ASUS Essentio Upgrade

[evanater91]

I have an ASUS Essentio CM1745 and I would like to upgrade it for gaming. What should I do? I really don't know that much about computers, but I have a pretty decent budget. I would like to keep it under $300

8GB of Ram
AMD A8-5500 APU Radeon HD Graphics 3.20 GHz
64 bit system
1 Terabyte on the hard drive

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/101158/ASUS-Essentio-CM1745-07-Desktop-Computer/

 

[clutchc]

If this is your Asus: https://www.asus.com/Desktops/CM1745/#overview
...it comes with a 350W PSU. It would be helpful to know the specs on the nameplate if you can see it. Mainly the +12V rating in amps.

Having said that, you should be able to make the biggest difference in gaming by adding a discrete gfx card. The on-die GPU the APU has is only good for decent gaming at up to 720p resolutions with most graphically demanding games. I'd suggest some gfx card options that would be ideal for you, but first we should know the PSU info and what resolution your monitor is.

 

[evanater91]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Essentio+Desktop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/6699853.p?id=1218786217198&skuId=6699853&strId=446&strClr=true

This is it exactly. I'm not sure where the nameplate is. I'm assuming it's inside and I'll have to remove the side plate on the tower?
And the monitor is HD 1080 I connect with and RGB but I also have an HDMI cable

 

[clutchc]

RGB? Oh, you must mean the D-Sub connector for VGA. I hope you are using the HDMI cable. Get rid of the VGA cable. Only use the digital HDMI connection if you HDTV has one.

You're going to have open the case sooner or later if you want to upgrade it. So, see if you can find the nameplate on the PSU. If it is a top mount PSU, the nameplate will probably be turned the wrong way to read.

 

[evanater91]

Well I don't have a small enough screw driver, so I'll get one here in a couple hours and open it up and check. My monitor only has an RGB and a DVI input, so I suppose I'll need a converter?

Thanks for replying by the way.

 

[clutchc]

Oh, you have a monitor. The way you stated 1080p, I thought you were referring to a HDTV. Lots of folks use their TV for a monitor. My error.

If you have a regular monitor with just VGA and DVI, then choose the DVI connection for best display results. Don't forget to switch the monitor so it looks for the DVI signal when you do.
All you need is one of these if your system or monitor didn't come with one.
http://www.amazon.com/Cables-26911-DVI-D-Digital-Video/dp/B0000X0VCY/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1374711068&sr=1-1&keywords=dvi+cable

 

[evanater91]

Ok it says max output is 350 (for 30 Seconds)

 

[clutchc]

What we are looking for is a +12V rail rating. It will say +12V. Find that and tell me the amp rating associated with it.

 

[evanater91]

it says +12V1 and right under that it says 13.0A and it also says +12V2 and under that it says 13.0A as well

Under both of those it says 216W

http://us.estore.asus.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=5628

 

[clutchc]

OK. That tells me it is a low end PSU. It's not a 'real' 350W PSU. It has a total +12V rating of only about 26A. A discrete gfx card gets its power from the +12V rail. I would avoid any gfx card that requires a separate 6 pin power cable. This is the most powerful card I would suggest for that PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121710
It gets all its power from the PCIe X16 slot alone (75W)

That is about as fast a card as I would feel safe recommending with that PSU. In fact, it is the fastest card available that doesn't need a separate power cable.

 

[evanater91]

Alright, I mainly play games like Skyrim and Fallout, would I be able to play them on high settings with this card? And does this card also boost game performance(from a game script standpoint)?

I am also wondering if it would be more economical to build a PC, or get a different one and upgrade it, or stick to upgrading the one I have...

 

[clutchc]

Your frame rate will depend on the resolution of your monitor. At 1080p, you'll have to reduce settings a bit with some games. Others will play fine maxed out. It depends on the game. Fallout should be easier on it that Skyrim. Both will play fine if you don't try to max out settings; especially Anti Aliasing.

Building a new PC would be the ideal solution, but not at under $300. You'd be better off to upgrade your PSU. Then you can use whatever gfx card you want. Your APU's CPU is pretty good. You can always upgrade it to the A10-5800K/6800K for maximum processor performance from that MB.

 

[evanater91]

Well by under $300 I meant that is all I want to spend to upgrade. I wondered if selling the one I have and getting something else would get me more bang for my buck. Something in the $800 price range.

