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Do I need to upgrade my gpu?

NOOB1990
By NOOB1990
in Graphics Cards
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Go to solution Solved by Kanbari,

Wish you the best!

Posted

I purchased an older computer and was wondering what gpu do I need. My system came with a gigabyte mo (GA-P35-DS3L) and an intel core 2 quad Q6600 cpu. The gpu that came with the computer is a ATI Radeon HD 4870. Currently I am running 4gb(2x2gb) of DDR2 gskill ram (800mhz) and will be doubling that soon. My psu is an Antec truepower trio 650watt. post-137521-0-37410900-1425421178_thumb.post-137521-0-33339500-1425421179_thumb.post-137521-0-49999800-1425421181_thumb.

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Not trying to be rude here, but that GPU is pretty much trash. A 750 Ti or 260X is probably the minimum for running the more popular titles.

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How many watts is your PSU?

What games do you plan on playing? 

 

That GPU is pretty dang old and won't play many games well. I feel like it'd be well worth to upgrade it to a GPU in the 750 or 750ti range (260 - 260x). 

Desktop: The Bluez | CPU: i5-3570k @ 4.5 ghz 1.296V | CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo | Motherboard: P8Z77 M-Pro | Memory: 16 GB 1600Mhz Kingston HyperX  


GPU: Asus GTX 780ti DirectCu II | HDD: Some Random Hitachi 1TB, WD Blue 1TB, 850 EVO 500GB | PSU: Rosewill Hive 750W | Case: Enermax Ostrog GT (Blue Ver.) 


Laptop: Razer Blade 14 2013 256GB

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No offense taken. I got the gpu with the computer. And can those cards work with my old motherboard?

 

The main titles i'll be running is Minecraft, The Sims 3 and 4, Dirt 3. 

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Don't upgrade your GPU.

Why? Because your Ram is DDR2 and your CPU is not even selled anymore by Intel. Remember this rule: overpowering one component has no use, everything must be balanced.

If you wanna upgrade your GPU, just get a new computer cause you need to upgrade everything anyway.

Basic guide to CPU's!

If I said I were 14, you would call me a kid. If I say 70, you’ll entitle me too old. If I say 20 you say I’m inexperienced and if I say 40 than I'm too boring.

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A 750Ti in your new system, as Stijncat suggested, which is pretty much what you'll have to do, will do you some good things if those are the main titles you're going to be playing. 

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So just wait and save for a new build instead of sinking more money into this? I already have a LGA 1155 Motherboard but debating on using it or sell it and getting another. Its an Itel DQ67-SW.

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Im using a GT 630, fx 4300, and 2GB crucial balistix ram and my pc can handle any light games (TF2, CSGO, GTA IV, Garrys mod) at max settings with about 70-80 fps

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Don't upgrade your GPU.

Why? Because your Ram is DDR2 and your CPU is not even selled anymore by Intel. Remember this rule: overpowering one component has no use, everything must be balanced.

If you wanna upgrade your GPU, just get a new computer cause you need to upgrade everything anyway.

 

The CPU isn't that bad and upgrading the GPU to a more recent and mid-tier card wouldn't completely unbalance the build. 

 

Noob1990 I feel like upgrading to a 750ti or even just a 750 would be perfect for the games you intend to play. It would even give some room for any newer games you may want to play in the future.

Desktop: The Bluez | CPU: i5-3570k @ 4.5 ghz 1.296V | CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo | Motherboard: P8Z77 M-Pro | Memory: 16 GB 1600Mhz Kingston HyperX  


GPU: Asus GTX 780ti DirectCu II | HDD: Some Random Hitachi 1TB, WD Blue 1TB, 850 EVO 500GB | PSU: Rosewill Hive 750W | Case: Enermax Ostrog GT (Blue Ver.) 


Laptop: Razer Blade 14 2013 256GB

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If you upgrade to 8gb of ram and get a new graphics card such as a 750/750ti or an R7 260/260X then you'll be able to play the games you want to play fairly well. That cpu is old but it's still decent.

