Gateway FX6860-EF10P Gaming PC (Looking to Upgrade this pc)

[spiritz]

So i am looking to upgrade parts of this gateway to make it last longer. At the moment my budget is 300 so i figure i should stick in another Geforce GTX 560 Ti, and maybe change the PSU (not sure if it is needed however there is no info on the actual unit except that it is 750 watt).

The pc in question is this one.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/gateway-gateway-fx6860-ef10p-gaming-pc-intel-core-i7-2600-2tb-hdd-16gb-ram-windows-7-fx6860-ef10p/10192479.aspx?path=376d0a4983b3cf208f6bbba3f8fc25ccen02

I bought it less than 1 year ago and so far it has handled very well, however i did know at the time of purchasing that the first thing i may need to upgrade will be the graphics card. Also the power supply is a big ? Unknown usually means cheap.

In any case what would you recommend that i upgrade with my small budget of 300?

A couple things you should know.

- I never run higher than 1600/900 resolution
- i use EVGA Precision X
- I don't need to run my games on Ultra and or with high sampling.
- I rarely multitask while playing very intensive games (except for maybe skype and or itunes)

 

[jrayx]

You want to do a 560 ti SLI ? First thing, I don't know if your motherboard can support SLI (Needs 2 x PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots). So if it does have the 2 x PCI-E x16 you'll need another Power Supply because it may not be able to handle the 2 560 Ti. You should buy from seasonic or corsair, about 750 watts.

Or you could buy a more powerful GPU (A 7850 or 7870) and a good quality Power supply to support a single GPU

 

[ko888]

Doesn't the motherboard in that system only have one PCI-E x16 slot?

Where are you going to install the second GeForce GTX 560 Ti?

The Intel H67 Express chipset on that motherboard doesn't support two NVIDIA SLI capable graphics cards in 2-way SLI mode.

You would also need to upgrade the motherboard if you're really intending on setting up a 2-way SLI system.

With the Boxing Day Sales going on you can get a GeForce GTX 670 for $289.99 CAD and sell your GeForce GTX 560 Ti.
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=72414&vpn=VCGGTX670XPB&manufacture=PNY%20Technologies%20Inc&promoid=1033

The GeForce GTX 670 uses less power than the GeForce GTX 560 Ti so you don't need a power supply upgrade.

With the GeForce GTX 670 you'll get 1.6X to 1.7X more performance than the GeForce GTX 560 Ti.

 

[spiritz]

Thanks, that pretty much settles what i will do. If i can almost double my graphic performance with that card and for only that much that is a pretty good deal.

 

[ko888]

Your right yes, i was just confused because it shows 2 more available slots for graphics cards but in reality that doesn't mean anything. So i should probably just go and get that GTX 670 then? And worry about upgrading more of my pc later when i have more of a budget.

Those available slots are only PCI-E x1 slots. The graphics cards you use won't fit in any of those slots. Graphics cards require more PCI-E bandwidth than those slots are able to provide.

The GeForce GTX 670 is a worthwhile upgrade and you will be able to run most current games at ultra settings.

 

[spiritz]

Yep it is a good start to upgrading this pc. I just have a couple more questions before i make a decision. How much longer will my Core i7 2600 processor last me? and what would you recommend that i upgrade next?

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Systems by Mousemonkey