Pre-Built upgradability

nate_b55 · February 15, 2015

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 · February 15, 2015

Costco?

No

Just No

nate_b55 · February 15, 2015

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

thekeemo · February 15, 2015

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

nate_b55 · February 15, 2015

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 · February 15, 2015

^ 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 · February 15, 2015

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 · February 15, 2015

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 · February 15, 2015

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 · February 15, 2015

OK thanks.

Im still looking around for a descent base model.

Bravosgrad · February 15, 2015

or

you dont buy prebuilt

tadaaa

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

RASQ · February 15, 2015

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.

February 15, 2015

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 · February 15, 2015

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 · February 15, 2015

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 · February 15, 2015

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

Fgtfv567 · February 15, 2015

-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 · February 15, 2015

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 · February 15, 2015

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 · February 15, 2015

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 · February 15, 2015

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