Upgrading Graphics Card, 550 Ti or Radeon 7750

xPryde

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Jul 8, 2012
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Hi, I'm in the UK and I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card to either a GTX 550 Ti or a Radeon 7750. I'm only looking at Amazon. My current graphics is Integrated HD and I want to change that badly. My computer is a HP P6-2160ea.

My Specs:

CPU: Intel Core i3 2120 @ 3.3 GHz
Graphics: Intel HD (Integrated)
Mobo: H-CUPERTINO2-H61-uA TX (Cupertino2)
RAM: 8GB
HDD: 1TB
Power supply: Internal 300W (100V-240V)
Case: Mini Tower

GTX 550 Ti: PNY Geforce GTX 550 Ti 1GB
Radeon 7750: Sapphire Radeon HD 7750 1GB GDDR5


I want to know if any of those cards can fit in my computer. I am also looking to upgrade my power supply. So can anyone recommend any from amazon.co.uk?

Budget: Around £120 Max Altogether.

Any bottlenecks?

 

xPryde

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If I decide to get the 7750, will it fit in my PC perfectly though? And plus, it says I need a 400W PSU or greater.
 
they say 400W because there are a lot if PSU makers that lie. for instance cooler master makes a "500"W PSU that's only rated for 360W on the 12V. They give LOTS of wiggle room because they don't know your machine or PSU and don't want to get blamed if it explodes.

it should be fine, but no harm if you want to upgrade the PSU. FYI its actually 59W I believe.

Sapphire even makes a single slot low profile one I believe if you have any size issues
 

shamsmu

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Yeah the sapphire one looks good too. It should run even on your current psu. But if you plan on upgrading your psu for the future (in case you want to get a hd7870/7950 later on) then get- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMPSU-500CXV2UK-Builder-Series-CX500V2/dp/B005851O16/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1341743960&sr=1-1
 

xPryde

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The thing that I'm most worried about is that will any PSU and any of the both graphics (7750 or 550 Ti) fit inside the case? My case is Mini Tower and my friend says the graphics card and the PSU will not fit. Is he correct?
 

ouroboros

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Aug 25, 2007
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When you say mini tower are you referring to the height or width? Most mini towers (short height, standard width) are able to fit a standard video card without a problem. The only problems you're likely to see is if the case is a slim tower, then you're going to need to find a half height card or else buy a new case and transplant the misc components

Is this an OEM system or did you piece it together yourself? Link the case or model# of the PC so we have a clearer idea of what case you're working with
 

ouroboros

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Perfect link, thanks - Looks like HP's come a long ways in organizing their spec sheets. Last time I went looking for someone's Pavilion mbd it was like pulling teeth from an unsedated alligator

The case will hold a standard width vid card, I wouldn't go past a 10-10.5" (~254-267mm) long card to be on the safe side but I'm blindly guesstimating that one. Also, I'd DEFINITELY recommend upgrading your PSU (Power Supply Unit), there's no mention of any sort of 6 or 8pin molex on the PSU. Your current PSU is listed as "Form factor: Internal ATX" so you've got a standard PSU and can swap it out no problem.

Hope this helps :)
 

xPryde

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So are you saying the 7750's I listed will fit in a case like mine?
 

ouroboros

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They should both fit quite easily, I looked up the dimensions on the cards
Sapphire Radeon HD7750: 170(L)x105(W)
PNY GeForce GTX 550 Ti: 209.5(L)x108(W)

Let us know how it all turns out, good luck
 

DavidY

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Jul 6, 2012
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Your 300 watt PS is the bottleneck for your system. HD 7750 should be fine. HD 6670 is another...but doesn't perform as good as the 7750.

Dave
 

ouroboros

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The PSU should be upgraded, this is the component that powers the rest of your parts. From there, go get your 7750.

You should also be aware that this is exactly how I got started in building PCs. Of course, back then I don't recall having access to toms, anand, etc and I ended up overloading my old PSU with a new video card (much like what you're liable to do if you DON'T replace your PSU 1st :non: ). Piecing together your own rig isn't difficult and is EXTREMELY satisfying when it's all done. For now, just be aware that you're on the edge of a rather fun (albeit occasionally bumpy) slippery slope.
 

Magic Physicist

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I just installed a overclocked 550Ti and Ultra X4 Modular 850-Watt in one of mine mainly to just upgrade the PSU and add the 192 GPU's since I had them in my stash and they were pretty cheap (TigerDirect)

The nVidia was about $115 as I recall and it was free shipping and the PSU was......well sort of free since it was a replacement for another new one that didn't last long (it was a 700 watt) so since I save all of my receipts they had no choice and replaced it with the 850 watt PSU

Sure made a nice improvement.



U12-41563_chiclet01_aa_1583411.jpg
 

ouroboros

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Yes - A standard size ATX PSU is all you need, I'd suggest ~550W to allow you plenty of room to upgrade your CPU down the road and then possibly your video card again. Anything beyond 600W is overkill considering your case.
 

Magic Physicist

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Good to have a bit extra if you add video cards like the GeForce and ram oo other upgrades so you can have cooling devices upgraded since those video cards run warmer than the stock ones.

Looks like you HP tower will be ok (I have 4 of those) I have a slim mini tower too and you can't add anything but RAM sticks since a PSU is way bigger and so is a GeForce (or I would have put the new parts in that one.....an Acer quad-core)

You can get a good deal on a 750watt PSU @ TigerDirect or look there for a 600-650 if you want but I wouldn't go lower than that.



750 watt or check for others or the price you can pay <---

I run my GeForce cards 24/7 so they need to be watched for heat and power supplies but I even have one in my lapop but it is just a NVIDIA GeForce 610M