I think it will but I'm not positive as it gets in the way of some cables but nothing on the motherboard.) Another idea I have is to keep the power supply and just get a Radeon 7750 Graphics card instead. If anyone can help me I would really appreciate it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102967 -Graphics Card

http://204.14.213.185/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 -Power Supply Unit

 

[unclejehmimah]

Hello I just purchased an HP Pavilion HPE Series H8-1214

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=5192450 -pc

And It only has an Radeon 7450 GPU card installed, I'm new to PC gaming and Play Mass effect 2, Starcraft 2, Dead space 2 and hope to get newer games soon. Anyways the 7450 is just not cutting it so I want to get a better graphics card in my system, the problem is the PC only has a 300 watt power supply unit in the computer, so upgrading to anything decent is pretty much out of the question, so what I (hope) to do is to get a 500 watt power supply unit and install it into the computer and get a new Radeon 7770 graphics card in the system, only problem is the card is about 8 inches so I'm not sure it will fit (I measured the case and I think it will but I'm not positive as it gets in the way of some cables but nothing on the motherboard.) Another idea I have is to keep the power supply and just get a Radeon 7750 Graphics card instead. If anyone can help me I would really appreciate it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102967 -Graphics Card

http://204.14.213.185/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 -Power Supply Unit

1) You will need a new power supply. If I were you I would go with an 80 plus gold PSU to save power and to keep that tight little stock case a bit cooler so that higher profile GPU can spew extra heat, although it would run you a little extra on the PSU because of higher quality transistors and what not inside the unit. For example this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182068. Let me say this again, 80 plus gold is going to generate less heat than the one you chose. Plus, with this PSU you can take up to a GTX 560 ti with the extra 50 watts (taking PSU deterioration into concern the extra 50 watts is also a better choice.) But you probably won't be doing that in this rig!

2) The card is about 8.5 inches from what I can tell. It would be great if you could tell me how much room you actually have in your case. around 10 inches would be great, 9 inches a squeeze because of the PCI-e six pin connector on the rear end of the card. Plus, this card is PCI-e 3.0 so you might want to take that into consideration, it's still compatible with 2.0 but in the future people will be squeezing more performance out of this card with 3.0. Still, I think this a pretty good choice of card for you.

P.S. If you could reply with the exact dimensions of the case (and any questions you have), then we can determine if it will fit right. A picture of the case would be great too, but not required. Last thing, if you have heat issues taking the side panel off can help. I hope that helped!

 

[esrever]

the 7770 will have no problem fitting.

You could also get a 7750 if you don't wish to upgrade psu.

 

[Marksie]

1) You will need a new power supply. If I were you I would go with an 80 plus gold PSU to save power and to keep that tight little stock case a bit cooler so that higher profile GPU can spew extra heat, although it would run you a little extra on the PSU because of higher quality transistors and what not inside the unit. For example this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182068. Let me say this again, 80 plus gold is going to generate less heat than the one you chose. Plus, with this PSU you can take up to a GTX 560 ti with the extra 50 watts (taking PSU deterioration into concern the extra 50 watts is also a better choice.) But you porbably won't be doing that in this rig!

2) The card is about 8.5 inches from what I can tell. It would be great if you could tell me how much room you actually have in your case. around 10 inches would be great, 9 inches a squeeze because of the PCI-e six pin connector on the rear end of the card. Plus, this card is PCI-e 3.0 so you might want to take that into consideration, it's still compatible with 2.0 but in the future people will be squeezing more performance out of this card with 3.0. Still, I think this a pretty good choice of card for you.

P.S. If you could reply with the exact dimensions of the case (and any questions you have), then we can determine if it will fit right. A picture of the case would be great too, but not required. Last thing, if you have heat issues taking the side panel off can help. I hope that helped!

Hey, I can get into the case fine there's just one simple screw but thanks anyways, There's a Hard drive loader holding the hard drive in the case so I got a tape measure and I have about 10 inches up to the hard drive so I think it will fit, I took four pictures I hope they help pictures- http://s1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj594/Mark3sie/ the last one has the best clarity.

 

[unclejehmimah]

Hey, I can get into the case fine there's just one simple screw but thanks anyways, There's a Hard drive loader holding the hard drive in the case so I got a tape measure and I have about 10 inches up to the hard drive so I think it will fit, I took four pictures I hope they help pictures- http://s1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj594/Mark3sie/ the last one has the best clarity.

