New Graphics Card Perhaps?

MichaelArran

MichaelArran

MichaelArran

Associate
Joined
27 Apr 2014
Posts
61
Evening gents,

New poster here, with a question regarding my desktop, and was informed that Overclockers would be the best place to ask. Youll have to forgive me as I'm a complete novice when it comes to components, parts etc, so please forgive me if I plead ignorance at any part.

Currently have an:
HP Pavilion HPE h8-1170uk
12GB RAM
Intel Quad Core i7-2600 CPU@ 3.4GHz
Nvidia GT545 Graphics Card w/ 3072 Mb DDR3

I manage to play the likes of Fallout, Portal 2, Dishonored at pretty much max settings. But struggle to reach those heights with the likes of Skyrim, DayZ, Sleeping Dogs etc which I can play at medium with no drop in FPS.
Would I be correct in thinking that my graphics card is holding me back? Did some reading into it and it seems that that's the most likely reason for a drop in performance on lager toll-taking games?
If so, how straight forward would it be to replace the graphics card? Is it even possible in this system? And if so, how much would it set me back for an upgrade? I'm not particularly wanting to spend a fortune. So anything under £150 would be most idea. The cheaper the better. But at the same time, I'd like to see an improvement. Could you guys recommend any?
Once again, forgive me if I'm talking complete rubbish!

Cheers.
 
Hi and welcome to the forums :D

You're correct in that it's almost certainly your GPU holding you back. The CPU still has plenty of gaming life left in it and 12gb RAM is plenty, assuming it's at least dual channel.

Replacing the GPU should be easy in theory. It's just a straight 1 - 1 swap. Your motherboard has a PCI-E x 16 slot so any new GPU will be compatible.

The issue is your power supply and perhaps the avaiable room in your case. Those units only came with a 460w power supply which ought to be fine for a mid-range card. It's whether the power supply has the required 6 pin PCI-E power connectors or not that will decide if you can just put another card in. Check and measure before you buy.

On to the recomendations. With your budget you're looking at a 270X. It offers the best bang / buck and will go well with the rest of your system. Nvidia do some cracking cards but don't do well at the £150 price point in my opinion.

It'll be a huge upgrade over the GT545 which is frankly a bit pants (why Nvidia put 3gb of VRAM on a card that crap is beyond me)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Powercolor Radeon R9 270X "PowerBank" 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
Total : £159.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).



If that's a bit rich for you then get the standard 270. It'll still be a fairly big upgrade.
 
I think i'd want to replace the psu whether it had the required 6 pin or not, not sure i'd be comfortable of using an hp psu with a higher end gfx card as the psu is likely low quality, replace it with a superflower or a seasonic or something like that.
 
Thanks very much for the reply, it's appreciated!
I'll check the power supply when I get home, and check if I have enough room to fit a new card in.

I could possibly stretch my budget, to maybe £200-£225, would that make a difference? Would I be better off doing that and paying slightly more for both immiediate quality and longevity, and getting a better GPU and if so what would I be looking at then?

Thanks once again.
 
jamiehavok said:
I think i'd want to replace the psu whether it had the required 6 pin or not, not sure i'd be comfortable of using an hp psu with a higher end gfx card as the psu is likely low quality, replace it with a superflower or a seasonic or something like that.
Click to expand...

What benefits would this give me? Forgive me but in new to this, so I'm still getting to grips with the basics. How much would I be looking at to replace the PSU?
 
foster grant said:
Something like this maybe

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-014-SF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2057
Click to expand...

Nice but overkill.

Either of these will be fine and a big improvement. They'll also be more than enough to power your system with either of the GPUs I've linked.

Power supplies are one area of the computer you should never scrimp on.

YOUR BASKET
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 550W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £49.99
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 450W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £39.95
Total : £99.54 (includes shipping : £8.00).



A bad power supply can take out other components with it if it dies horribly. Having said that the power supplies inside HP units are usually of an 'acceptable' quality. The issue with them tends to be they only come equipped with the bare minimum in terms of connectors.

As far as a better budget for a GPU is concerned, the next one up from the 270 would be the 280 - Better and probably the best performance when matched with the rest of your gear. If you can't stretch to the 'X' variant then drop down to the standard 280.

You could also go for Nvidia at this price range with the GTX770, but it is more expensive for comparable performance.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS Radeon R9 280X iPower IceQ X2 Boost 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £229.99
Total : £239.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 
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ExRayTed said:
Nice but overkill.

Either of these will be fine and a big improvement. They'll also be more than enough to power your system with either of the GPUs I've linked.

Power supplies are one area of the computer you should never scrimp on.

