Looking to upgrade HP Z220 SFF Workstation to play CS2 + Darker and Darker at 60+ FPS

[spriggan7]

Budget (including currency): $500 USD

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Counter-Strike 2, Dark and Darker, Productivity in General

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

Existing PC that would like to be upgrade - HP Z220 SFF Workstation
PC Specs:

• CPU: Intel Xeon E3 1225 v2 (4 cores, 4 threads)
• GPU: Integrated CPU graphics
• PSU: OEM HP PSU 240W
• Storage: 1 TB HDD (I know an SATA SSD is needed to improve PC performance)
• Memory: 2x4gb DDRM RAM (8gb RAM total) @ 1600 MHz (I know this should be upgraded to 16gb or 32gb total)
• Motherboard: HP MOTHERBOARD (655840-001)

Would be playing on 60 Hz @ 1920x1080 Native for any game that is not CS2 (CS2 I play on 1280x96 4:3 60 Hz), already have a monitor to handle this case usage.

No peripherals are needed.

When am I going to buy? When the price is right for me.

 

Hello, I am looking to upgrade my HP Z220 SFF Workstation to play CS2 + Darker and Darker at 60+ FPS. I have been doing some research and was wondering what is the best part for both CPU and GPU for this setup. I was wondering if I could put a low profile GTX 1070 or RX 580 as a GPU, I wasn't too sure if 4 cores 4 threads for my current CPU would be a bottle neck or would need an upgrade here. Ideallly I'm just looking to upgrade only CPU, GPU, and Memory. I do not want to move my components to a new case or motherboard or PSU.

[skimmilk5]

Like you mention, the CPU, GPU, and memory would need upgraded. I'd prioritize a good quality storage drive, too, since it'll improve the "snappiness" of your system quite a bit.

The speed of your memory gives me more issues than the capacity of your memory; Xeons simply don't like faster memory (my DDR4 system is running at 2133MT), and 1600MT is pretty slow.

If you don't want to upgrade the power supply, it's going to pretty significantly limit the types of graphics cards you'll be able to use. A good portion of the 240 watts that HP power supply can output is probably sucked up by things that aren't the 12v rail, which is what you really need. To know how much headroom you need, take a look at the label. You should see a column for 12v and a listed amperage. Multiply the amperage by 12 to get the number of maximum watts that rail can handle. The 12v rail needs to be able to handle both the CPU and GPU.

If you're dead-set on not upgrading the power supply, something like the GTX 1650 might work, but that's going to be pushing the capabilities of your power supply quite a bit, even though that card only draws power from the slot (no external PCIe power connectors).

[jaslion]

Honestly

 

Start over. Basically everything needs an upgrade.

 

500$ is enough to get you a used 6 core 12 thread ryzen gaming pc with a rx480/580 in it EASILY. Id just browse around in local offers and ebay a bit.

 

Then ask hetr to check if stuff is good.

 

Theb once you have it post the psu here to ask if its ok because they almost never know or list what psu is in there when its important that its at least decent quality so yout rig doesnt die

[spriggan7]

I see thank you for all the advice!