Sounds like the 7770 will work fine with a PSU upgrade, you could even do a 560 ti with 10 inches. Sorry about the broken PSU link by the way, I hope this one works. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182068 note that this is not a modular PSU, so you'll have some cable clutter, but the one you have ATM is also non-modular. The one you selected isn't either, so this shouldn't be to much of a difference for you as long as you have some twist ties to keep the cables out of the way.

The 7770 is a good GPU but I wouldn't exactly call it "high end", so if you want to be playing Skyrim on ultra you might want something a bit more powerful. Again, a great cost/performance balanced card is the 560 ti, here's a link to one my friend has in a very similar rig to yours and he plays on pretty high settings. I don't know if you have budget concerns but I'm assuming you're not considering a GTX 580 or a 7970, more in the sensible card for a sensible person range. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127608

 

[swifty_morgan]

what monitor/resolution are you gaming at. how much money can you invest ?

 

[jessterman21]

You won't notice a difference in the HD 7770 and the 7750 especially if you overclock the 7750. Save yourself $75-100.

 

[unclejehmimah]

You won't notice a difference in the HD 7770 and the 7750 especially if you overclock the 7750. Save yourself $75-100.

Mate, you got that wrong, he's working in a cramped case and he's gonna get a lot of heat if he's running an oc'd GPU with a stock cooler. It's better to use a GPU with a cooler meant for the speeds it runs at, especially in a low airflow environment. Plus, overclocking a is a pain for people who've not done it before and can result in catastrophe and many spilled tears. I would seriously suggest running your video card at the speed the manufacturer meant it to run at. Marksie, just spend the extra coin, prevent future heat/overclocking mishaps. Anyways, the price difference isn't that drastic.

 

[esrever]

You won't notice a difference in the HD 7770 and the 7750 especially if you overclock the 7750. Save yourself $75-100.

considering the 7770 is 30% faster than the 7750 thats some extreme OC for a card without a power connector even if possible. I would advise against that. Also the 7750 is only $40 less than the 7770.

 

[unclejehmimah]

considering the 7770 is 30% faster than the 7750 thats some extreme OC for a card without a power connector even if possible. I would advise against that. Also the 7750 is only $40 less than the 7770.

Said like a sir.

 

[Marksie]

what monitor/resolution are you gaming at. how much money can you invest ?

I'm using a 20" acer monitor, not positive what resolution but nothing crazy, mainstream, I don't have to have a card that will run everything at ultra, just one that can play with playable frame-rates and look good, so I think the 7770 is the best choice, even the 7450 that I have right now can play mass effect 2 with zero lag so I should be fine with the 7770.

 

[Marksie]

Best answer selected by marksie.

 

[swifty_morgan]

I'm using a 20" acer monitor, not positive what resolution but nothing crazy, mainstream, I don't have to have a card that will run everything at ultra, just one that can play with playable frame-rates and look good, so I think the 7770 is the best choice, even the 7450 that I have right now can play mass effect 2 with zero lag so I should be fine with the 7770.

actually a 6850 is a better card. the 7770 is just newer. that's all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viQYLDKMqzY&feature=plcp&context=C397dedbUDOEgsToPDskLudIlGvLH51gvXqpPMBlh5

 

[jessterman21]

Omg guys, I said the OP wouldn't notice a difference in playability. NOT that the 7750 can be overclocked to match the HD 7770. There's only a 5-8fps difference in most games at medium/high. Not noticeable in my book.

ALSO I haven't seen an HD 7750 on sale with the terrible stock cooler anyway, and each aftermarket cooler on the available models is extremely capable and keeps the chip at 60C or lower on stock clocks. Plenty of headroom for a 10-15% overclock without getting anywhere near hot. Further decreasing the difference in performance between the 7750 and 7770 to unnoticeable levels.

The $75-100 I was talking about is the cost of a new PSU and the price difference between the 7750 and 7770. I believe an expensive 80+ gold PSU was suggested? OP can run the 7750 on the current PSU, but a 7770 would be a stretch, so there's even more money spent on a barely noticeable bump in performance.

I'm not recommending against the HD 7770, but I think there's more bang for your buck in the HD 7750 right now.

 

[warmachine718]

hello all im new to the forum and pc. I have just basic knowledge on computers. I just brought the same pc and same spec. Anything you guys recommend i should get to be able to play games like shogun and wargame escalation on high/ultra graphic? Im planning to go to bestbuy to buy the things needed.

 

[jessterman21]

hello all im new to the forum and pc. I have just basic knowledge on computers. I just brought the same pc and same spec. Anything you guys recommend i should get to be able to play games like shogun and wargame escalation on high/ultra graphic? Im planning to go to bestbuy to buy the things needed.

Hello - start a new thread.