alternatives to an amd radeon r5 graphics card

[paed1023]

are there any cheap graphics cards to replace an amd radeon r5 within the range of 50 to 150 dollars that are able to run a modern game on medium to low graphics? my motherboard's serial number is PGCMP0CWJ5114I manufacturer HP and product 81B3.

 

[DSzymborski]

This appears to be, from what you've provided, a small form factor HP desktop with an Iris-A6 motherboard. Does your motherboard look like this?

If so, your upgrade options for anything other than RAM and hard drive are very limited. This motherboard comes with an AMD A6-7310 and is not upgradeable. There is also no PCIE slot, so there's no option to add a GPU.

Unfortunately, basic, entry-level PCs with small form factors are frequently not candidates for upgrading. Unless the amount of RAM is the limitation in a specific game -- and you'll be limited by the APU before you run into RAM problems in gaming -- the games that it runs will always be the games that it runs and if something doesn't run well, it likely never will.

 

[paed1023]

Are there any fairly cheap motherboards i could replace it with? Or would i have to replace most of not all of the components in my computer?

 

[DSzymborski]

You'd need a new motherboard and the new graphics card. You'd also need a new CPU, because not only is an A6-7310 inadequate for upgrades, it's soldered to the motherboard as it's a BGA CPU, so it's not even an option. If you're using a GPU, you also need a beefier power supply. And given you don't have any of these parts, you shouldn't go to a DDR3 platform as we near 2019, but a DDR4 one, so new RAM as well.

The unfortunate truth is that if you want to improve what you're using now, what you're looking at is an entirely new build. The PC you currently have just wasn't made for any kind of significant upgrades. So you'll have to decide if the games you play or wish to play will get enough of a benefit to justify a new build.

 

[dontlistentome]

If/when you buy older pre-built computers, NEVER buy less than a mini tower model(aka MT). Stay away from any desktop(DT) or small form factor(SFF) or ultra small form factor models. The mini tower models are the ones that might allow for a bit of upgrading.