CPU: AMD FX-6300 4GHz @ 1.3 volts | CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO | RAM: 8GB DDR3

Motherboard: Gigabyte 970A-DS3P | GPU: EVGA GTX 960 SSC | SSD: 250GB Samsung 850 EVO

HDD: 1TB WD Caviar Green | Case: Fractal Design Core 2500 | OS: Windows 10 Home

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Im using a GT 630, fx 4300, and 2GB crucial balistix ram and my pc can handle any light games (TF2, CSGO, GTA IV, Garrys mod) at max settings with about 70-80 fps

Those parts are also pretty bad in all honesty. You should upgrade to a 260X and 8GB of RAM.

 

Oh yea welcome to the forums!

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So just wait and save for a new build instead of sinking more money into this? I already have a LGA 1155 Motherboard but debating on using it or sell it and getting another. Its an Itel DQ67-SW.

 

If you don't plan on playing any more intensive titles, I wouldn't see the need to upgrade your entire system yet. A budget to mid-tier GPU would be the best bet for extending the longevity of your current computer. 

Desktop: The Bluez | CPU: i5-3570k @ 4.5 ghz 1.296V | CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo | Motherboard: P8Z77 M-Pro | Memory: 16 GB 1600Mhz Kingston HyperX  


GPU: Asus GTX 780ti DirectCu II | HDD: Some Random Hitachi 1TB, WD Blue 1TB, 850 EVO 500GB | PSU: Rosewill Hive 750W | Case: Enermax Ostrog GT (Blue Ver.) 


Laptop: Razer Blade 14 2013 256GB

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Change that GPU for something beefier and less power hungry, CPU is still pretty good, specially for that titles you mentioned. 

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I just want this system to get me to next yr, so I can build a decent computer. Just trying to do it on  budget. As of right now I only have about $200 in it. If I did go get a high tower gpu (so i could use it on the next build) would it hurt anything?

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your system is already very old. Any attempts at upgrading it would just be wasting money, money that could be saved for a better system. keep it as it is till it breaks :) then worry about upgrades.

Gaming PC: • AMD Ryzen 7 3900x • 16gb Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3200mhz • Founders Edition 2080ti • 2x Crucial 1tb nvme ssd • NZXT H1• Logitech G915TKL • Logitech G Pro • Asus ROG XG32VQ • SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless

Laptop: MacBook Pro M1 512gb

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Don't upgrade your GPU.

Why? Because your Ram is DDR2 and your CPU is not even selled anymore by Intel. Remember this rule: overpowering one component has no use, everything must be balanced.

If you wanna upgrade your GPU, just get a new computer cause you need to upgrade everything anyway.

DDR2 isn't bad. The performance of ram in general doesn't matter that much as long as you have 8 gigs of DDR2 or better. That CPU was featured in the scrapyard wars series of videos recently, and it performed pretty well. It's an ok quad core.

CPU: AMD FX-6300 4GHz @ 1.3 volts | CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO | RAM: 8GB DDR3

Motherboard: Gigabyte 970A-DS3P | GPU: EVGA GTX 960 SSC | SSD: 250GB Samsung 850 EVO

HDD: 1TB WD Caviar Green | Case: Fractal Design Core 2500 | OS: Windows 10 Home

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200$, i would recommend a gtx 660, if possible or r9 280, cpu still has enough horses to drive some modern titles, you could check linus video on scrap yard competition, cor2 quad coupled with hd 6950 was at pretty good performance leve, imagine with r9 280 (hd7950), not bad at all, but it all comes to how strong is your psu.

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I really appreciate all the help guys. Now to save the cash for it. Does the brand of it matter if the specs are the same?

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Well for me its just that it has to have non refrence cooler like windforce, twinfrozer, dc2, whatever.

Just wanna point out that actually my gtx 660 is a ZOTAC, which is almost the cheapest on the market, temps never reach 70c, and i almost have 300 hours on bf3 ALONE for two years now, absolutely no issues!

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Ok noted. Ill check craigslist and see if I can get a used one. What's the most you would pay for a used one?

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Well its hard to tell, y'v got to avoid those that ran out of warranty, while pressing the seller to ~100$ range especially if its the 660, r9 280 well not more than 120$, i think its not big deal finding one.

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