Acer T3 710 update graphics card

[Simonbax]

Hi, I just bought an Acer T3 710 2TB 8gb PC and I was under the impression it would be good for working on the likes of indesign, illustrator etc. However on first viewing a PDF at home I discovered the graphics card is very poor. Can I upgrade this easily and what impact would this have on power, performance etc? Can anyone suggest a suitable graphics card? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks, Simon.

 

[ThomasKK]

Hi,

I suppose this is the rig: http://acer.com/ac/en/SG/content/model/DT.B1HSG.001

It has core i5-6400. A great choice for such work you are doing
8gb of ram will be fine.
I see that is a really solid build, except the video card, yes, this is a really big step down with GTX 745.

GTX 745 should be fine for simple etiting applications. Indesign and illustrator require only 2gb of memory and gtx 745 has 4gb(but it has bad memory bandwidth). Yes you can easily upgrade your graphics card and the performance difference should be noticeable since GTX 745 uses DDR3 memory and any newer GPU uses GDDR5 (it's much faster). You might want to take a look at GTX 1050 or 1050Ti if you decide to upgrade. Both of these cards don't require external power connectors, which your PSU does not have and the recommended wattage is 300watts, just like you have.

 

[Simonbax]

Thank you Thomas KK. I have a slightly different model from the one you mention...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing/desktop-pcs/desktop-pcs/acer-aspire-t3-710-desktop-pc-10146424-pdt.html

I think the graphics card is an intel HD 530. Does this change your answer and your suggestions for graphics card you mention? Would I notice a slow down in the computer if I change the graphics card?

 

[ThomasKK]

Well, this changes things a bit.
A dedicated graphics card would speed up graphical processes by a significant amount.
Lets see,
Core i7-6700 - beast.
8GB ram as mentioned - will do fine.
the same 300w power supply
SoniaH H110 motherboard

This motherboard has PCI express x16 lane (written in PC specifications), which means you can get any new graphics card and install it easily (also need to have a powerful enough PSU).
You're right, this PC does not have a graphics card, it uses integrated graphics (intel hd series). Since the power supply unit is only 300w, my recommendation stays the same: Nvidia's GTX 1050 or 1050Ti are the cards that require no additional power connectors - they will draw power from the motherboard (Ti version is 15-20% faster). According to game-debate, 300w PSU should be ok:
http://www.game-debate.com/hardware/?gid=3541&graphics=GeForce%20GTX%201050
http://www.game-debate.com/hardware/?gid=3669&graphics=GeForce%20GTX%201050%20Ti%204GB
Higher-end graphics cards would require a better PSU and if you don't do 4K or higher resolution images or video editing, you should be fine with nvidia's newest generation mid-level graphics card.

 

[Simonbax]

Thank you again Thomas KK. I will be doing photo editing but don't think I need 4K level graphics card. I will do no gaming just working on Adobe indesign, illustrator and photoshop. So I ideally need a graphics card that will show a good enough resolution on screen that would equate to how the piece looks when printed whilst ideally only using the PSU supplied with the computer and that will not slow the computer down.

I found this from your recommendation...is this correct?

http://www.ebuyer.com/761965-gigabyte-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-d5-2gb-gv-n1050d5-2gd?mkwid=s_dm&pcrid=51482416259&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=CIrHpe7Kq9ECFQwSGwodyX0ELg

If I purchase this I take it it would be a case of simply slotting it in and downlaoding the appropriate drivers? Apologies for my ignorance I can use computers but don't understand all the components that bring them together. Your help is much appreciated.

 

[ThomasKK]

No problems, mate!

As you can see your Gigabyte GTX 1050 2GB GDDR5 you've chosen there has a lot of features, for example:

You said you need "good enough resolution" ? 1050 supports up to 8K@60Hz which is 7680x4320 pixels(equal to 4 x 4K monitors) maximum resolution. Make sure you use at least HDMI cable.

Recommended power supply is 300w and no additional 6-pin or 8-pin connectors --> just put it in the PCI express X16 lane (it must be written on the motherboard) and install Nvidia's software/drivers ("NVIDIA control panel", "GeForce experience" etc.).

Here is an in-depth step-by-step tutorial how to install a new GPU: http://www.wikihow.com/Install-a-Graphics-Card
Overall a GTX 1050 is a solid mid-range graphics card. Applications that require more graphical performance or acceleration will benefit from this card much more than from any integrated graphics chip.

I see you're afraid of slow-downs. If you install drivers correctly, this upgrade should only affect your experience in a positive way. Problems with drivers usually appear when people change graphics cards and switch for example from AMD to NVIDIA. If They don't delete previous card's drivers completely it may cause some trouble. In your situation, you only need to insert the card and download/install the drivers! (Intel HD graphics does not affect anything, your PC will automatically choose to use GTX 1050 when it's connected)

 

[Simonbax]

Thanks Thomas KK, thats brilliant. I'll look at getting that ordered and installing it. I'll let you know how it goes. Cheers, Simon.

 

[Simonbax]

Hi Thomas KK, Can I get your opinion on this graphics card? Would this be suitable and be any good etc? Its a reasonable £30 which just seems to good to be true. Many thanks, Simon.

 

[Simonbax]

...Asus NVIDIA Gt 710 1 GB Passive Cooling Pci-E Graphics Card.

 

[ThomasKK]

http://www.game-debate.com/hardware/?gid=1556&graphics=GeForce%20GT%20710 - rating = 2/10 very poor.

Even your integrated graphics HD 530 is much better than this graphics card:
https://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=3220&gid2=1556&compare=Intel%20HD%20Graphics%20530%20Desktop-vs-Nvidia%20GeForce%20GT%20710

No, GT 710 won't bring anything good to the table.

In this case, Nvidia ranks their cards like this:
first number - generation, second number - performance rating from 1 to 9, so 1 is the slowest available card from 7th generation, which is also 3-4 years old, so it's gonna be really bad.