Looking for Advice

[RelentlessGrit]

I'm looking to imporve performance and visuals on my computer. So far, I'm very happy with it and it works really well, but on newer high end games, I experience very low FPS (20 Max - no mods, medium default settings).

 

So I did a little digging and I definitely think it's my video card (ATI Radeon HD 5450).

 

From what research I've done, the only thing I can see holding me back is my power supply (430 Watt - Dell OEM).

 

What other components do I need to consider?

 

 

• I'm looking at an ATI Radeon HD 7970
• Budget: $600

My Specs

• System: Dell XPS 8300 - Windows 7x64
• Processor: Intel Core i5-2400 CPU @ 3.10GHz (4 CPUs)
• Memory: 8 GB Ram
• Display: ATI Radeon HD 5450
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080

If you need any other information, I'll try to provide it.

 

On a side note: I'm considering saving up more and just buying a whole new system and selling this one, thoughts?

Edited August 13, 2013 by RelentlessGrit

[DeadlyDoughnuts]

Yes you will need a bigger power supply, around 650-700w should be good. Other then that just make sure you have a big enough case and a motherboard with PCI express 3.0 slot (even if you have a 2.0 slot it would still work, im not sure if it would impact your performance though but i don't think it would be much if at all.) Im sure people that know more about this might recomend other GPU's that perform better, are cheaper, CPU upgrade, etc but hey its better then mine i would be happy with it.

[kalikka]

A good/trusted 550W PSU is more than enough. Like XFX 550W.

There is no impact to performance with PCIe 3.0 vs 2.0.

 

I recommend to check GTX 760 and GTX770.

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_760/images/perfrel_1920.gif

Edited August 13, 2013 by kalikka

[RelentlessGrit]

Yes you will need a bigger power supply, around 650-700w should be good. Other then that just make sure you have a big enough case and a motherboard with PCI express 3.0 slot (even if you have a 2.0 slot it would still work, im not sure if it would impact your performance though but i don't think it would be much if at all.) Im sure people that know more about this might recomend other GPU's that perform better, are cheaper, CPU upgrade, etc but hey its better then mine i would be happy with it.

Thanks for the reply, yeah I figured I'd need more :sleep:

The case and the motherboard shouldn't be a problem.

Hahaha well like I said, I'm quite happy with it, but I figured my 5450 was behind the times!

 

 

A good/trusted 550W PSU is more than enough. Like XFX 550W.

There is no impact to performance with PCIe 3.0 vs 2.0.

 

I recommend to check GTX 760 and GTX770.

 

 

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_760/images/perfrel_1920.gif

 

 

Oh good, I was thinking about a 600 just to be safe, but great to know it's not gonna be necessary! :sweat:

ATI is just what I've always had, so I'm comfortable and know it a little. I'll check them out though. Thanks :thumbsup:

Where'd you find that performance chart?

[Rennn]

I don't think you should upgrade your entire rig, just your PSU and video card. Your CPU is fine, and given the next-gen console's specs, it'll be okay for all games in the foreseeable future as well. 8GB of RAM is enough. It should last through next-gen provided it's a decent speed. 12GB would be a bit better in high-end 64-bit games, but it's not a significant enough of a performance improvement to be worthwhile. The PSU, as others already pointed out, will most likely need to be replaced for a new video card. 600w to 750w would be safest, and any higher would be a waste. Even lower end PSUs like a 550w model should be fine as long as it's a high quality name, but for safety purposes I always personally aim a bit high for my PSU...

 

Really your video card is by far the weakest link in your PC, and replacing it with a GTX 770 or HD 7970 should lead to impressive performance.

I used to have a 5450... No offense, but I didn't consider my framerates in most games playable. Even a GTX 460 was a massive improvement at the time.

 

A 770 or 7970 with a 650w PSU will increase performance many times over. With either card, you should be hitting 60 fps in just about any game on ultra settings. Keep in mind that AMD cards will overlock higher and usually have higher bandwidth, but Nvidia cards allow for much more efficient tessellation and hardware PhysX.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121770

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413

 

if you're more budget minded, you could also spend about a total of $350 on a GTX 760 and a good 550w PSU. That should ideally get you ultra at 50-60 fps in most games, and high at 40-60 fps in graphically amazing games.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745

Edited August 13, 2013 by Rennn

[RelentlessGrit]

 

I don't think you should upgrade your entire rig, just your PSU and video card. Your CPU is fine, and given the next-gen console's specs, it'll be okay for all games in the foreseeable future as well. 8GB of RAM is enough. It should last through next-gen provided it's a decent speed. 12GB would be a bit better in high-end 64-bit games, but it's not a significant enough of a performance improvement to be worthwhile. The PSU, as others already pointed out, will most likely need to be replaced for a new video card. 600w to 750w would be safest, and any higher would be a waste. Even lower end PSUs like a 550w model should be fine as long as it's a high quality name, but for safety purposes I always personally aim a bit high for my PSU...

 

Really your video card is by far the weakest link in your PC, and replacing it with a GTX 770 or HD 7970 should lead to impressive performance.

I used to have a 5450... No offense, but I didn't consider my framerates in most games playable. Even a GTX 460 was a massive improvement at the time.

 

A 770 or 7970 with a 650w PSU will increase performance many times over. With either card, you should be hitting 60 fps in just about any game on ultra settings. Keep in mind that AMD cards will overlock higher and usually have higher bandwidth, but Nvidia cards allow for much more efficient tessellation and hardware PhysX.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121770

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413

 

if you're more budget minded, you could also spend about a total of $350 on a GTX 760 and a good 550w PSU. That should ideally get you ultra at 50-60 fps in most games, and high at 40-60 fps in graphically amazing games.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745

 

 

Wow thanks a lot for that! Like I said, it only gets minimal performance in games like Skyrim and Fallout. :geek: I was having a really hard time trying to decide all this by myself. I'm glad I asked for advice and I am overwhelmed with the amount of help I got from everyone!

 

I think I'll go with the Corsair HX650 just for invenstment purposes.

 

Edit: On Second thought, what's the main difference between the Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 and the Asus GTX770? I don't think I'll be overclocking it, and the better tesselation and PhysX sounds more apealing.

 

Thanks for those links! :thumbsup:

Edited August 14, 2013 by RelentlessGrit

[Rennn]

Happy to help.

I know you said the case wouldn't be a problem, but just to be safe you may want to measure your case first and make sure it'll actually fit those components. If it doesn't... Cases are cheap.

[RelentlessGrit]

Alright, so finally got around to ordering the components and installed them. First the PSU with no problems. Then the GPU, was a little snug but I got it in nice and clean, but now I can't get it to display :pinch: I uninstalled all display drivers before taking out my new card and putting the new one in and immediatly shut down and installed the new card. I know the card is in right and all, I've tried different PCI-E cords but sadly I don't have another PCI slot or another rig to test it on. I can boot my computer and get display from my MB's onboard display or if I plug in my old card agin but if I put the new card back it it will show "No Display Output" on my monitor, not even a boot logo!

 

Any thoughts?

 

Sidenote: My last GPU output VGA/HDMI but the new one I'm using HDMI cause I don't currently have a DVI or mini display cables; the HDMI cable works on the older one so it's not the cable either, if that helps.

Edited September 5, 2013 by RelentlessGrit