YOUR BASKET
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 550W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £49.99
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 450W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £39.95
Total : £99.54 (includes shipping : £8.00).



A bad power supply can take out other components with it if it dies horribly. Having said that the power supplies inside HP units are usually of an 'acceptable' quality. The issue with them tends to be they only come equipped with the bare minimum in terms of connectors.

As far as a better budget for a GPU is concerned, the next one up from the 270 would be the 280 - Better and probably the best performance when matched with the rest of your gear. If you can't stretch to the 'X' variant then drop down to the standard 280.

You could also go for Nvidia at this price range with the GTX770, but it is more expensive for comparable performance.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS Radeon R9 280X iPower IceQ X2 Boost 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £229.99
Total : £239.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Click to expand...

Just opened up my case and checked the power supply. It says 415w maximum, I'm thinking of upgrading to the 550w. Would that be necessary? In terms of room, there seems to be plenty although I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for. I could take pictures and post them if it'll be easier to determine for you?
 
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On taking measurements I realise I may be limited with space. What would my options be in that case? A smaller card? Or would I be able to purchase a new case? Or would I be able to fit a card like the ones you suggested?
 
yeah might have trouble fiting a new card in that case the radeon r9 270 can be 20-26cm long depending on the cooler, you might fit one of the 20cm r9 270s in...just, judging by your picture. the one that is 20cm was one made by powercolor though the exact model doesn't appear to be on ocuk. The dimensions aren't always listed so you might have to surf a few review sites to find a 20cm one you can get hold of.

I'm not sure id trust a psu made by acbel like the one you have judging by some of the reviews i just read, as said a bad psu can blow and take your components with it. so yeah i guess you need shortest r9 270 you can find, that 550w superflower psu someone linked and maybe a new case if the card you get still doesn't fit or you want a longer gpu, either way i think you'll be going over budget.

edit this one is just under 21 cm looking at a review that might be ok http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-339-SP

and the review: http://www.legitreviews.com/msi-rad...ire-dual-x-r9-270-oc-video-card-review_128803

2nd edit.. looking at the pic again you might be able to fit a longer card as long as your hard drive bays dont get in the way...
 
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not too up on what cases are good these days, very much a personal thing though.
They're anything from £30 to £200+!
A £50 case should suit your needs though. something like this, http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-250-CM&groupid=2362&catid=2277

Most cases on this site state max gfx card length or like this case says supports long gfx cards like 6990, plus the overall dimensions to give you some idea on how big they are if you want to choose a different one.

not sure if HP use non standard motherboard sizes, someone else can answer that one lol
 
jamiehavok said:
not too up on what cases are good these days, very much a personal thing though.
They're anything from £30 to £200+!
A £50 case should suit your needs though. something like this, http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-250-CM&groupid=2362&catid=2277

Most cases on this site state max gfx card length or like this case says supports long gfx cards like 6990, plus the overall dimensions to give you some idea on how big they are if you want to choose a different one.

not sure if HP use non standard motherboard sizes, someone else can answer that one lol
Click to expand...

Cheers, had a look for a few cases, one corsair about 20" caught my attention, and one round that price would be ideal.

Would parts from my current rig just transfer across? Is it as easy as that or is there more too it? If the motherboard was non standard as you're not sure would that make it unable to transfer?
 
yeah they might use non standard motherboard sizes like btx instead of atx in which case the board wouldn't fit in the new case, my quick bit of research on google only uncovered stuff from a few years ago which said hp motherboards may indeed be non standard but that may have changed now. I also uncovered another possibility that the headers on the motherboards that controls the on/off switch might be non standard as well so the connector from the new case that controls the on/off switch might not fit the hp motherboard, but as i said this info is from like 2009/2011 so maybe do some more googling or wait for someone else to reply here!
 
Just get a 750ti, it'll be fine with that PSU and it'll be a good leap up. Save the rest of your money for a bigger upgrade in future :)
 
BuToNz said:
Just get a 750ti, it'll be fine with that PSU and it'll be a good leap up. Save the rest of your money for a bigger upgrade in future :)
Click to expand...

this is a pretty good suggestion to be fair, the 750ti looks very low power and doesnt require any pcie connectors so would likely be ok with the current psu and looks like it will fit the current case, most versions of the card look to be like 15cm!
 
If I were you, I'd be looking to buy:
- New case
- New PSU
- New card
- New CPU cooler

And bring over the rest of your bits from the current PC. Would take your budget up to around £200. Happy to consider second hand? If you can see the members market on here, theres a Lian Li B25 selling for £20 right now, I'd be all over that like a tramp on chips.
 
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