Graphics and ram upgrade

[bennnyw]

Hello,
I recently bought this computer

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Gateway+-+Desktop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i3+Processor+/+6GB+Memory+/+1TB+Hard+Drive/3152445.p?id=1218380507379&skuId=3152445

My question is what would i be looking for in buying a graphics card that i can be sure would fit, and also perhaps what i would want for RAM.

 

[rolli59]

Welcome!
The 6 GB ram in there is plenty for most tasks but the power supply size is going to be the deciding factor on what GPU you can put in there with out replacing the PSU as well.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

Welcome!
The 6 GB ram in there is plenty for most tasks but the power supply size is going to be the deciding factor on what GPU you can put in there with out replacing the PSU as well.

Beat me to it, +1

 

[Rustyy117]

Need some more info please

1) Budget for upgrades?
2) What will you be using the PC for?
3) Couldn't see the power supply in the spec list, what power supply did the PC come with?
4) what is your monitors native resolution?
5) I take it you will be playing games, but what games?

 

[bennnyw]

Welcome!
The 6 GB ram in there is plenty for most tasks but the power supply size is going to be the deciding factor on what GPU you can put in there with out replacing the PSU as well.

Thank you for the reply, i do some gamming on pc, i do have an xbox360 and ps3 for most games though. But even sims 3 feels laggy at times and i would like to buy some other games soon.

So my next question would be how do i know what graphics cards will fit in my current set up?

And how much might a psu upgrade cost?

 

[rolli59]

Guessing your PSU is in the 220-250watt range a HD6570 would run. You can get reasonable quality (better than the current one) 500 watt PSU for around $40 which will allow HD6850 to run.

 

[inzone]

You are going to have to do some investigateing with the owners manual and find out exactly what the cpu is and what the ram is. The video is being run right now from the integrated option so it would seem to me to be a sandy-bridge cpu and that being the case it has an odd amount of ram because the sandy-bridge cpu's support dual channel ram and you have 6gb of ram. You also have a 300w psu so adding a video card is going to require a psu upgrade. You also only have one full length x16 slot so sli/crossfire is not an option.
What you can do for now is tell us your budget amount and what you are using the computer for. You don't need to upgrade the ram because 6gb is enough for most things but you do need a psu and video card.

 

[bennnyw]

Need some more info please

1) Budget for upgrades?
2) What will you be using the PC for?
3) Couldn't see the power supply in the spec list, what power supply did the PC come with?
4) what is your monitors native resolution?
5) I take it you will be playing games, but what games?

My budget would be around $100-300. Possibly more.
PC will be used for some work, some gaming; the sims, civilization, zombie games,command and concquer type games, ect.

I will also be buying a hd monitor in the future.

My power supply is
Power Description


Maximum Power Supply Wattage

300 W

 

[Mousemonkey]

This next topics has been merged by Mousemonkey
■ Graphics and ram upgrade

 

[rolli59]

300 watt would run a HD6670!
Your plans going to a full HDmonitor in the future I would though suggest going with a PSU and at minimum HD6850 level card.
PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027
HD6850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150573

 

[bennnyw]

Thank you for the reply, can i be certain both the psu and graphic card would fit in my tower?

 

[rolli59]

Looks to me being a regular full width mini tower so I will have to say yes.

 

[bennnyw]

That card says crosfire? Someone before said something about crossfire not being an option?
Forgive me im new to the card upgrading.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

That card says crosfire? Someone before said something about crossfire not being an option?
Forgive me im new to the card upgrading.

Xfire is running two cards together to get better performance . Because a card says xfire doesn't mean you have to be xfire compatible but that the card is capable of running with another if your PC can support it. To do this you would need 2 pciex16 slots and judging from the earlier statement you only have 1, and can run just one card

 

[bennnyw]

Perhaps i should go with a 600w psu?

 

[FlintIronStagg]

Perhaps i should go with a 600w psu?

That depends on which card you are going with. A quality psu such as antech, seasonic, or corsair would do the job nicely.

 

[bennnyw]

That depends on which card you are going with. A quality psu such as antech, seasonic, or corsair would do the job nicely.

Went with 6850 and 600w corsair since the gpu said min of 500w

 

[FlintIronStagg]

Went with 6850 and 600w corsair since the gpu said min of 500w

good choice; should do the job nicely.

 

[bennnyw]

So i got it all and installed it. I had uninstalled intel graphics before. New card works great, except i have no sound!. I am connected to my HDTV through hdmi. Lower right hand corner has speaker icon with line through it and says no audio device installed or something. When i check the device manager it has radeon hd audio installed, but sound under controll pannel says no audio driver installed.
I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the Radeon software as well as realtek. And i also tried disabling onboard audio in the BIOS and nothing.
Please help!

If i need to by a sound card would there be one at best buy or walmart i could pick up for cheap that would fit my pc?

 

[pell380]

you should change psu then you can add a good card but if you are low on budget get 6770 or 6670

not cnfrm that 6770 will run on 300watt :-(

 

[bennnyw]

I bought a 600w psu and 6850 gpu. The problem now is i have no sound

 

[bennnyw]

I am wondering if since my intel graphics 2000 was integrated that i may need to buy a sound card? Or maybe its just a software thing?

 

[rolli59]

Make sure that your default sound device is the one on the motherboard not the one on the HD6850.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

Make sure that your default sound device is the one on the motherboard not the one on the HD6850.

+1; common problem onboard and discrete items conflicting.

 

[bennnyw]

How do i do that? It dosent show up in the sound options and i couldnt find anything on the gpu controls