Help me be impatient

Hey, I have an hp compaq envy 750-114 its got the i5, 12gig memory and more hd space than I'll ever need. It didn't have a deticated graphics card so my brother gave me his old one, an older nvidia 2 gigs i believe. What else can I do to help get the most of of this thing? Will a newer graphics card or more memory make a noticable difference?
 
Hello,

Which specific card?
Which specific i5?
Which specific power supply?

Otherwise it largely depends on what you are doing. Something like a solid state drive would give you the largest 'seat of the pants' performance in Windows, but wouldn't increase your FPS in games. A faster GPU will give you more FPS in games, but not decrease load times, etc.
 
6Th gen i5, 6400 2.70ghz quad core, 2tb 7200rpm hd, 300 watt power supply, Windows 10, came with 12gigs of memory, has 2 slots capable of 16gigs. Not sure what specific graphics card he gave me. I can go look if its important
 
That 300 watt power supply is probably more like just over 200 watts. Something that low usually means its an OEM unit and are garbage.

Yes, we would need to know exact model of video card.
 
That's a pretty old card at this point which was mid-range when it was released. Also, that's a fairly high TDP card for your anemic power supply (it has a >100w TDP).

If you need additional graphical performance then it'll be a PSU and GPU upgrade.
 
Your PSU probably won't take GTX 550ti...
is your case SFF? Can it take full size video card?

Your existing PSU is uATX, according to HP
 
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As mentioned above, the best performance boost would be to have your operating system (i.e. Windows) running on a modern SSD like a Samsung EVO for example.

Unless you are a gamer, a new GPU isn't necessary. If you are a gamer, than more than likely in one of those machines, your gonna want to look at a smaller form factor card. You can get an GTX 970, for example, in a mini itx size. Without knowing the dimensions/compatibility of your particular case, its tough to say what length of card will/wont fit - but there are options.

Now, all that being said, and reiterating what @johnb35 said, if your upgrading the graphics, that OEM power supply has got to go. As with the GPU, compatibility will depend on what you case can accommodate. My belief is that you'll be needing a small form factor psu, and Corsair has 2 for sure that would probably work, (Corsair SF series, 450W or 600W) as they are special SFF size and both those are modular which is especially nice for smaller chassis.

Again, all this depends on your needs, and what your doing with the machine.

If you can take a clear picture of the inside, with the side panel removed, we can get a better idea of compatibility and make appropriate recommendations for your setup.
 
His machine requires a microatx psu which newegg max wattage is only 400 watts. Very bad machine to be adding a video card to. I wouldn't even attempt to put a 750ti in there.
 
His machine requires a microatx psu which newegg max wattage is only 400 watts. Very bad machine to be adding a video card to. I wouldn't even attempt to put a 750ti in there.

Oh dang.. didn't think it would be that small!

EDIT: @johnb35 the recommended for a 750TI is 300W though, isn't it? Would a non-oem 400W not be sufficient? Or cutting too close? Then again, I guess that not really an upgrade anyhow.
 
I should add im somewhat of a noob. I know my way around a computer however i dont know what is what. The graphics card and memory are bout the only thing ive done myself. I know I dont have a real nice computer, i also know its not junk. I can do the ssd and upgrade the power supply if yall think it will help.
 
I should add im somewhat of a noob. I know my way around a computer however i dont know what is what. The graphics card and memory are bout the only thing ive done myself. I know I dont have a real nice computer, i also know its not junk. I can do the ssd and upgrade the power supply if yall think it will help.

Definitely not junk, but as @johnb35 mentioned, a few limitations.

Seems to me like an SSD upgrade would yield you the best results, as far as performance goes - but its probably not worth the money to try to add a different GPU, and the PSU is an issue. I actually didnt realize it was what it was until he pointed it out.

SSDs are pretty affordable and a definite kick in the butt to most sluggish PCs, or just a general boost for most of us!
 
Definitely not junk, but as @johnb35 mentioned, a few limitations.

Seems to me like an SSD upgrade would yield you the best results, as far as performance goes - but its probably not worth the money to try to add a different GPU, and the PSU is an issue. I actually didnt realize it was what it was until he pointed it out.

SSDs are pretty affordable and a definite kick in the butt to most sluggish PCs, or just a general boost for most of us!

However, me personally..I actually wouldn't upgrade anything. Not that it isn't worth it.. but you'd be creating a bit of work for yourself--transferring data, OS..etc and its not a 'fun' upgrade like a fancy GPU, or a tricked out motherboard. Ultimately, its up to you how you want to proceed, but I honestly don't see a whole lot of problems with where your at now, for what the system is, as is.
 
@johnb35 the recommended for a 750TI is 300W though, isn't it? Would a non-oem 400W not be sufficient? Or cutting too close? Then again, I guess that not really an upgrade anyhow.

Minimum requirement for a 750ti is 430 watts. That OEM psu is probably only putting out 200 watts max. Only beneficial upgrade for this machine would be an SSD.
 
Minimum requirement for a 750ti is 430 watts. That OEM psu is probably only putting out 200 watts max. Only beneficial upgrade for this machine would be an SSD.

Strange I thought the Nvidia site said 300w but I believe ya...and overall your right about the SSD
 
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