Gpu upgrade needed

[Hyeloque]

Hello everyone I would like your advices. I have an old hp and I need a gpu and psu upgrade to run games like bf4 and such. The thing is I don't wanna spend a 1000$ on a new pc I just want to be good for a couple of years what do you recomend me

 

current setup 

Cpu: phenom ii x6 1045t 

Gpu: AMD Radeon HD 6570

PSU: 300w 

HDD: 1 tb

RAM: 8 gb

WIN 7

 

I would like a setup that would run any game at high for the moment and maybe run Star Citizen on medium.

And my budget is 350$-400$ ish 

 

Thanks Hyeloque

 

(Also I can't really OC because of cooling issue running stock cooler)

[SpecTre12345]

Anything in the 350-400 dollar range is going to bottleneck your computer because your outdated setup. Plus you will have to upgrade your PSU also. If you drop a new GPU in your system it isn't going to do much (you'll see a performance increase, but it won't be a lot and you will be disappointed), plus your PSU will not give enough power. 

 

I wouldn't put anything more than a 7870/265/750Ti etc in there, but even with those you will have to upgrade the PSU (maybe not the 750Ti).

[Hyeloque]

Well ok thank you I'l wait for the money 

[WoodenMarker]

What kind of dollars are you using?

Anything in the 350-400 dollar range is going to bottleneck your computer because your outdated setup. Plus you will have to upgrade your PSU also. If you drop a new GPU in your system it isn't going to do much (you'll see a performance increase, but it won't be a lot and you will be disappointed), plus your PSU will not give enough power. 

Not necessarily. The 1045T is still a decent cpu for gaming especially when oc'ed. Bottlenecking won't happen in the majority of games. Some of the money can go towards a new psu. 

Well ok thank you I'l wait for the money 

You need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.

[MagickalMan]

A more beefy power supply is a must, for just about any GPU upgrade you would be looking at. Plan for ~$50-60 there for something decent in the 500 watt range.

[SpecTre12345]

 

What kind of dollars are you using?

Not necessarily. The 1045T is still a decent cpu for gaming especially when oc'ed. Bottlenecking won't happen in the majority of games. Some of the money can go towards a new psu. 

 

You need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.

 

 

 

Hes running stock, and can't overclock. As stated in the OP. If he drops in say an 280X for instance (something in his budget) he's not going to see the gains that a person with an overclocked older CPU would see (something at 3.8-4.0GHz) or someone with a newer CPU would see. So there will be bottlenecking at stock speeds. Key is he wants to run any game on High and Star Citizen at Medium. There will be a bottleneck at his CPU Frequency and CPU age.

 

Here's an 1100T @ 3.3 

 

 

The 1045T runs @ 2.7GHz stock. On top of that the only reason why it looks like the FPS isn't that bad for the processor in question is because in the first benchmark they are running an Ares II (Dual 7970GHz) and in the second benchmark they are running a Titan. He's only going to be running a single card in the GTX 770 range or 280X range. His fps will severely suffer and will be relative to this fact. Also it's an 1100T @ 3.3GHz not a 1045T @ 2.7GHz

 

If he was going to overclock, he would still experience bottlenecking but it wouldn't be as bad (but still bad enough to warrant a complete overhaul to take advantage of the GPU upgrade).

[WoodenMarker]

Hes running stock, and can't overclock. As stated in the OP. If he drops in say an 280X for instance (something in his budget) he's not going to see the gains that a person with an overclocked older CPU would see (something at 3.8-4.0GHz) or someone with a newer CPU would see. So there will be bottlenecking at stock speeds. Key is he wants to run any game on High and Star Citizen at Medium. There will be a bottleneck at his CPU Frequency and CPU age.

Here's an 1100T @ 3.3 

The 1045T runs @ 2.7GHz stock. On top of that the only reason why it looks like the FPS isn't that bad for the processor in question is because in the first benchmark they are running an Ares II (Dual 7970GHz) and in the second benchmark they are running a Titan. He's only going to be running a single card in the GTX 770 range or 280X range. His fps will severely suffer and will be relative to this fact. 

