Personally I would replace the Network adapter you have with something like a Tp-Link card as cards usually tend to do a lot better compared to USB adapters.
No, HDDs do not affect game performance or anything like that. They are there to store the data for the games and anything else for the computer to run. Putting things on an SSD will only help the programs boot up faster.
Edit: its also better to have your os on an SSD just in case the HDD fails that way you can still use your pc until you get a new HDD.
Well the power supply isn't exactly built in 100% there are some that use a AC to DC adapters that plug directly into the motherboard and get all their power through that one connector. On the motherboard there will be a portion of the board that breaks out and steps down the voltages to the require 5V and etc. They are usually low power systems or boards that have the option to be low powered ones.
The PC will use an external PSU like a laptop. I have a crappy HP prebuilt with an LGA 1155 (Ivy Bridge) Celeron which has a laptop power supply, they only do it with low power crap CPUs, the max that mobo can support is a lowpower i3.
some (especially cheaper) prebuilts use a laptop-style power brick that plugs directly into the motherboard, and the motherboard contains all the hardware required to turn that (usually 19 volts) input into +12v and +5v.
in some less extreme cases (HP does this for their office computers, and dell and acer have the same dealio going on) will have a 12 volt only power supply, which plugs into the motherboard with a limited number of -easier to plug and unplug- connectors. HP does this to allow office computers to get a power supply swap in literally under a minute (good luck unplugging a 24-pin in that time) and dell and acer probably do it for the cheap.
EDIT: for those who wonder what it looks like, carey holzman has a rather hilarous, quite cynical review of a $350 HP computer that has the laptop power brick going on:
NOTES: THIS IS ONLY COMPARING BOTH COMPANY'S CURRENT GEN PRODUCTS (AMD: R7-9 300 SERIES, NVIDIA: GTX 750 AND GTX 750Ti, AND GTX 900 SERIES). THIS IS BECAUSE OLDER PRODUCTS' PRICES VARY HUGELY, AND ARE HARDER TO FIND. I WILL ALSO NOT BE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT PRICES OF HUGELY MORE EXPENSIVE VERSIONS OF A CARD, EG R9 290 LIGHTNING. I WILL ALSO USE THE CARDS' BASE CONFIGURATION OF VRAM, EG 2GB ON THE GTX 960, NOT 4GB. THE MINIMUM RESOLUTION I AM TAKING INTO ACCOUNT IS 1080P. ALL OF MY COMPARISONS OF PERFORMANCE ARE BASED OF BENCHMARKS FROM REPUTABLE WEBSITES LIKE TOM'S HARDWARE (EXCEPT THE CHEAPEST OPTION, WHERE I COULD ONLY FIND YOUTUBE BENCHMARKS FROM 1000 SUB CHANNELS). PRICES ARE IN AMERICAN DOLLARS AND BRITISH POUND STERLING. DUE TO SILICON LOTTERY, YOUR MILEAGE MAY VERY WHEN IT COMES TO OVERCLOCKING.
Budget Options
Price Range: $100-120 OR £80-90
Nvidia - GTX 750 AMD - R7 360
These are fairly equal, and trade blows with each other. The R7 360 looks better on paper, with double the amount of VRAM (2GB vs 1GB), however in practise this rarely matters. At 1080p, which is all these cards should be used at, 1GB is enough in most scenarios. To get decent framerates (40+ average), you will need to turn the detail down to low-high, depending on the game. Once you have done that, and the VRAM issue is out of the way, they are pretty much equal, although the GTX 750 has the edge in less AMD optimized games (let's face it, a lot of them). If you prefer higher detail settings and slightly lower framerates, the R7 360 is the way to go, as the card could potetnially use more than 1GB. The R7 360 might also be more future-proof due to more VRAM.
At this price range, the Nvidia GTX 750 is the way to go for most people, due to slightly better performance in games. If you like to crank the details up at the expense of very good frame rates, the AMD R7 360 is what you want, for its 2GB of VRAM. Overall, the winner is the GTX 750 currently, although this may change if future games start to use more VRAM.
Price Range: $130-160 OR £95-140
Nvidia - GTX 750Ti AMD - R7 370
Here AMD wins, in terms of performance. The R7 370 methodically beats the GTX 750Ti in every game except Batman: Arkham Origins, as well as in the synthetic benchmarks like 3D Mark Firestrike (4920 VS 4113). For example, it was able to get 60.1 average FPS in Bioshock Infinite Ultra 1080p, VS the GTX 750Ti's 46.3 FPS. Both cards have 2GB VRAM, although AMD has a 256 Bit interface VS Nvidia's 128 Bit one (this is mostly irrelevant due to differences in the two companies' compression techniques). The place where the 750Ti wins, however, is in overclocking. It can overclock much better than the r7 370, closing the gap in performance in a lot of cases. The 750Ti is also better if you are simply placing it into an old/pre built PC, because it does not need an external 6-Pin power connector, unlike the R7 370.
