460w PSU Video card upgrade issue

[MaTTiMeX]

So I am currently running a 460w PSU in my computer, it is running by default at Radeon HD 5700, and i'm finally noticing it's not running things well enough for me. I am looking at upgrading my RAM and video card. I am good to go on the RAM but I am unsure as to where to go up too for video card, assuming price isn't an issue I would like to know how high end I can go with the video card and if it's worth doing so as is, or if I should wait a bit longer and invest in a new PSU at the same time instead. I'll provide a link to the PC I am currently using.

http://h20566.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/template.PAGE/public/kb/docDisplay/?javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.prp_ba847bafb2a2d782fcbb0710b053ce01=wsrp-navigationalState%3DdocId%253Demr_na-c02701326-25%257CdocLocale%253D%257CcalledBy%253D&javax.portlet.tpst=ba847bafb2a2d782fcbb0710b053ce01&sp4ts.oid=5035344&ac.admitted=1389303293413.876444892.199480143


Any help would be greatly appreciated/

 

[chrisso]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html
actually, looking at your 955 cpu, if you can squeeeez in the gtx 760, you would be ok for another year or two, you should be able to play any games at reasonable settings.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+X4+955

not too shabby for an office type build.

 

[Onus]

Something like a HD7790 or GTX650Ti Boost would run on your included PSU.

 

[Omegaclawe]

If you aren't going towards a higher-end card, that PSU should (theoretically) provide enough power... though somehow, I doubt it's high end. I wouldn't count on being able to get the full 460w out of it. Anything with a TDP lower than your current card (which will be no more than 108W, by my reckoning, should be fine. I think a GTX 650Ti would be the fastest card you could get on that PSU. On the AMD side, similar powered cards consume a bit more power, so I can't recommend them.

Not sure a faster card would be worth it with you CPU, anyway.

As far as upgrading RAM goes, the easiest way to tell if it'll be worth it is to check the Windows Performance Monitor (or linux equivalent) and see how many "hard faults" you're getting. If it is 0, a RAM upgrade is unlikely to do you any good. Otherwise, go for it.

 

[chrisso]

The card you have is unusual, but it is quoated as a maximum 86watts. If you post the power supply 12 v rail amps we can give you a maximum graphics card, or you could just plumb for a 7770 or 7750. They use about that.

 

[FALC0N]

What model is the psu?

 

[Brantyn Gerik]

I would recommend a nvidia gtx 760, OR an amd radeon r9-270x Both are within $20 of the $250 mark, and can be found at lower prices, but will be fairly high end for you. BUT with these new cards, i would recommend getting a new power supply. A decent 500watt power supply can be had for around $60 and will run either of these cards fine. I would recommend a higher quality graphics cards, but for the money, the gtx 760 and the amd 270x are about the best for the money with the 760 being slightly faster, but also more expensive.

 

[chrisso]

The stock card is listed as a 6770. Interesting.

 

[swilczak]

A radeon 7850 or gtx 650ti boost would be about as high as you could go with your current power supply. If you were to upgrade the PSU and add something more powerful than either of those two cards you might have a bottleneck problem and have to get a better processor to get the most out of your graphics card.

 

[Onus]

I don't believe the HP PSU is junk, or they'd have horrific (and expensive) warranty problems. As such, it should be able to handle any card with a single PCIe power connector without any trouble.

 

[Brantyn Gerik]

Basically don't ever say price isn't an option. Think of a price you are willing to spend to get the best results when asking these types of questions, otherwise you will get a lot of answers that just really arent relevant to you

 

[MaTTiMeX]

I have a phone shot of my power supplies sticker but I am unsure of the rail amps. As for the WPM I am also unsure of how to figure out what is meant by "hard faults".

 

[chrisso]

I cant find a performance review of that 5700 gpu, so dont know what would be a decent upgrade.

 

[chrisso]

look at the grid display on the sticker and look to where it says 12v , its in one of the boxes. It sounds the same as the dell oem's psu and they arent too bad.

 

[MaTTiMeX]

+12Va, +12Vb, +12Vc & +5.08V 431.24W.

Now I feel quite derpy and I apologise for asking for help without a bit more knowledge.

 

[MaTTiMeX]

So now my question is ontop of all of this, would I sincerely be better off holding out and just saving for a few months to drop a whole bunch of money to build something from scratch or is it worth upgrading at this point so I have more time to save?

 

[chrisso]

you have to look down the grid to see what the amp rating is. if there are two main 12v rails say its a and b
on that label it would read two similar amounts, maybe one is 18 amps and the other is 16.

 

[chrisso]

If , as i suspect, your current gpu is equivalent to a 5770, you are not far off the max performance as it is, and you would be better off to save. Where are you, btw?

 

[t21]

you can run 270x and even 280x depends or gtx 760 on stock speed without upgrading but above than that you will need to upgrade

 

[MaTTiMeX]

12Va = 18A and 12Vb = 15A. I'm in Canada, Ontario.

 

[chrisso]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html
actually, looking at your 955 cpu, if you can squeeeez in the gtx 760, you would be ok for another year or two, you should be able to play any games at reasonable settings.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+X4+955

not too shabby for an office type build.

 

[chrisso]

30 total. let me see whats what.

 

[MaTTiMeX]

So with a GTX 760, would you recommend the RAM upgrade as well or should I just stick with the default 4gigs?

 

[chrisso]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1892105/460w-psu-gtx-760-requires-500w.html

as you can see, its a close call for the gtx760. Nvidia state 30 amps
However, yours is a split rail,so the safe answer will be no. (the maximum cant be pulled off both at the same time;notice there is a total watts rating for both rails on the left of the grid?) so you could put it in and wait for the problems, put something a little less beefy in, or put it in and an xfx 550 pro psu for another 60$.
I will post some more options

 

[MaTTiMeX]

Yeah it says at the top.. 5.08V = 25A.

 

[FALC0N]

The gtx760 should work, but as previously stated, cuts it very close with that psu. And that assumes the PSU delivers its rated power.

The 270X should be fine though. It's power requirements are more modest.