If he was going to overclock, he would still experience bottlenecking but it wouldn't be as bad.

A 280x/770 would still make a world of difference from a 6570 and can be moved over to the next build upgrade. 

[SpecTre12345]

A 280x/770 would still make a world of difference from a 6570 and can be moved over to the next build upgrade. 

 

Well first he would have to replace his PSU. Then he would have to get an aftermarket cooler. Then he would have to educate himself on overclocking. After doing that he would have to find a stable overclock, which is never guaranteed due to the silicon lottery to produce 100% positive results. So let's say he has some positive results. He would would probably be able to hit 3.2GHz being a beginner. 3.6GHz if he is lucky. This would be a large increase over stock and of course bring him to at little under 1100T speeds (or over if he's lucky). If he can do that, then yes a 280x/770 would make a world of difference than a 6570. But at stock, he's going to be disappointed in the results you would expect after replacing the GPU and PSU for $400. 

[WoodenMarker]

Well first he would have to replace his PSU. Then he would have to get an aftermarket cooler. Then he would have to educate himself on overclocking. After doing that he would have to find a stable overclock, which is never guaranteed due to the silicon lottery to produce 100% positive results. So let's say he has some positive results. He would would probably be able to hit 3.2GHz being a beginner. 3.6GHz if he is lucky. This would be a large increase over stock and of course bring him to at little under 1100T speeds. If he can do that, then yes a 280x/770 would make a world of difference than a 6570. But at stock, he's going to be disappointed in the results you would expect after replacing the GPU and PSU for $400. 

He wouldn't need an aftermarket cooler. Oc'ing would help but isn't necessary. A gpu + psu upgrade would be just fine. 

The system wouldn't generally bottleneck for most games even at stock... 

 

Games are also much more gpu bound than cpu bound and bottlenecking isn't that common of an occurrence.

Performance wouldn't be optimal but the system would still run much better with a 280x/770. 

http://us.hardware.info/reviews/3714/4/radeon-hd-7970-and-geforce-gtx-680-tested-with-10-cpus-battlefield-3

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/radeon_hd_7970_cpu_scaling_performance_review,8.html

[SpecTre12345]

He wouldn't need an aftermarket cooler. Oc'ing would help but isn't necessary. A gpu + psu upgrade would be just fine. 

The system wouldn't generally bottleneck for most games even at stock... 

 

Games are also much more gpu bound than cpu bound and bottlenecking isn't that common of an occurrence.

Performance wouldn't be optimal but the system would still run much better with a 280x/770. 

http://us.hardware.info/reviews/3714/4/radeon-hd-7970-and-geforce-gtx-680-tested-with-10-cpus-battlefield-3

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/radeon_hd_7970_cpu_scaling_performance_review,8.html

 

So basically my graphs with recent games that show you the system will indefinitely bottleneck in games today (mind you with a CPU that's faster than his) aren't as good as your graphs that are outdated along with some random out of context video that's not currently relevant to the discussion (since we can already see that his CPU will bottleneck in the graphs I posted from recent games). 

[WoodenMarker]

So basically my graphs with recent games that show you the system will indefinitely bottleneck in games today (mind you with a CPU that's faster than his) aren't as good as your graphs that are outdated along with some random out of context video that's not currently relevant to the discussion (since we can already see that his CPU will bottleneck in the graphs I posted from recent games). 

The video explains what bottlenecking is. The gpu is bottlenecked when it can't perform to its fullest. Just because the system as a whole isn't performing optimally doesn't mean that the gpu is bottlenecked. 

How are the graphs outdated? 

[SpecTre12345]

The video explains what bottlenecking is. The gpu is bottlenecked when it can't perform to its fullest. Just because the system as a whole isn't performing optimally doesn't mean that the gpu is bottlenecked. 

How are the graphs outdated? 

