Help on Upgrading my PC with a new Graphics Card

[BenX41]

This is the GPU I want to upgrade my PC with (ASUS AMD Radeon R9 380 Strix Gaming 4GB GDDR5 GPU (STRIX-R9380-DC2-4GD5-GAMING), does my current setup have the means to handle it?

Current Setup:
MY PC: Acer Predator G3-605 Desktop PC
GPU: GeForce GTX 645
CPU: Intel®Core™ i5-4440 CPU @ 3.10GHz
Memory: 8.00 GB RAM (7.91 GB usable)
Current resolution: 1920 x 1080, 60Hz
Maximum Power Supply Wattage: 500 W

Do I need to purchase a new fan or something?

 

[SlightlyEdible]

Yes. Everything's fine. By fan do you mean more case fans?

 

[Hlsgsz]

Forget about the r9 380. It's a bad time to be buying those.
Wait until the end of the month and get the RX 480 coming out for $200 with close to Fury level performance.
And yes, it would work with your system.
What PSu do you have?

 

[madmatt30]

the stock psu in those acers is a liteon unit with a 360w 12v rail.
you cant run anything more than a gtx 960 on that for certain so the 380 is an absolute no-go without replacing the psu.

this creates a problem because your motherboard has a proprietary acer 14 pin power connector - to run a standard psu you need to buy a 24 pin to 14 pin adapter & they are notoriously hard to get hold of.

 

[BenX41]

the stock psu in those acers is a liteon unit with a 360w 12v rail.
you cant run anything more than a gtx 960 on that for certain so the 380 is an absolute no-go without replacing the psu.

this creates a problem because your motherboard has a proprietary acer 14 pin power connector - to run a standard psu you need to buy a 24 pin to 14 pin adapter & they are notoriously hard to get hold of.

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

 

[SlightlyEdible]

1) don't buy GPUS till the end of the month. Massive price drops are about to occur.
2) If you don't already have case fans, get them. Front and bottom are usually for taking in air. Up and rear for exhaust fans

 

[SlightlyEdible]

the stock psu in those acers is a liteon unit with a 360w 12v rail.
you cant run anything more than a gtx 960 on that for certain so the 380 is an absolute no-go without replacing the psu.

this creates a problem because your motherboard has a proprietary acer 14 pin power connector - to run a standard psu you need to buy a 24 pin to 14 pin adapter & they are notoriously hard to get hold of.

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

At the end of the month, the RX 480 will release. That's far more power efficient that even the GtX 980, and will work

 

[apk24]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

If you can wait, wait till we see specs on the RX 480. Maybe it'll be efficient enough to work in your system. 360W 12V rail is pretty low though so...

 

[SlightlyEdible]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

 

[apk24]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

 

[Hlsgsz]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

Bet on it. It's a node shrink. Probably around 150W.

 

[SlightlyEdible]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

It's already been shown the RX 480 consumes less power than the 950. That was among AMDs first reveals about Polaris

 

[BenX41]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

Bet on it. It's a node shrink. Probably around 150W.

My knowledge of this area is lacking, what do I need to do to be able to install the card, is my PSu the only problem? And the card I'm looking to buy, is it not a good purchase?

 

[apk24]

It's already been shown the RX 480 consumes less power than the 950. That was among AMDs first reveals about Polaris

Not sure how I missed that. 150W TDP. Thje RX480 is porbably the best choice for this upgrade then.

 

[SlightlyEdible]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

Bet on it. It's a node shrink. Probably around 150W.

My knowledge of this area is lacking, what do I need to do to be able to install the card, is my PSu the only problem? And the card I'm looking to buy, is it not a good purchase?

It's not the 380 is a poor GPU, but a better card is about ti release for $200 at the end of June, and then the 380 will have a massive price drop. It's just not a good time to buy a GPU.

