Upgrading an OEM for light gaming.

LiamJ · 27 Apr 2011 at 17:03

Hi guys.

A friend of mine in my COD4 team is looking to upgrade his OEM PC (HP Pavilion a6635uk), as it is now struggling to play CoD4 at enough FPS.

Specs are in the link above and, as you can see, there is a PCI Express 16x slot which will fit a decent GPU. The problem of course is the PSU. What I used to do in the past, was recommend the ATI HD 4670 as it was about the most powerful card that took all the power from the motherboard.

Now, he probably could pick one up second hand, but he has £100 to spend. Question is, for that much, what is the best card that will do a similar job the 4670 so that the PSU need not be upgraded? However, if is possible, I was thinking that he may be able to get a decent branded 400W PSU or something for under £40, and then spend the rest on something that requires a PCI-E power connector.

All advice is appreciated greatly. Thanks guys.

olivier renault · 27 Apr 2011 at 17:30

Its replacement, the HD 6670?

EDIT : Oh, I know!

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5830 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £76.79
Corsair Builder Series CX 430W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-430CXUK) £35.99
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £20.55
Total : £123.28

Beg or borrow the £25. Or shop around.

EDIT : hmm, the 5830 needs two 75W PCIE power connectors? Then it's not gonna work, but can be replaced easily with a 5770.

Another potential issue is a non-standard PSU enclosure in the HP. These OEMs can be a right PITA.

LiamJ · 27 Apr 2011 at 21:03

Thanks, will let him know. Completely forgot that you could get 5xxx cards so cheap now.

I think his £100 budget is quite strict though. Would a CX430 and a 5670 be okay for £100, is there anything better?

stulid · 27 Apr 2011 at 21:05

olivier renault said:
Its replacement, the HD 6670?

EDIT : Oh, I know!

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5830 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £76.79
Corsair Builder Series CX 430W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-430CXUK) £35.99
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £20.55
Total : £123.28

Beg or borrow the £25. Or shop around.

EDIT : hmm, the 5830 needs two 75W PCIE power connectors? Then it's not gonna work, but can be replaced easily with a 5770.

Another potential issue is a non-standard PSU enclosure in the HP. These OEMs can be a right PITA.

Thats a good suggestion the 5830 should come with an adapter for the extra 6pin.

EdwardTeach · 27 Apr 2011 at 21:09

I think the 5770 may be a little smaller than the 5830 if space is an issue.

Reaper 392 · 27 Apr 2011 at 21:11

*edit*

sorry completely forgot that graphics cards came with 6 pin adapters. for some reason i thought it was just 8 pin adapters you got. feel free to delete this one

stulid · 27 Apr 2011 at 21:15

Just double checked.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?leg=&psn=000101&pid=1153

• 6 PIN to 4 PIN Power Cable x 2

Reaper 392 · 27 Apr 2011 at 21:17

stulid said:
Just double checked.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?leg=&psn=000101&pid=1153

• 6 PIN to 4 PIN Power Cable x 2

as soon as i read your post i knew it was just me being dim. my own graphics card has 2x 6 pin slots, and came with one of those adapters

Xelene · 28 Apr 2011 at 07:23

You may have trouble fitting a third party PSU in an OEM machine. A lot of Dells for instance have wierd proprietary shaped ones.

olivier renault · 28 Apr 2011 at 09:43

Indeed, if he gets a new PSU, he should prepare himself for a return if the case won't allow for it. In that event, a 5670 / 6670 looks like his best bet, even if it's not the most bang for buck.

Disco Boy · 28 Apr 2011 at 10:56

LiamJ said:
it is now struggling to play CoD4 at enough FPS.

So did it used to perform okay? What has changed?

SupermotoMX · 28 Apr 2011 at 12:24

if it used to play okay, try reinstalling OS (brand new drivers for everything, ect)