Here, the AMD R7 370 is the way to go. It has better performance than the competition in every game except Batman: Arkham Origins. The only reasons to consider the GTX 750Ti is the better overclocking, and the fact that it does not need a 6-Pin power connector, allowing for worse PSUs and better cable management in something like an ITX system.
Mid-Range Options
Price Range: $190-240 OR £150-180
Nvidia - GTX 960 AMD - R9 380
Again, AMD wins here. The R9 380 narrowly edges out the GTX 960 at 1080p in most games; however, at 1440p and 4k (although 4k is unreasonable for this card) the R9 380 starts to really pull ahead, often with differences of 10-20+ FPS, due to the 256-Bit memory bus on the AMD card. For example, the R9 380 gets 68.9 FPS on Battlefield 4 at 1080p Ultra, whereas the GTX 960 gets 61.8 FPS. In GTA V, interestingly enough, the GTX 960 wins, due to driver optimization. Once again, the Nvidia card is a slightly better overclocker.
At this price range, there is almost no reason to consider the GTX 960. The R9 380 beats it in every game except for GTA V, performs much better at higher than 1080p resolutions, and doesn't even have the temperature issues the R9 280/x did, due to its Tonga GPU. Although better drivers and overclocking potential on the Maxwell architecture of the GTX 960 will make the card on par with the R9 380 in some games, in most games it will not. The R9 380 is the way to go here.
High-End Options
Price Range: $320-380 OR £240-290
Nvidia - GTX 970 AMD - R9 390
AMD wins again... SURPRISE! This one is much closer though. The R9 390 beats the GTX 970 by just a few FPS in every game except The WItcher 3, and this gap stays roughly the same when overclocking. The R9 380 has over double the VRAM, at 8GB VS the GTX 970's 3.5GB effective memory (it has 4GB, of which only 3.5GB is fast enough to be useful). This means that the R9 390 is a MUCH better choice if you are using high detail texture packs at 1440p/4K.
This is practically a tie in terms of performance; however, the R9 390 is the card to choose at this price point. It is slightly better than the GTX 970 in every game except for WItcher 3, and has double the VRAM, making it the best choice, expecially for things like high detail Skyrim texture packs at 1440p or 4K gaming.
Price Range: $430-440 (AMD), $470-530 (Nvidia) OR £340-360 (AMD), £390-440(Nvidia)
Nvidia - GTX 980 AMD - R9 390X
From here on in, things get more complicated. The R9 390X performs worse than the GTX 980, but is cheaper; the GTX 980 performs better than the R9 390X, and is more expensive. What to get in this price range is very much dependent on your circumstances. If you simply want to get the most out of your graphics card,then the GTX 980 is a no-brainer, as it has much better performance. If you are more budget concious, then the R9 390X is the way to go; it has less performance, but overall is cheap enough to give you more 'bang for your buck', or performance per dollar/pound. To give an idea of the performance difference, on Witcher 3 at 1080p Ultra, the GTX 980 got 59.4 FPS average, and the R9 390X got 52.7 FPS. On GTA V at High 1080p, the GTX 980 gets 75.5 FPS average, and the R9 390X gets 64.2 FPS average. Note that both of these games are quite intensive, and the performance gap scales well when changing the resolution. The GTX 980 is much cooler, which gives it more room for better overclocks.
This price range is difficult. If you can comfortably afford the GTX 980, buy it, as it will give you better performance, ESPECIALLY when overclocked. If your budget is slightly tighter, then the R9 390X offers more performance for your money. The choice here depends on your circumstance, although if you have the money Nvidia wins here.
Very High-End Option
Price Range: $560 OR £450
Nvidia - Nothing AMD - R9 Fury
The R9 Fury is priced between the GTX 980/R9 390X and the GTX 980Ti/Fury X, and the performance fits right into the middle. The fact that Nvidia has no card at this price range means that the Fury is bound to be a big success. It costs only a little bit more than some of the higher end board-partner GTX 980s, while performing much better. At 1440p, highest settings, and 8x MSAA, the Fury get 63 FPS Average, the GTX 980 gets 52 FPS Average, and the Fury X gets 70FPS average.