All a new GPU requires is uninstalling the previous drivers, swapping the new GPU for the old, then installing the newest drivers

 

[madmatt30]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

It's already been shown the RX 480 consumes less power than the 950. That was among AMDs first reveals about Polaris

its been shown that its theoretically possible,however dont bet on many single 6 pin 480's being dropped on release
expect a plethora of heavily overclocked twin 6 pin,single 8 pin & even 6+8 pin cards .
nvidia were the same with their 140w tdp 970 - most cards can pull close to 200w in real world terms.
there may be some aftermarket single 6 pin models well after release date,amd have shown they can actually manage this with the fury nano but as already said 'dont bet on it'

 

[BenX41]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

Bet on it. It's a node shrink. Probably around 150W.

My knowledge of this area is lacking, what do I need to do to be able to install the card, is my PSu the only problem? And the card I'm looking to buy, is it not a good purchase?

It's not the 380 is a poor GPU, but a better card is about ti release for $200 at the end of June, and then the 380 will have a massive price drop. It's just not a good time to buy a GPU.

All a new GPU requires is uninstalling the previous drivers, swapping the new GPU for the old, then installing the newest drivers

Ah right thanks ^^ so the Radeon RX 480 is the better choice?

 

[SlightlyEdible]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

It's already been shown the RX 480 consumes less power than the 950. That was among AMDs first reveals about Polaris

its been shown that its theoretically possible,however dont bet on many single 6 pin 480's being dropped on release
expect a plethora of heavily overclocked twin 6 pin,single 8 pin & even 6+8 pin cards .
nvidia were the same with their 140w tdp 970 - most cards can pull close to 200w in real world terms.
there may be some aftermarket single 6 pin models well after release date,amd have shown they can actually manage this with the fury nano but as already said 'dont bet on it'

I would agree if that if it weren't for the fact that AMD is specifically targeted lower efficiency; and normal 6 pin 480s will still be available. Not every aftermarket GPU features a massive factory OC

 

[madmatt30]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

Bet on it. It's a node shrink. Probably around 150W.

My knowledge of this area is lacking, what do I need to do to be able to install the card, is my PSu the only problem? And the card I'm looking to buy, is it not a good purchase?

I dont think the 380 is suited to your system as a whole,apart from the psu,you also have an issue with case design & airflow .
that acer is a compact case with fairly limited airflow,the 380 while not any kind of thermal monster is going to struggle in there even if your psu could support it (it cant though)

your option for an upgrade now is going to be a 960 mate plain & simple,& due to the points above it would be one of the single fan blowers id recommend,theyre noisier & slightly warmer than the twin fan models but they throw the heated air straight out of the case rear rather than just recirculating it.
http://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/evga-video-card-04gp43962kr,gigabyte-video-card-gvn960ixoc4gd/

or you wait out for 5 to 6 weeks for the 480 to drop & for prices to stabilise, & for a suitable reference card with a single 6 pin to appear.

whats your current gpu?? asuming a gtx 660 or similar>>

 

[SlightlyEdible]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

Bet on it. It's a node shrink. Probably around 150W.

My knowledge of this area is lacking, what do I need to do to be able to install the card, is my PSu the only problem? And the card I'm looking to buy, is it not a good purchase?

It's not the 380 is a poor GPU, but a better card is about ti release for $200 at the end of June, and then the 380 will have a massive price drop. It's just not a good time to buy a GPU.

All a new GPU requires is uninstalling the previous drivers, swapping the new GPU for the old, then installing the newest drivers

Ah right thanks ^^ so the Radeon RX 480 is the better choice?

Yep. Easy YouTube videos that will show you how, and NVIdia and AMD have really simple drivers installation (and uninstallation) programs.
Keep in mind, the 480 won't launch till the end of June

 

[SlightlyEdible]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

Bet on it. It's a node shrink. Probably around 150W.

My knowledge of this area is lacking, what do I need to do to be able to install the card, is my PSu the only problem? And the card I'm looking to buy, is it not a good purchase?

