Does it make sense to add graphics card to amd apu?

[0Ramrod0]

I recently had a computer given to me and it has an amd apu in it. I think it's a 78 something k apu. I want to be able to play games like dayz and battlefield as well as newer mmorpgs. I know this computer will run the games but not very well.

I don't know very much about computers so I don't know if I can add a graphics card to the computer. Also would it make any sense to remove the apu and replace with graphics card and whatever else I'd need? If so how would I go about finding what to add/replace?

I'm also ok with rebuilding the computer as I'd already have windows 8, the case, mouse, keyboard, monitor, and power supply (650w). So what would be the cost to buy the remaining parts of the computer? I'd like to be able to run most current games at high/ultra. Not looking to spend thousands but is rather the bulk of money to go towards gpu if possible to get the best gaming performance.

Sorry for the long post and thank you for helping. I'm trying to learn as much as I can and really want to get into computer gaming.

 

[Wolfshadw]

The graphics part of the APU is actually part of the CPU chipset. You cannot just remove that. You can simply add a discrete graphics card to your system (assuming an available PCI-Ex16 expansion slot). Your power supply (650 watts) is enough to power just about any card, but given your processor, I'd recommend staying with a mid-range card like the GTX760Ti or R9-270x. The addition of a discrete graphics card will take the graphic load from the APU completely.

-Wolf sends

 

[sasquatch727]

The graphics part of the APU is actually part of the CPU chipset. You cannot just remove that. You can simply add a discrete graphics card to your system (assuming an available PCI-Ex16 expansion slot). Your power supply (650 watts) is enough to power just about any card, but given your processor, I'd recommend staying with a mid-range card like the GTX760Ti or R9-270x. The addition of a discrete graphics card will take the graphic load from the APU completely.

-Wolf sends

+1

 

[oxiide]

You can certainly add a video card to it. The APU is an otherwise-ordinary CPU with a built-in graphics processor, so its all in one chip. Your motherboard's PCIe expansion slot is likely empty and ready for a video card.

You could just add the video card if you want and it will do alright in most games, but its still going to remain a fairly low-end machine due to unavoidably poor CPU performance. If your goals are to play the newest games at high details and 1080p at 60 FPS, you're going to need a new motherboard and CPU in addition to the video card.

 

[avenseth12]

You can actually run that APU with a discrete card in xfire configuration. See this attached:

http://www.cpu-world.com/info/AMD/Recommended_graphics_cards_for_AMD_dual-graphics.html

 

[0Ramrod0]

@oxxide- so what would you recommend for a new mother board and cpu? Really I'm just trying to figure out if I need to build a new 1$1200-1500 rig or can I salvage stuff from this rig to bring down the cost.

 

[LucoTF]

@oxxide- so what would you recommend for a new mother board and cpu? Really I'm just trying to figure out if I need to build a new 1$1200-1500 rig or can I salvage stuff from this rig to bring down the cost.

If your budget is $500 or more then you should be ditching the APU for a stronger CPU and GPU

 

[0Ramrod0]

@oxxide- so what would you recommend for a new mother board and cpu? Really I'm just trying to figure out if I need to build a new 1$1200-1500 rig or can I salvage stuff from this rig to bring down the cost.

If your budget is $500 or more then you should be ditching the APU for a stronger CPU and GPU

Yeah I mean if I won't lose performance by spending around $750 as opposed to building a new rig then I'd love to do that.

 

[LucoTF]

@oxxide- so what would you recommend for a new mother board and cpu? Really I'm just trying to figure out if I need to build a new 1$1200-1500 rig or can I salvage stuff from this rig to bring down the cost.

If your budget is $500 or more then you should be ditching the APU for a stronger CPU and GPU

Yeah I mean if I won't lose performance by spending around $750 as opposed to building a new rig then I'd love to do that.

For $750 I could build you a new rig that would perform far better than anything you could pair with your current CPU

 

[Hawkshot]

@oxxide- so what would you recommend for a new mother board and cpu? Really I'm just trying to figure out if I need to build a new 1$1200-1500 rig or can I salvage stuff from this rig to bring down the cost.

If your budget is $500 or more then you should be ditching the APU for a stronger CPU and GPU

Yeah I mean if I won't lose performance by spending around $750 as opposed to building a new rig then I'd love to do that.

As long as you have $750 to spare and you have decent RAM you can upgrade very easily, my recommendation would be the following,

CPU I5 4690 (1150 Motherboard) or AMD 8320 (AM3+ Motherboard) both of these are amazing proformers for a very good price
GPU🙁asus) GTX 770 is a very nice choice for mid level gaming or R9 280X (Sapphire/Asus) this is also very reliable for gaming but it really shines when it comes to 3D modelling if you do anything of that get the R9 280X even it you don't pick the cheapest one
Ram (if you don't have good 8GB of it) either get Corsair Vengeance or HyperX 8gb 2x4GB is usually cheaper
And the motherboard depends on what CPU you are opting for MSI Z87-G43 Socket 1150 HDMI D-Sub for the Intel or
Asus CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z 990X for the AMD if this is too expensive go for
MSI 970A-G43 Socket AM3+ LAN

Need anything else just let me know

 

[oxiide]

@oxxide- so what would you recommend for a new mother board and cpu? Really I'm just trying to figure out if I need to build a new 1$1200-1500 rig or can I salvage stuff from this rig to bring down the cost.