 

The GPU will be bottlenecked by the CPU period, as you can even see in the graphs you posted. But even more so in the graphs that I posted. Just look at the numbers. You are also ignoring the fact that his CPU isn't even an 1100T like in the graphs I posted. His CPU is 600MHz slower, which means even more of a bottleneck. It has nothing to do with the system performing optimally. The system is as optimally as it can get. It's just the processor will show its age trying to pair it with a relatively high end recent gen GPU. The graphs are outdated because it's Battlefield 3 and Crysis 2, which I ran on SLI GTX 460's at max settings all day without so much of a stutter. Not that graphically intense of games. If this was an 1100T yeah not that bad, and of course after overclocked more than applicable. But it's not it's a stock 1045T.

 

If you were telling him to get a R7 265 or 750 Ti. Yeah big improvement over his 6570 and it will only cost him $150. However the GPU is not too much for the CPU to handle. So it will perform fine. But spending anything more than $150 on a GPU upgrade for this processor is just plain nonsensical.

 

It reminds me of three years ago when I wanted to get back into PC's. I was way out of the loop and had no idea how far technology progressed or how fast. I was still using a system with an Athlon 64 3700+ (Socket 754) the third computer I built in my adolescent years. The system was paired with a 7800GT. Around the time when I built it back in 2003 it was top of the line. However I was trying to get back into PC's again and it was 2011. I said to myself, I'll just go online buy a modern GPU and stick it in. Because all the games I was trying to play was impossible. I was getting terrible framerates and the games were unplayable (even League of Legends). So I decided I would grab a GTX 460 2GB off of eBay and stick it in. Put in in, same exact problem.  Terrible framerates, not  a single improvement over my 7800GT. Problem was the CPU was bottlenecking the GPU it was way too much for it to handle. Then of course when I finally picked up a new motherboard and CPU (2500k) and did an entirely new build. The GPU had new life brought back into it. It was playing all the games I wanted at max settings no problem. No more bottleneck. Now this is an extreme case of a CPU bottlenecking a graphics card because the 1045T isn't as bad as a single core Athlon 64. But case in point, there will be a bottleneck that would make it almost pointless to put a $300-400 GPU in the system. Not so much as pointless as putting a $150 GPU in the system.

 

Technology progresses, and if you want to stay in the game you have to upgrade. The 1045T came out 4 years ago. It's going to start showing its age in modern titles. Instead of telling someone to burn $400 on a new GPU and PSU which aren't going to yield the best of results. It's better to be honest with them and tell them to save up to build a new rig. Because by the time they invest in a New PSU, a New GPU, and some aftermarket cooler to at least bring the processor to decent speeds. They are only a couple hundred dollars short of simply grabbing a New Processor + Motherboard + Ram. Which will make the new GPU seem like a completely different GPU than if it was just stuck into the older system.

[WoodenMarker]

If you were telling him to get a R7 265 or 750 Ti. Yeah big improvement over his 6570 and it will only cost him $150. However the GPU is not too much for the CPU to handle. So it will perform fine. But spending anything more than $150 on a GPU upgrade for this processor is just plain nonsensical.

It reminds me of three years ago when I wanted to get back into PC's. I was way out of the loop and had no idea how far technology progressed or how fast. I was still using a system with an Athlon 64 3700+ (Socket 754) the third computer I built in my adolescent years. The system was paired with a 7800GT. Around the time when I built it back in 2003 it was top of the line. However I was trying to get back into PC's again and it was 2011. I said to myself, I'll just go online buy a modern GPU and stick it in. Because all the games I was trying to play was impossible. I was getting terrible framerates and the games were unplayable (even League of Legends). So I decided I would grab a GTX 460 2GB off of eBay and stick it in. Put in in, same exact problem.  Terrible framerates, not  a single improvement over my 7800GT. Problem was the CPU was bottlenecking the GPU it was way too much for it to handle. Then of course when I finally picked up a new motherboard and CPU (2500k) and did an entirely new build. The GPU had new life brought back into it. It was playing all the games I wanted at max settings no problem. No more bottleneck. Now this is an extreme case of a CPU bottlenecking a graphics card because the 1045T isn't as bad as a single core Athlon 64. But case in point, there will be a bottleneck that would make it almost pointless to put a $300-400 GPU in the system. Not so much as pointless as putting a $150 GPU in the system.

