Pre-Built upgradability

[nate_b55]

I was thinking about buying a new computer for gaming and i was wondering of I could but a pre build computer from Costco, throw a graphics card into it and have it work because this is a lot cheaper than buying a full custom computer. In particular the computer I would buy is the Acer ATC-120-UC22 Desktop. Any help is welcome.

[CoolaxGaming]

Costco?  

No

Just No

[nate_b55]

If i were to get that computer from another source, would it work?

[thekeemo]

it has a crappy a10 so it would be bottleneck ANY gpu that isnt a r240 or r250

[nate_b55]

The answer i'm trying to get is, can you upgrade pre built computers like that one. I just chose that one because it was cheap

[ttam]

^ I don't know WTF that guy is smoking thinking an A10 would bottle neck..

 

It would be fine. Don't expect to be the fastest.. But it would work.

 

You can upgrade drives, ram, gpu's and that is about it. Can change the mobo out for no real performance gains.

[nate_b55]

The answer i'm trying to get is, can you upgrade pre built computers like that one. I just chose that one because it was cheap

[Ahaber]

The answer i'm trying to get is, can you upgrade pre built computers like that one. I just chose that one because it was cheap

 

Yes they can often be upgraded, but check to make sure that it has a 16x pcie slot before buying it.

[RASQ]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883101054

 

According to the Newegg page it has a 200W PSU. You'd definitely need to upgrade that if you want to install a GPU.

[nate_b55]

OK thanks.

Im still looking around for a descent base model.

[Bravosgrad]

or

you dont buy prebuilt

tadaaa

with /r/microsoftsoftwareswap there is no reason to go prebuilt unless you need a laptop

[RASQ]

The answer i'm trying to get is, can you upgrade pre built computers like that one. I just chose that one because it was cheap

Yes, you can upgrade, but the parts that it comes with may need to be replaced depending on how you want to upgrade. See my previous post.

[Guest]

it has a crappy a10 so it would be bottleneck ANY gpu that isnt a r240 or r250

Really? My A8 only bottlenecks my 760 TF slightly in games like BF4 (80-95% GPU usage fluctuation) and not at all in others (Just Cause 2 e.t.c.)

[Bravosgrad]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/d4FrnQ

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/d4FrnQ/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3250 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.95 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($49.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($30.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($15.00) 

Total: $355.87

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-14 23:16 EST-0500

[Fgtfv567]

Reminded me of this video: 

But it's still a better idea to do it yourself as you KNOW what you're putting in your PC and you know that everything will work, what WILL bottleneck and what WON'T.

Only reason you stick a new GPU in a prebuilt is because you already bought a PC and don't have any more money for a new one. (Irony is that I described myself, look at sig and member title)

But if god forbid, you do go this route, make sure that it has a PCIe 16x slot, meets physical clearance requirements, and power requirements such as having the needed 6, 8, and/or 6+2 pins AND has the wattage to back everything up....

[nate_b55]

I do a little video editing with movie maker for YouTube videos so i don't want a complete piece of crap.

[Fgtfv567]

 

 

 

-snip-

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($15.00) 

-snip-

The fuck did you find a copy of Win 7 for 15 bucks?!

[nate_b55]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883156348&cm_re=Dell_XPS_8700_Desktop-_-83-156-348-_-Product

does any one know how big of a psu this has

[Fgtfv567]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883156348&cm_re=Dell_XPS_8700_Desktop-_-83-156-348-_-Product

does any one know how big of a psu this has

460W http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1780765/psu-dell-xps-8700.html

But if you have 700 bucks to throw around, you could do much better, like getting a much better GPU

[Grimlorn]

I was thinking about buying a new computer for gaming and i was wondering of I could but a pre build computer from Costco, throw a graphics card into it and have it work because this is a lot cheaper than buying a full custom computer. In particular the computer I would buy is the Acer ATC-120-UC22 Desktop. Any help is welcome.

So I was just like you in my newbie days to PC lifestyle.

 

Quick answer, yes you can upgrade it, but you'll probably need a small graphics card to fit the case and maybe 8gb of RAM

 

But remember there not room for a lot of "big" upgrades but, surely you can upgrade it, any computer.

[nate_b55]

460W http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1780765/psu-dell-xps-8700.html

But if you have 700 bucks to throw around, you could do much better, like getting a much better GPU

My plans are to buy something like that and then buy a gtx 970 on amazon

[Fgtfv567]

My plans are to buy something like that and then buy a gtx 970 on amazon

You could try this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.89 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($54.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z97E-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($70.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($88.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.89 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($328.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.95 @ OutletPC) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1091.41

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-15 16:40 EST-0500

it's very small, and has an SSD, just 4 gigs less of ram and no CD drive