[SOLVED] GPU upgrade for old ALX Alienware PC

[SarahAmes]

I'm looking to upgrade the ram for my son's gaming pc if needed. We bought this 9 years ago and I upgraded the gpu to nvidia geforce 750 ti. That was fine until now with games requiring better graphics and such.

I've decided on the amd rx 590 and wonder if there is anything else needed for it to run well. Here is his system at purchase:

317-4088​	1​	Overclocked Intel Core i7 930 QC (3.36GHz, 8MB Cache)	​
317-3195​	1​	12GB Triple Channel 1333MHz DDR3	​
330-6078​	1​	Alienware TactX Keyboard, US	​
320-8253​	1​	21.5" Alienware AW2210 OptX Full HD Gaming Monitor, 21.5" viewable image size	​
320-1646​	1​	Nvidia GeForce GTX460 Dual (since uograded to 750 ti)	​
421-1308​	1​	Dell V515w Printer Driver	​
342-3040​	1​	1TB RAID 0 (2x500GB) SATA II (3Gb/s) Solid State Hybrid, 7200RPM (two of these but getting full)	​
318-0769​	1​	Matte Stealth Black Alienware Aurora ALX w/ 875 Watt Power Supply	​
313-9178​	1​	Alienware TactX Headset	​
317-1899​	1​	ALX Accesory Kit	​
421-2064​	1​	Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English

 

[SamirD]

I would also look into upgrading the processor if you can:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...el-Xeon-W3690-vs-Intel-i7-990X/835vs1275vs867

 

[SarahAmes]

Thanks for the reply. So switching his processor to the Intel Xeon W3690 @ 3.47GHz would make enough of a difference from what he currently has?

Is this a difficult thing to do? I've only done the one upgrade some years ago with the video card.

 

[SamirD]

Thanks for the reply. So switching his processor to the Intel Xeon W3690 @ 3.47GHz would make enough of a difference from what he currently has?

Is this a difficult thing to do? I've only done the one upgrade some years ago with the video card.

It depends on where the problem is with the current setup. If the application is cpu bound, a cpu upgrade will help. If it is gpu bound, a gpu upgrade will help. If it is memory bound, more memory will help. If it is storage bound, an SSD will help.

 

[SarahAmes]

It depends on where the problem is with the current setup. If the application is cpu bound, a cpu upgrade will help. If it is gpu bound, a gpu upgrade will help. If it is memory bound, more memory will help. If it is storage bound, an SSD will help.

The problem is the computer is no longer recognizing the current GPU, though I downloaded CPU-Z and that recognized the card. I mainly want to get him a better card and make sure he has enough RAM to accommodate it.

 

[86zx]

I would upgrade the cpu as others have stated and as far as gpu goes depends what you play unless you have a 4k monitor (which you don’t) I would suggest something like a rx480 or 5600 on the amd side on Nvidia maybe a 970 or 1060

 

[SarahAmes]

My son plays games and wants to play some of the newer ones.

Fair enough, I'll update the CPU as well. In the meantime, the Device Manager doesn't recognize the Nvidia Card, it's under "unknown" and when I go to update the driver, it refers me to Nvidia. I went to update the driver and got "Graphics Driver 445.87 Failed"

I'd like to get the card to work at least until I can get the cpu and gpu cards to upgrade.

I'm looking at buying the AMD Radeon RX 590 but I can't afford $1,000 for a CPU, I can go $600ish for both.

Thanks for any help.

 

[86zx]

My son plays games and wants to play some of the newer ones.

Fair enough, I'll update the CPU as well. In the meantime, the Device Manager doesn't recognize the Nvidia Card, it's under "unknown" and when I go to update the driver, it refers me to Nvidia. I went to update the driver and got "Graphics Driver 445.87 Failed"

I'd like to get the card to work at least until I can get the cpu and gpu cards to upgrade.

I'm looking at buying the AMD Radeon RX 590 and the Intel Xeon W3690 @ 3.47GHz

Thanks for any help.

There’s a chance the card is faulty that’s usually the sign for it or it could be a fake gpu as well.

 

[SarahAmes]

It's not fake.

 

[SamirD]

The problem is the computer is no longer recognizing the current GPU, though I downloaded CPU-Z and that recognized the card. I mainly want to get him a better card and make sure he has enough RAM to accommodate it.

It sounds like the gpu is no longer working. I would just replace it if you are considering upgrading anyways. And then see how that goes and then consider a cpu upgrade accordingly.

 

[SarahAmes]

Yeah, that was my thought as well. Ok, thanks.

 

[SamirD]

Yeah, that was my thought as well. Ok, thanks.

You're welcome.

If you want to diagnose the 750ti further I can help you with that since it would be a good card to upgrade almost any system from the igpu.

 

[SarahAmes]

I appreciate that Samir. My budget is affording the RX590 which is about $218.00. He'd like to be able to play the following games, for example:

Call of Duty Warzone
Code Vein
Devil May Cry 5

Thanks for your help.

 

[SamirD]

No problem! I don't have much experience with the use case, so hopefully someone else can chime in with some information that addresses your exact scenario.

 

[SarahAmes]

The AMD RX590 is sold out at the lower price so I'm looking at:

Sapphire Radeon 11265-05-20G Pulse RX 580 8GB GDDR5 Dual HDMI/ DVI-D/ Dual DP OC with Backplate (UEFI) PCI-E Graphics Card Graphic Cards

Yes?

 

[SamirD]

Looks like a solid up grade to me.
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/sapphire-pulse-rx-580-8-gb.b4435
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-gtx-750-ti.c2548

However, because of the all the fakes and people swapping defective cards for new ones and other nonsense on Amazon, I would order this from provantage (or any other direct non-marketplace vendor) instead:
https://www.provantage.com/sapphire-technology-11265-05-20g~7SAPP0H8.htm

Best Buy also has a similar deal on some xfx branded rx580s:
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/sapphire-pulse-rx-580-8-gb.b4435
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/xfx-gts-rx-580-black-edition.b4922
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/xfx-gts-rx-580-black-edition.b4482

This way you know what you're getting is the real thing and you don't get cheated.