Hardware compatibility for the Nvidia GTX 960

[skirunner10]

Hey! I'm currently looking to upgrade my PC. I'd love to go for a GTX 960 but I know my system won't be able to handle it. I just have a lower end 'gaming' HP PC. I was wondering what kind of processor, motherboard, and other pieces of hardware I may need to make a GPU such as this one work in my system. The exact card I would like is this . My PC specs can be found here . I know my current PC sucks, and please, I know, don't be rude and tell me I need a whole new system. I realize that most of the parts may need to be replaced and I may need a new case, trust me, I know. Again, I'd just like to know what parts in my PC are not compatible with the card I am looking at, and which ones I need to get to make it work. If this is too much of a job and I do infact nearly need a new rig, then I would consider stepping down from the 960 and going to a lower grade graphics card. If this is the case please respond with an appropriate graphics card and the required hardware. My budget isn't that big but if I need a $400 processor to get this thing working, I wouldn't really mind. Thank you in advance, and I look forward to anyone's response.

 

[mjmiller814]

Hey there!

So most components of your computer could be recycled if you didn't want to spend the money upgrading them at this time. The case, hard drive, RAM, PSU, are all 'fine'. 460w PSU should be just fine with a 960. Your RAM is DDR3 from the looks of it, so you're okay there. Of course, I'd recommend upgrading the HD to a SSD in the future, but that's not necessary at this time.

This is what I came up with, please note that the card I selected is not 'exactly' what you wanted. It's the 4gb version of that card you selected, but it comes in at about $50 cheaper on Amazon/Newegg. So I'd highly recommend getting the one I linked instead.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 960 4GB AMP! Edition Video Card ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $490.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-03 16:14 EDT-0400

 

[InfernalSurge]

Hey there!

So most components of your computer could be recycled if you didn't want to spend the money upgrading them at this time. The case, hard drive, RAM, PSU, are all 'fine'. 460w PSU should be just fine with a 960. Your RAM is DDR3 from the looks of it, so you're okay there. Of course, I'd recommend upgrading the HD to a SSD in the future, but that's not necessary at this time.

This is what I came up with, please note that the card I selected is not 'exactly' what you wanted. It's the 4gb version of that card you selected, but it comes in at about $50 cheaper on Amazon/Newegg. So I'd highly recommend getting the one I linked instead.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 960 4GB AMP! Edition Video Card ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $490.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-03 16:14 EDT-0400

I'm not sure about the PSU though, pre-built systems usually come with cheap ones that will likely not adequately power quality components like a GTX 960 and 4690.

 

[mjmiller814]

Hey there!

So most components of your computer could be recycled if you didn't want to spend the money upgrading them at this time. The case, hard drive, RAM, PSU, are all 'fine'. 460w PSU should be just fine with a 960. Your RAM is DDR3 from the looks of it, so you're okay there. Of course, I'd recommend upgrading the HD to a SSD in the future, but that's not necessary at this time.

This is what I came up with, please note that the card I selected is not 'exactly' what you wanted. It's the 4gb version of that card you selected, but it comes in at about $50 cheaper on Amazon/Newegg. So I'd highly recommend getting the one I linked instead.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 960 4GB AMP! Edition Video Card ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $490.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-03 16:14 EDT-0400

I'm not sure about the PSU though, pre-built systems usually come with cheap ones that will likely not adequately power quality components like a GTX 960 and 4690.

Yeah, that's true. Wouldn't cost hardly anything for a 500w 80+ bronze PSU from Newegg. They have an awesome promotion right now.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 960 4GB AMP! Edition Video Card ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $515.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-03 16:36 EDT-0400