A little hardware help for Diablo 3

[bravezfan86]

Hello all,

I am pretty good with computers, but pretty bad on the hardware end. Early 2010 I cheaped out and bought a crappy PC from NewEgg. Here it is:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229159

I just want to know what can be upgraded easily to improve my D3 experience. At this point, I can't run the game on 1080P (can do 720, though) and there are some frame-rate issues even not on full settings.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Add a graphics card costing a couple of hundred pounds (UK) and all done...

All the best Brett

 

[bravezfan86]

Is there any trick to installing those? Also, what about my 430W power supply?

 

[jfizzle4321]

You'll have to take a peak at the specs on the graphics card. It will tell you what the min power supply is. You can find something cheap in the $50-$100 range psu-wise and any graphics card in the $200-$300 range should do her.

 

[LostInHardware]

Installing a video card is almost as easy as upgrading your RAM, you just need to make sure your Motherboard can handle it and there is enough space to either upgrade to a bigger one or install a second. Seeing as that motherboard only has one PCI-Express x16 slot, your either going to have to buy a new motherboard or just upgrade the card itself, plus you will need a higher power supply: I'd suggest at least 650W+.

 

[bravezfan86]

Oh geez, well if I need a new motherboard and power supply just to update the card, then might not a new computer entirely be in order?

Or could I just replace my old card on the same board?

Here, I was thinking about this one. It says minimum 400W but maybe 500+ would be better:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-02G-P3-1559-KR/dp/B004XUCCS6/ref=dp_return_1?ie=UTF8&n=541966&s=pc

 

[jfizzle4321]

Oh geez, well if I need a new motherboard and power supply just to update the card, then might not a new computer entirely be in order?

Or could I just replace my old card on the same board?

Here, I was thinking about this one. It says minimum 400W but maybe 500+ would be better:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-02G-P3-1559-KR/dp/B004XUCCS6/ref=dp_return_1?ie=UTF8&n=541966&s=pc

I upgraded an hp system with a cardboard motherboard that couldn't be overclocked. I went from a 9600gt to a gtx 295 so I could max Dragon Age: Origins. I changed the psu to an 800w and obviously changed the graphics card. The PSU wasn't modular so the cables clogged the system and the graphics card put out obnoxious heat and it had zero air flow but the game (a moderately demanding one at the time) played very well besides the cut scenes. I later upgraded the case and motherboard so I could overclock the q8200 to 3.0 Ghz from 2.33 but it looks like your machine has an ok motherboard. I'm pretty confident your mother board is pci 2.0 so you'll be ok from that aspect. I'd still upgrade the power supply but I'd bet you'll be fine.

For the money you can get the following power supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

I've heard that the ocz PSUs are solid, though I use corsair in both of my builds.

You'd be paying $230 (including rebate but not inc shipping and tax) and you could sell the dvd combo drive for $20 or something on amazon. I bet you'll be ok at that point. If you have an unlocked bios, odds are you have a better motherboard than what came in my hp pavilion. Your cpu may or may not bottleneck the gpu but you can get a 1090t or something later. Heck you could probably get the bulldozer if you wanted to.

 

[AntiZig]

a 400W PSU should be able to handle a 550/Ti

 

[bravezfan86]

Right now I'm a little worried about dimensions:

If you look down in the comments, there is some concern over the size of the card, indicating it may need two slots even though it only fits in to one:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-02G-P3-1559-KR/product-reviews/B004XUCCS6/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

 

[wr6133]

The 550ti only needs 1 slot but it then hangs over taking the internal space of a second slot. It doesnt actually need a second slot to connect too the space it takes on the 2nd slot is just the fan and cooling stuff this then vents out the slot at the back of the case.

Looking at your setup it will fit. Your PSU would probably handle it but a quality 500W may be a good idea (OCZ do cheap decent quality).

You may want to look at replacing that CPU with a quad Phenom II while they are still about too if budget allows.

 

[AntiZig]

the only part of fitting the card you should be worried about is its length, which typically comes around 200-220mm

 

[HEXiT]

any card over a gtx 250 will likely bottleneck on that old amd cpu... they just dont have the bandwidth required to run higher end cards...
the 250 will allow you to play d3 but at low settings but you will be able to run at 1920/1080

but the sad truth is amd dual cores just dont cut it for todays high end games... you really do need a tri core minimum and preferably a quad...
check your motherboard manufacturer and see if they have a bios that will support quads. if so the get a new cpu as well as a gpu...

 

[jfizzle4321]

a 400W PSU should be able to handle a 550/Ti

I agree