Graphic card upgrade from GTX 660 to 1060. Can my pc handle this?

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huntress

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Oct 30, 2011
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I have a IBUYPOWEREXTREME GAMING PC 4th generation intelcore i5-4430 3.0 ghz 8 gb DDR3 1tb HDD, DVDRW, 2GBNVIDIA GForce gtx 660, 64 bit desktop pc, I want to upgrade to the GForce GTX 1060 graphic card. Can I do this with this pc? I took a pic of my power supply if thats needed, it says max wattage is 483W. Can anyone help me with this graphic card upgrade I want to do, its my first time so I am doing some research.
 
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You should be OK power supply-wise for the gtx 1060. You are going to want to consider going from 8 to 16 gigs of memory if you really want to get the most out of your current system.
 
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Should I go up another 8 GB of memory too? Like I said this is the first time I am going to upgrade my graphics card usually I just get a new PC. But this pc is still doing good, its fast and only the games are giving me issues.
 
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Get the 1060 for sure, upgrade the RAM to 16 Gb if you can, buy a new 550W PSU if you really have doubts - yours is 4 years old so it's getting slightly long in the tooth, you could change it preemptively.
 
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there isn't any real reason you can't just drop in a 1060, your specs are good enough.

that being said a new 500w psu from a reputable company is a good idea.

and i see a few people mentioning RAM, I would say once you have your 1060, monitor your ram usage and if you are reaching 100% usage, than go buy more ram.
 
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looking into it the 1060 actually has a lower power draw than a 660. so power supply isn't a massive concern, but its not a horrible idea to buy a better quality one when you have the ability to.

To install a new gpu, remove your old one, and put the new one in its place.
 
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looking into it the 1060 actually has a lower power draw than a 660. so power supply isn't a massive concern, but its not a horrible idea to buy a better quality one when you have the ability to.

To install a new gpu, remove your old one, and put the new one in its place.
 
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Ok i am decided. I am checking online at different brands of the gforce gtx 1060 6gb. What brand is recommended. Theres the MSI version or the EVGA or even the Zortec. Also will my motherboard and processor matter?
Thanks i am clueless on this. First time upgrading
 
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For 1920x1080 resolution and a added 1060 6GB version you will get bottleneck on that CPU for sure. But not for all games. Most of the open world games like Watch Dogs2, AC Origin, BF1 etc. If you can afford a 1060 6GB then buy it for now and you may eventually upgrade to a new system and still you can use this GPU in future. Also another 8GB ram stick is must for your setup and also buy a least expensive 128GB ssd. It will also be note worthy upgrade.
The 1060 6GB is approx 7-10% faster than the 1060 3GB variant beside the difference in vram. So keep this in mind.
The last thing regarding the PSU I will recommend you to get a better quality 500-550W model like the corsair, seasonic, evga, fsp etc. Since it is a poor quality and has less protection measures any issues may lead to permanent component damage. A PSU is like a heart of any PC so get a better heart if you can afford.
The Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, EVGA, Zotac are all good brands for nvidia. Buy any one you like. Better to get a dual fan variant since it will cool better and result in higher boost clock of the gpu
 
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I mainly play Sims 4 and GTA 5. Lately my pc has been going to blue screen with unexpected kernal error or just restarting. But only when im on the sims 4 in build mode. Which is weird. Also Runescape 3 caused the unexpected kernal error blue screen. Whicis why i am looking into a new graphics card. No lags though while running the games. Since the 1060 takes less power then the 660 i have i think my power source should be ok. Going to look into more ram though.
 
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Those Kernel error may be due to faulty PSU. Extremely likely. How you are so sure that those are related to GPU?
 
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Just was told its possibly the gpu. How could it be the PSU? Curious now. Power seems to be ok. Though come to think of it my pc does in fact randomly restart or shutdown as if the power source could be faulty
 
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Kernel errors are most difficult to troubleshoot. Download Blue Screen View and just after any type of BSOD or restart open this program and try to save the last available crash dump file. Also go to event viewer and scroll through the log and match time of occurrence. If you are getting something driver crash, conflict, error, critical error log open the log and google the code for reason. It is a bit frustrating but not impossible.

Easiest way is remove the card and put in in a different PC and stress test with Kombuster MSI for 2hrs. But your PSU is not a good quality one. If it is sending current with loose voltage regulation it may also eventually damage your other components. Never compromise on PSU always buy any decent one as per your pocket allows...
 
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So I've been poking around in my pc, I found out that I can open both sides of my pc. Never knew that, I've always had those store made pcs before. This is my first gaming pc I bought from Tiger Direct. I found multiple slots for upgrading my pc. Also what are good PSU's? I saw on Amazon that many of the 550watts are sold out. Whats the difference between the G2 and G3? Gold or bronze. There are so many options its kinda scary.
 
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Hmmm.... do a bit research on basics first.....
For your need you can buy seasonic, corsair, evga, cooler master all are good brand. +80 bronze is minimum & you may get a gold one. It is just the efficiency of the psu. no need to buy any modular ones since it is only for aesthetics. check this,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXku-gsdyok
 
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Went to Best Buy and bought the CORSAIR - CX-M Series 550W ATX12V 2.4/EPS12V 2.92 Modular Power Supply - Matte black, it wasn't too difficult to put in either. I was actually nervous at first but its running smoothly right now. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/corsair-cx-m-series-550w-atx12v-2-4-eps12v-2-92-modular-power-supply-matte-black/5845208.p?skuId=5845208

Also purchased the EVGA - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 SSC Gaming 6GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card - Black
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/evga-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1060-ssc-gaming-6gb-gddr5-pci-express-3-0-graphics-card-black/5592426.p?skuId=5592426
There both on sale this weekend so it was a good time to buy them.
Thank you all for your help, its greatly appreciated.
 
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