Good idea to upgrade?

M

motorboatink1ng

New Member
I have an HP Pavilion. Here is a link to all the specs on it... http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c02218264#N190

I was a hard core console gamer, but for reasons that aren't important to mention I am ditching my consoles, and switching to PC. With my current computer I can barely play any games on minimum without lagging, so I want to upgrade. What I'm wondering is, is an HP worth upgrading, or should I start from scratch. I don't know THAT much about computers but I know basics. I was thinking of putting a i5-2310 on my current motherboard and then adding a Radeon HD 7870. Would you think that would be fine for me to play games on at least medium settings? Or should I get a new motherboard as well? Or should I just get a whole new case and get everything new? Just looking for opinions or if you think what I am thinking is fine.


Also another question about GDDR3/5. The graphics card I'm looking at is GDDR5, will that work on my current motherboard? Don't really understand that.


Here are the newegg links to what I am thinking of getting.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131492

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115089

Thanks for your time.
 
I would sell the current machine and start a fresh, most factory built machines are basic and only for light home use.

To start with the power supply you have is according to specs only 250w, that would not run any of the graphics cards you have linked, those cards would likely need a pci-e power connection which a 250w power supply would not have.

The motherboard is an msi which is not one of the top brands.

If you really want to start pc gaming, I would go for a new system with carefully hand picked components.
 
jamesd1981 said:
I would sell the current machine and start a fresh, most factory built machines are basic and only for light home use.

To start with the power supply you have is according to specs only 250w, that would not run any of the graphics cards you have linked, those cards would likely need a pci-e power connection which a 250w power supply would not have.

The motherboard is an msi which is not one of the top brands.

If you really want to start pc gaming, I would go for a new system with carefully hand picked components.
Click to expand...

Yea thats what I'm starting to figure out. I'm currently adding a newegg shopping cart right now. I'll post what I think I'm going to go with when I'm done. Thanks.
 
This PC will be very cheap, and will be quite suitable for gaming.

  • Fractal Design Core 1000
  • Corsair CX430M
  • Gigabyte GA-H61M-HD2
  • Seagate Barracuda 1TB
  • Intel Pentium G860
  • Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 4GB
  • Sapphire AMD HD 7750 2GB DDR3

Total price in Denmark: $535

Due to taxes, Denmark is generally 10-25% more expensive than USA, so it should be cheaper for you.

You will probably also need a copy of Windows 7/8, which is around $80 I think.

If you have room to spend, here's the order I would upgrade the system:
HD 7750 -> HD 7770
Pentium G860 -> i3-3220
Vengeance 4GB -> Vengeance 8GB

If you have even more room to spend:
HD 7750 -> HD 7850 + Corsair CX430M -> CX500M (CX430M only has 1 PCIE cable)

The case may look small, but if you don't use an optical disk drive, it's actually quite capable of having great cable management. (Modular PSU preferred)
It's dirt cheap, very good quality and has an amazing way of mounting HDDs.
I have used it in many builds, including this gaming PC:
  • Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz @ 3GHz
  • Gigabyte G31M-S2L
  • Crucial DDR2 667MHz @ ~836MHz
  • AMD HD 6870 2GB
  • Corsair CX500M
Temps are great and it's running quietly
 
Last edited:
motorboatink1ng said:
I have an HP Pavilion. Here is a link to all the specs on it... http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c02218264#N190

I was a hard core console gamer, but for reasons that aren't important to mention I am ditching my consoles, and switching to PC. With my current computer I can barely play any games on minimum without lagging, so I want to upgrade. What I'm wondering is, is an HP worth upgrading, or should I start from scratch. I don't know THAT much about computers but I know basics. I was thinking of putting a i5-2310 on my current motherboard and then adding a Radeon HD 7870. Would you think that would be fine for me to play games on at least medium settings? Or should I get a new motherboard as well? Or should I just get a whole new case and get everything new? Just looking for opinions or if you think what I am thinking is fine.


Also another question about GDDR3/5. The graphics card I'm looking at is GDDR5, will that work on my current motherboard? Don't really understand that.


Here are the newegg links to what I am thinking of getting.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131492

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115089

Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...

I suggest you upgrade PSU + GPU. I don't see the need of upgrading CPU + mobo
 
OK I'm looking for something a little better than the options you provided, but I do appreciate it. This is what I'm thinking so far.


Fractal Design Core 1000 $39.99
GeForce GT 640 2GB $94.99
ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 ATX Intel Motherboard $69.99
G.Skill Ripjaws series 8GB (4x 2GB) DDR3 1600 MHz $73.99
Intel i5-3470 3.2 GHz $199.99

Total $480

I previously upgraded the 250w PS in my HP to a 430W, so I would just remove and install that in the new build. I would also remove my hard drive from the HP.

Just to not this will be my first time building a computer. Hope I don't mess it up. But what do you think of what I have in my cart?
 
daisymtc said:
I suggest you upgrade PSU + GPU. I don't see the need of upgrading CPU + mobo
Click to expand...