I don't know, if I wanted to play Skyrim on ultra with ENB graphics mods, I would need a new PSU and a gfx card, what do you think that would run me?

 

[clutchc]

Here is a low cost, good quality PSU I have used in several builds.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182199

Any of these Nvidia GTX 660s will make you happy.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600030348%20600315498%20600364399&IsNodeId=1&name=GeForce%20GTX%20660

As will any of these AMD HD 7870s:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600100181%20600286767%20600298540&IsNodeId=1&name=Radeon%20HD%207870%20GHz%20Edition

And of course, since you won't need the on-die GPU that the APU has, you could upgrade to one of these. They are APUs with the on-die GPU disabled. The K model has an unlocked multiplier for easier overclocking. You save some money by not having the GPU onboard.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007671%20600438200&IsNodeId=1&name=Athlon%20X4


Getting late here. I'll catch you in the AM.

 

[evanater91]

Ok you lost me lol. I'm not really sure what the APU is, or the GPU, or what on-die means...

 

[clutchc]

OK. In your list of components you listed above you said you had a "AMD A8-5500 APU Radeon HD Graphics 3.20 GHz". The APU is the equivalent of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) On-die (on the same chip). AMD Corp. calls that an APU. APU stands for Accelerated Processing Unit. AMD Corp. developed the APU to incorporate graphics into the same chip as the processor so you can actually game without the need for an extra gfx card. But it has its limitations. For serious gaming at high resolutions with graphically intense games, you still need to add a discrete graphics card.

To add to your confusion, AMD then released the same APU with the graphics part disabled for folks that intended on buying a discrete gfx card. They took their faster versions of the APU, the quad cores, and sold them under the name Athlon X4 (w/o graphics capability).

In a nutshell, your most cost-effective solution to get a better gamer fast, would be to pick up the GTX 650 I linked to above. As the solutions get faster, they get more expensive.

 

[evanater91]

Ok. I think my final question is how do I know which cards or PSUs will fit in my computer?

 

[clutchc]

Your PC will accept any standard ATX power supply. Any that has ATX in its name. Your Motherboard has the necessary PCIeX16 slot that will work with any modern PCIe graphic card. You just need to check the length of the card against the room in the case from the rear expansion slot to the first obstruction the card would hit. Any 9 1/2" card would fit for sure because the width of the MB alone is that. Longer cards will require a measurement check.

 

[evanater91]

Ok thank you so much for your help.

 

[evanater91]

hey man I know it's been a while, I just ordered this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

and I was wondering if this gfx card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121710 is still what you would recommend or if I could get something a little more powerful for a good price?

 

[clutchc]

Good choice on the PSU. But that gfx card was suggested as a good upgrade if you wanted to keep the old, weak PSU. As long as you are buying that 600W PSU, you can get any card you can afford. If you still have a $300 budget (minus the $60 for the PSU), you can get something more powerful. In fact, I would recommend it.

For Nvidia cards, the above list of GTX 660s would be ideal. As would the newer slightly more expensive GTX 760s.

In the AMD lineup, look into the above HD 7870s or the more expensive HD 7950s.

There comes a point in buying a gfx card, where if you don't have a fast enough CPU, it will "bottle neck" the gfx card's output. i.e. the CPU won't be able to keep up with the speed that the gfx card can render frames. So, I would stick with the GTX 660/HD 7870 if you don't upgrade the CPU (APU). Either of those cards will provide good frame rate at 1080p.

 

[evanater91]

ok I grabbed this guy http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150605

and the dvi cable you suggested, should get them in a few days! Do you think I would need a cooling system of any kind?

 

[clutchc]

If this is what the inside of your Asus looks like: http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/47xTpv0aNYM/maxresdefault.jpg
...you should be fine for length of that card.
But it's going to be crowded in there with the new more powerful PSU, especially being a top mount. Just be sure to tie back the PSU cables out of the way so they don't block air flow from the front fan. Btw, I don't think that case has a front fan, does it? If not, you probably should add one.

 

[evanater91]

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/yourphotos?pid=5927411211194129602&oid=116562194098461012634

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/yourphotos?pid=5927411205081680562&oid=116562194098461012634

 

[evanater91]

Although I just realized that the front panel actually blocks the vent in the front. If I got a fan I would have to take that off I assume. I was looking at this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200045