Will this PC work ok if i just upgrade the Graphics card ? or will i need anything else!

truewraith · 13 Apr 2020 at 06:58

hi,

i have a an old pc which is this spec below and at the moment im trying to set it up for my kids to play some games via network but dont have much money to fully upgrade

Crucial MX100 128GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT128MX100SSD1)
HIS HD 6570 IceQ 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Intel Pentium G620 2.60GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail
Kingston Blu 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9AD3B1K24G)
Gigabyte H61MA-D3V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Cooler Master K-Series K380 USB3.0 Side Window Case for ATX PC

Will this pc run ok if i just put this card which i have in or will i need to buy a new PSU please?

thank you for any help or advice on this, and stay safe everyone

Sapphire RX 480 Nitro Graphics Card, 4GB GDDR5, DVI-D, HDMI, Display Port

SE77EN · 13 Apr 2020 at 11:41

Which PSU do you have?

pastymuncher · 13 Apr 2020 at 13:29

Without knowing what psu you have we can't tell you if it's good enough so you need to let us know which one you have (make and model). I would try and pick up a cheap Sandybridge (2000 series) or Ivybridge (3000 series) i5 cpu as well. A i7 is probably too much money for what it is. A Ivybridge cpu may need the motherboard bios flashing before it will work.

ExoMale · 13 Apr 2020 at 15:49

depends what games you be using it for, but that gpu would be seriously bottleneck from the cpu it be pointless.

truewraith · 13 Apr 2020 at 21:17

really sorry guys i thought it had all copied and pasted from my account,

CX430 — 80 PLUS® Bronze Certified Power Supply,
430 Watts it says didn't realize it was so small

ExoMale · 14 Apr 2020 at 20:08

truewraith said:
really sorry guys i thought it had all copied and pasted from my account,

CX430 — 80 PLUS® Bronze Certified Power Supply,
430 Watts it says didn't realize it was so small

it would work so long you dont do any overclocking, but it will only run because the cpu is weak otherwise you will need a lower powered graphic if you get a better cpu while using the cx power supply.

t31os · 14 Apr 2020 at 22:44

It'll be fine.

Joxeon · 15 Apr 2020 at 06:32

As a minimum I'd say you need an i5 CPU and another 4 gigs of ram to go with the Gpu upgrade. All 3 could be sourced fairly cheaply on the second hand market.

Edit
Just saw your board only has 2 ram slots so a 2x4gb kit would be needed, could sell the original 2x2gb kit.

truewraith · 15 Apr 2020 at 08:42

Joxeon said:
As a minimum I'd say you need an i5 CPU and another 4 gigs of ram to go with the Gpu upgrade. All 3 could be sourced fairly cheaply on the second hand market.

Edit
Just saw your board only has 2 ram slots so a 2x4gb kit would be needed, could sell the original 2x2gb kit.

thanks very much for the info guys, ive took notes all this.

truewraith · 15 Apr 2020 at 08:46

sorry to be a pain but also got this old pc too witch still runs ok but how would the GPU in question work in this and this machine was mostly good but i think the GPU isnt as good anymore or just need a full format but no PSU unless u could recommend an ok ok one off OCUK please

Amd athlon 7750 Dual Core black edition socket am2+ (940)
AMD Radeon HD 5700
DDR2 Ram
Motherboard GA-MA770-UD3 Rev00

.Also is there a 2nd hand market on OCUK somewhere?

fastwunz · 15 Apr 2020 at 10:38

You need 1000 posts before you can access the members market I think mate

Joxeon · 15 Apr 2020 at 14:29

The 7750 wouldn't be much good as it's a very old CPU from around 2008 a 2nd or 3rd gen i5 is really the minimum that would be usable with the rx480.

truewraith · 15 Apr 2020 at 22:49

Joxeon said:
The 7750 wouldn't be much good as it's a very old CPU from around 2008 a 2nd or 3rd gen i5 is really the minimum that would be usable with the rx480.

thought as much guess i will stick with updating the first pc i spoke of anyway

truewraith · 15 Apr 2020 at 22:53

if i left my 2nd old pc as it was and just buy a second hand GPU, what gpu would you say i could put in it and make a little better without making any more changes please. thanks again guys

Amd athlon 7750 Dual Core black edition socket am2+ (940)
AMD Radeon HD 5700
DDR2 Ram
Motherboard GA-MA770-UD3 Rev00

Joxeon · 16 Apr 2020 at 01:38

truewraith said:
if i left my 2nd old pc as it was and just buy a second hand GPU, what gpu would you say i could put in it and make a little better without making any more changes please. thanks again guys

Amd athlon 7750 Dual Core black edition socket am2+ (940)
AMD Radeon HD 5700
DDR2 Ram
Motherboard GA-MA770-UD3 Rev00

Tbh I wouldn't bother with that one at all as it's just to old to be of any use in gaming. The LGA1155 is the only one worth upgrading.

truewraith · 17 Apr 2020 at 01:32

truewraith · 19 Apr 2020 at 20:03

truewraith · 1 May 2020 at 17:55

ok so if those cpus will fit the motherboard? i will start looking around and get some more ram as well, thank you
Sandybridge (2000 series) or Ivybridge (3000 series) i5 cpu as well.

McPhee · 2 May 2020 at 03:25

430W isn't the important figure with the PSU. What needs to be known is how much current it can supply on the 12V rail. In this case, it's rated for 28A, meaning 336W of useful power.

I have the newer version of that PSU, the CX450M. I've used it with an i5 2400 and an RX 480 before, and it was fine. It's also absolutely fine with my Ryzen 2600 and 5700 XT. But the reason why it's fine is because it can actually deliver 450W on the 12V rail. Neither of the above configurations come even close to 450W when under strain.

336W is a different matter. You aren't in comfortable territory there, especially given the PSU is a few years old. It should be fine. But it might not be.

One solution might be to undervolt and underclock the RX 480. That will reduce the power consumption of the card and reduce the load on the PSU.

truewraith · 9 Jun 2020 at 19:07

pastymuncher said:
Without knowing what psu you have we can't tell you if it's good enough so you need to let us know which one you have (make and model). I would try and pick up a cheap Sandybridge (2000 series) or Ivybridge (3000 series) i5 cpu as well. A i7 is probably too much money for what it is. A Ivybridge cpu may need the motherboard bios flashing before it will work.

bit late, but if i want to flash the bios of my GA-H61MA-D3V (rev. 2.0) which says its F1, will i just download the latest bios update or do i have to install all of them? ive never updated a bios before so just checking incase i break something.
only doing it so i can add Sapphire RX 480 Nitro Graphics Card, 4GB & and some extra ram which i now have.

i guess the update as to go on a memory card to update!

https://www.gigabyte.com/uk/Motherboard/GA-H61MA-D3V-rev-20/support#support-dl-bios

Crucial MX100 128GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT128MX100SSD1)
HIS HD 6570 IceQ 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Intel Pentium G620 2.60GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail
Kingston Blu 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9AD3B1K24G)
Gigabyte H61MA-D3V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Cooler Master K-Series K380 USB3.0 Side Window Case for ATX PC
CX430 — 80 PLUS® Bronze Certified Power Supply