The PSU is a 430w, previously upgraded sorry. So all you would do is get a new GPU? I'm think I'm going to get a GeForce GT 640 no matter what. But I'm not sure if my i3 can handle mot games
 
The GT 640 is a terrible graphics card, you will see MUCH smoother gameplay by spending less on the CPU and more on the GPU.
Also, what brand is the 430W you've bought? Make sure it's got PCIe connectors, otherwise you can't use a good graphics card with it.
And since I doubt you'll be overclocking or going with Crossfire / SLI (multiple graphic cards), you don't need a H77/Z77 motherboard - B75 is pretty much the same as H61 these days, with the exception of an internal USB3 header on the motherboard.
 
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Jiniix said:
An HD 7770 is way faster than a GT640 for gaming. It's $135.

Toms Hardware GT 640 vs 7770
Computerforum.com thread GT 640 vs 7770

I know from personal experience that the GT 640 is a bad gaming card. I have had a 640 in a PC, and it was waaay outperformed by a HD 5770 (two generations older, and in the same PC)
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Ok I'll spend a little more. So I've watched a few youtube videos, but just asking sorry if I sound stupid. But basically hook everything up and insert OS and it's good to go right? Also the CPU will come with it's own heat sync right? And what do you think of the motherboard I choose?
 
motorboatink1ng said:
ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 ATX Intel Motherboard $69.99
Click to expand...

You won't notice a difference in performance in any way if you use the Gigabyte H61-HD2, and quite frankly, Gigabyte makes better motherboards than ASRock.
ASRock is fine with their high end motherboards for the most, but you should generally only use ASUS, Gigabyte og MSI in my opinion.
Despite the chipset, the H61-HD2 is actually a quite new motherboard. It supports every socket 1155 CPU, up to and including the i7-3770k (would obviously be overkill, but it's an option nonetheless)
 
Jiniix said:
You won't notice a difference in performance in any way if you use the Gigabyte H61-HD2, and quite frankly, Gigabyte makes better motherboards than ASRock.
ASRock is fine with their high end motherboards for the most, but you should generally only use ASUS, Gigabyte og MSI in my opinion.
Despite the chipset, the H61-HD2 is actually a quite new motherboard. It supports every socket 1155 CPU, up to and including the i7-3770k (would obviously be overkill, but it's an option nonetheless)
Click to expand...

Ok so you would go with the GIGABYTE over the ASRock. Like I said I'm new to all this.
 
Yes I would.
I would also go i3-3220 over the i5-3470. The i3 is $70 cheaper, and the i5 is a bit overkill for a 7770. Not really overkill, but the i3 is plenty fast.
When you are designing a system, a big part of the build is making sure things are balanced. You don't want bottlenecking to occur, and I think the 7770 would bottleneck the i5 just a little bit + you can spend the $70 on something else then.
 
Jiniix said:
Yes I would.
I would also go i3-3220 over the i5-3470. The i3 is $70 cheaper, and the i5 is a bit overkill for a 7770. Not really overkill, but the i3 is plenty fast.
When you are designing a system, a big part of the build is making sure things are balanced. You don't want bottlenecking to occur, and I think the 7770 would bottleneck the i5 just a little bit + you can spend the $70 on something else then.
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I haven't herd the term bottlenecking before. What does that mean? Also a lot of games recommend a quad core over dual core. Plus I was thinking that if I got the i5 I could later upgrade graphics card without having to upgrade processor. But I'll look into bottlenecking.
 
Also, I am in the military serving in South Korea right now, SO I do a lot of Skyping back home and downloading a lot of movies and tv shows and watch them on my computer. And play games. But I doubt a computer couldn't handle skype and downloading...
 
If you have a CPU capable of doing 100FPS and a GPU capable of doing 50FPS, you'll only get 50FPS.
I generally think that the GPU should cost between 1.25 to 1.75 times more than the CPU. Of course that's not always true, but most of the time it fits ok.
If you want a better GPU than a 7770, you will have to upgrade your power supply, and if you want an i5 I would recommend a B75 motherboard.
 
Jiniix said:
If you have a CPU capable of doing 100FPS and a GPU capable of doing 50FPS, you'll only get 50FPS.
I generally think that the GPU should cost between 1.25 to 1.75 times more than the CPU. Of course that's not always true, but most of the time it fits ok.
If you want a better GPU than a 7770, you will have to upgrade your power supply, and if you want an i5 I would recommend a B75 motherboard.
Click to expand...

So if I got the i5 with a B75 board would bottlenecking not be an issue? Looking at this board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128555
 
You would still be bottlenecked on the 7770, but you would unlock 1600MHz RAM (the H61-HD2 can only run 1333MHz afaik. And by that, I mean it will only run at 1333MHz, you can still put 2400MHz RAM in it and it will work fine)
If you want to go the i5 route, I would recommend the system I posted earlier.
You will be bottlenecking unless you upgrade quite a few items.
PSU must be upgraded so you can get a better GPU.
Motherboard should be upgraded so you can get better RAM for your better CPU and GPU.
 
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