If you are willing to spend quite a lot of money, the R9 Fury offers amazing value for money; it is only a little bit more expensive than the GTX 980, while offering much better performance; it is right on the heels of the Fury X, which costs quite a lot more. For anyone who has a lot to spend on a GPU, but cannot wuite stretch their budget to a GTX 980Ti/Fury X, this is an amazing alternative that offers very good performance for your money.
Enthusiast Options
Price Range: $650-690 OR £510-560
Nvidia - GTX 980Ti AMD - R9 Fury X
Nvidia wins in this price point in terms of performance; however, AMD has advantages in other areas. The 980Ti defeats the Fury X in every game, especially when overclocked. In Battlefield 4, it beats the Fury X by 15 FPS at 1080p Ultra (97 FPS Average VS 113 FPS Average). AMD has other things going for it though. Due to its water cooled deisgn, it is both cooler and quieter than the GTX 980Ti (other than the first production run that had pump whining issues that have now been fixed). The lack of an air cooler allows the GPU to fit into smaller cases with not much room for a huge graphics card.Once AMD unlocks the voltage on the Fury X via a driver update, overclockers should be able to make the Fury X match, if not beat, the 980Ti, due to the headroom from the water cooling (this is speculation, not confirmed).HBM memory on the Fury X allows for MUCH higher bandwidth memory, that will really start to come into play as new games optimize for it, but for now the 980Ti wins on the VRAM side due to its 6GB (non HBM), VS the Fury X's 4GB (HBM).
Currently, the GTX 980Ti is the GPU to get for sure. It offers better performance, doesn't need a radiator taking up a fan mounting slot, and is MUCH better to overclock. If you have a Mini ITX/small Micro ATX system, the Fury X might be the card for you if you have not much room for a long GPU. The performance of the Fury X is likely to be bumped up by a driver update that will unlock card voltages and result in better overclocks, and by games optimizing for HBM memory; however, for now the GTX 980Ti is the GPU to choose.
Bragging Rights Options
Price Range: $1000-1300(Nvidia), $680(AMD) OR £760-830(Nvidia), £540(AMD)
Nvidia - GTX Titan X AMD - R9 295X2
The R9 295X2 wins here in performance, but I would NOT reccomend it, unless you absolutely have to have the best performance. It consumes RIDICULOUS amounts of power (500W), outputs a metric butt ton of heat, and has issues with stuttering, just like an SLI configuration, due to it being a dual-GPU card. The Titan X performs the same as the GTX 980Ti which is half the price, and the doubled VRAM won't matter until the Titan X is too weak a GPU to play the games that need 12GB anyway.
Buy the R9 295X2 if you want to own what is the most powerful Graphics Card. Then regret your decision as your power bill goes through the roof and the room your computer is in turns into a desert. Buy the Titan X if you want to then look down at your wallet and weep, realising you could have gotten the same for almost half the price. Buy either of them if you want to join the ranks of the elite enthusiasts with more money than sense.
Conclusion
In terms of performance, Nvidia wins at the very budget (GTX 750) and enthusiast (GTX 980Ti) levels, while AMD runs away with it for budget to high-end levels. This is quite interesting, as the majority of sales will come from the areas that AMD are winning in; currently, Nvidia owns about 60% of the GPU market, but in my opinion this is set to change so long as the information gets put out there for the general market to see.
This thread took a long time to write, and with new GPU releases it will be updated. I am putting it in my signature as reference, and if any of you would do the same I would be honoured. Please point out any mistakes/areas I missed, and give me feedback on what you thought of the thread. Thanks for reading!
Its your GPU, have only 1GB of VRAM is really bad for pcs nowadays, average is 2 to 4GB (depends on what your use the gpu for) usually also you have an I7 you don't really need to upgrade for abit as they are pretty top of the line atm for CPUS.
It's not really the extra vram, I think it's more the quality of the vram on it. The 390's vram got a hefty overclock vs the 290. 390s tend to have great coolers so they're not necessarily hotter or louder than 970s. But they do dump significantly more heat into your case, not a big deal though as long as you have reasonable airflow (e.g., a decent front intake fan and a back exhaust, nothing fancy).
390 will likely be better over the long term, as AMD cards always are. The 970 is usually better with games at launch, and often wins in games that really stress the CPU and are well paraelleized, like GTA V, Witcher 3, and Fallout 4. Of course this is at 1080p. If you want 1440p the 390 is hands down better. 390 vs 970 at 1080p is basically a tug of war between stronger hardware (390) vs lower overhead in the DirectX11 drivers (970), sometimes one side wins, sometimes the other.
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