 

Technology progresses, and if you want to stay in the game you have to upgrade. The 1045T came out 4 years ago. It's going to start showing its age in modern titles. Instead of telling someone to burn $400 on a new GPU and PSU which aren't going to yield the best of results. It's better to be honest with them and tell them to save up to build a new rig. Because by the time they invest in a New PSU, a New GPU, and some aftermarket cooler to at least bring the processor to decent speeds. They are only a couple hundred dollars short of simply grabbing a New Processor + Motherboard + Ram. Which will make the new GPU seem like a completely different GPU than if it was just stuck into the older system.

The 64 3700+ is a single core.. It is much more outdated compared to a 2500k than a 1045T is to current cpus. Although it's far from the best, the 1045T is still fine for most games given its paired up with a decent graphics card. Whether it bottlenecks or not doesn't change that getting a better graphics card nets the most performance for the dollar. Getting a 265 or 750 Ti isn't that smart of an investment when the OP plans to play Star Citizen at medium settings. A 280x/770 would probably run it fine at those settings with a modern cpu but a 750 Ti/265 would inevitably have to be replaced to do so. 

 

It seems that you're suggesting that a new cpu, motherboard, ram, and 750 Ti/265 would outperform a 1045T with a 280x/770...

Again, games are much more bound by the gpu than the cpu:

http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchmarks/page3.html

http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchmarks/page6.html

[SpecTre12345]

The 64 3700+ is a single core.. It is much more outdated compared to a 2500k than a 1045T is to current cpus. Although it's far from the best, the 1045T is still fine for most games given its paired up with a decent graphics card. Whether it bottlenecks or not doesn't change that getting a better graphics card nets the most performance for the dollar. Getting a 265 or 750 Ti isn't that smart of an investment when the OP plans to play Star Citizen at medium settings. A 280x/770 would probably run it fine at those settings with a modern cpu but a 750 Ti/265 would inevitably have to be replaced to do so. 

 

It seems that you're suggesting that a new cpu, motherboard, ram, and 750 Ti/265 would outperform a 1045T with a 280x/770...

Again, games are much more bound by the gpu than the cpu:

http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchmarks/page3.html

http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchmarks/page6.html

 

No I'm suggesting do the GPU justice by upgrading the Motherboard and CPU along with putting in a decent GPU like a 280x/770.

 

Some benchmarks show that the same games are equally as intensive on both CPU and GPU while others only show they are GPU bound. So what are you supposed to do favor one benchmark over the other?

 

 

 

 

Mind you this is with a GTX 690, and again 1100T not 1045T

 

And of course OP wants to play Star Citizen...

[WoodenMarker]

No I'm suggesting do the GPU justice by upgrading the Motherboard and CPU along with putting in a decent GPU like a 280x/770.

Some benchmarks show that the same games are equally as intensive on both CPU and GPU while others only show they are GPU bound. So what are you supposed to do favor one benchmark over the other?

If the plan is to get a 280x/770 anyway and the OP can get it now, why wait?

Favor whichever gives more performance. In this case, getting a 770/280x and a new psu will give the best performance now as well as in the long run for the money. 

[Hyeloque]

Well thanks I consider buying a new 600w psu with a 770 then when sc comes out I'l just keep the psu and gpu and build a new computer off of it Thanks for all the replyes

 

Hyeloque

 

 

Thank you for the tips I'l make sure to use a tad next time

[harrynowl]

A 280x/770 would still make a world of difference from a 6570 and can be moved over to the next build upgrade. 

This exactly.

 

A lot of people tell people with older / OEM systems to get a lower end card rather than a decent one like 280x/770.

 

Then when the time comes and they upgrade, they just introduced a new bottleneck with their low end video card and have to buy yet another one. I made this mistake and got a 6670 for my old PC. I could have afforded a 7870 or so which is still useful, sure I couldn't have used it fully then but I'd have unlocked performance when upgrading. A 6670 is not and I have a £50 paperweight now.