I'm basically agreeing with the post above… but just doing a bit of napkin math, you could get a new Core i5-4690, compatible motherboard, and a Radeon R9 280X video card for about $600, give or take a bit. That's enough to keep you at or around 60 FPS in most games at 1080p, with details near max in most titles.

In addition to what you listed, you can keep your RAM and SATA devices (hard drives, CD drive). You might want to add some RAM if you've only got 4 GB; 8 GB would be preferable for gaming today. Another consideration is a Windows license—if you need a new one (OEM licenses are tied to your motherboard, and you're replacing that) that's another $100.

Still way less than $1200-1500, though.

 

[LucoTF]

If he has windows 8 then the flexible licensing will allow him to upgrade without worry

 

[0Ramrod0]

@oxxide- so what would you recommend for a new mother board and cpu? Really I'm just trying to figure out if I need to build a new 1$1200-1500 rig or can I salvage stuff from this rig to bring down the cost.

If your budget is $500 or more then you should be ditching the APU for a stronger CPU and GPU

Yeah I mean if I won't lose performance by spending around $750 as opposed to building a new rig then I'd love to do that.

For $750 I could build you a new rig that would perform far better than anything you could pair with your current CPU

Yeah I'm starting to realize that. But if I replace cpu and motherboard and gpu I can throw a gtx 780 or 290x in the machine with an i5 and it seems still stay around 750-850$. I'd basically just be recycling the hard drive, psu, optical drive, and ram. Would this be the way to go so I can put more money into gpu? If so what options for motherboard, cpu, and gpu would you go with?

 

[LucoTF]

@oxxide- so what would you recommend for a new mother board and cpu? Really I'm just trying to figure out if I need to build a new 1$1200-1500 rig or can I salvage stuff from this rig to bring down the cost.

If your budget is $500 or more then you should be ditching the APU for a stronger CPU and GPU

Yeah I mean if I won't lose performance by spending around $750 as opposed to building a new rig then I'd love to do that.

For $750 I could build you a new rig that would perform far better than anything you could pair with your current CPU

Yeah I'm starting to realize that. But if I replace cpu and motherboard and gpu I can throw a gtx 780 or 290x in the machine with an i5 and it seems still stay around 750-850$. I'd basically just be recycling the hard drive, psu, optical drive, and ram. Would this be the way to go so I can put more money into gpu? If so what options for motherboard, cpu, and gpu would you go with?

You specifically mentioned Battlefield an DayZ, two very CPU heavy games. Purely on that alone I am confident you will have a better gaming experience with an i5-4xxx and a 760 / 770 instead of your mediocre A10-7850 (or whatever you have) with a 780.

A 770 is all you need for 1080p anyway

 

[oxiide]

A 770 is all you need for 1080p anyway

^^ This. Its great if you're comfortable spending more and going for an R9 290X or 780, but at that point you'll basically have a system better-suited to 2560x1440 gaming, or 1080p @ 120 Hz. A 290X might let you turn up anti-aliasing a bit higher, but you won't get to enjoy the more dramatic benefits of a high-end card if you're using an ordinary 1080p + 60 Hz monitor.

 

[0Ramrod0]

@oxxide- so what would you recommend for a new mother board and cpu? Really I'm just trying to figure out if I need to build a new 1$1200-1500 rig or can I salvage stuff from this rig to bring down the cost.

I'm basically agreeing with the post above… but just doing a bit of napkin math, you could get a new Core i5-4690, compatible motherboard, and a Radeon R9 280X video card for about $600, give or take a bit. That's enough to keep you at or around 60 FPS in most games at 1080p, with details near max in most titles.

In addition to what you listed, you can keep your RAM and SATA devices (hard drives, CD drive). You might want to add some RAM if you've only got 4 GB; 8 GB would be preferable for gaming today. Another consideration is a Windows license—if you need a new one (OEM licenses are tied to your motherboard, and you're replacing that) that's another $100.

Still way less than $1200-1500, though.

I actually have 16 gigs of corsair ram although i'd have to open up computer to see what kind. I also have more windows 8.1 licenses than I know what to do with as I'm a microsoft partner and they gave me like 10 of em lol. Thats why I really want to salvage what I can and put the money towards bigger and better parts.

 

[Guest]

The graphics part of the APU is actually part of the CPU chipset. You cannot just remove that. You can simply add a discrete graphics card to your system (assuming an available PCI-Ex16 expansion slot). Your power supply (650 watts) is enough to power just about any card, but given your processor, I'd recommend staying with a mid-range card like the GTX760Ti or R9-270x. The addition of a discrete graphics card will take the graphic load from the APU completely.

-Wolf sends

You can change the APU to a A10 7980k and add 32GB of DDR3 RAM and if you want add a compatible motherboard that matches the GPU integrated into the APU and then once everything is back together reboot and press <DEL> while booting and access the advanced menu options and enable the mode to combine the special mode that lets the two GPUs talk to each other and save and reboot and see if that solves your problem.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Nearly a two year old thread.

Wolfshadw
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