I dont think the 380 is suited to your system as a whole,apart from the psu,you also have an issue with case design & airflow .
that acer is a compact case with fairly limited airflow,the 380 while not any kind of thermal monster is going to struggle in there even if your psu could support it (it cant though)

your option for an upgrade now is going to be a 960 mate plain & simple,& due to the points above it would be one of the single fan blowers id recommend,theyre noisier & slightly warmer than the twin fan models but they throw the heated air straight out of the case rear rather than just recirculating it.
http://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/evga-video-card-04gp43962kr,gigabyte-video-card-gvn960ixoc4gd/

or you wait out for 5 to 6 weeks for the 480 to drop & for prices to stabilise, & for a suitable reference card with a single 6 pin to appear.

whats your current gpu?? asuming a gtx 660 or similar>>

The 480 launches in 3 weeks 😛
His current GPU is the GTX 645 it says

 

[BenX41]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

Bet on it. It's a node shrink. Probably around 150W.

My knowledge of this area is lacking, what do I need to do to be able to install the card, is my PSu the only problem? And the card I'm looking to buy, is it not a good purchase?

I dont think the 380 is suited to your system as a whole,apart from the psu,you also have an issue with case design & airflow .
that acer is a compact case with fairly limited airflow,the 380 while not any kind of thermal monster is going to struggle in there even if your psu could support it (it cant though)

your option for an upgrade now is going to be a 960 mate plain & simple,& due to the points above it would be one of the single fan blowers id recommend,theyre noisier & slightly warmer than the twin fan models but they throw the heated air straight out of the case rear rather than just recirculating it.
http://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/evga-video-card-04gp43962kr,gigabyte-video-card-gvn960ixoc4gd/

or you wait out for 5 to 6 weeks for the 480 to drop & for prices to stabilise, & for a suitable reference card with a single 6 pin to appear.

whats your current gpu?? asuming a gtx 660 or similar>>

My current Gpu is a GTX 645, and would my current case be able to have the RX 480 installed into it?

 

[SlightlyEdible]

Oh well that doesn't sound good, would this mean that this PC is basically not suitable for upgrading? 🙁

It might be possible to upgrade to an RX480 depending on what the power requirements there are like. Most probably, though, until GTX 1060/1050 come out, a 960 or 950 will be about as high as you can go. Even then, the recommended minimum system power for the 960 is 400W (so you're really going into "maybe it'll work maybe it won't" territory).

If you don't have the means to buy a new psu + adapter as madmatt stated, and you cannot wait, the GTX 950 is your best upgrade.

It'd probably be safer to use the RX 480, consider it uses a mere 6 pin connector and is the most powerful efficient GPU

The 960 and 950 also both have a single six pin connector. Note that efficiency is measured in Performance per Watt. If the RX 480 performs much better, it will have to be that much more efficient to get a lower tdp than those two cards. Not saying it isn't possible, just pointing out that it's not something I would bet on.

Bet on it. It's a node shrink. Probably around 150W.

My knowledge of this area is lacking, what do I need to do to be able to install the card, is my PSu the only problem? And the card I'm looking to buy, is it not a good purchase?

I dont think the 380 is suited to your system as a whole,apart from the psu,you also have an issue with case design & airflow .
that acer is a compact case with fairly limited airflow,the 380 while not any kind of thermal monster is going to struggle in there even if your psu could support it (it cant though)

your option for an upgrade now is going to be a 960 mate plain & simple,& due to the points above it would be one of the single fan blowers id recommend,theyre noisier & slightly warmer than the twin fan models but they throw the heated air straight out of the case rear rather than just recirculating it.
http://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/evga-video-card-04gp43962kr,gigabyte-video-card-gvn960ixoc4gd/

or you wait out for 5 to 6 weeks for the 480 to drop & for prices to stabilise, & for a suitable reference card with a single 6 pin to appear.

whats your current gpu?? asuming a gtx 660 or similar>>

My current Gpu is a GTX 645, and would my current case be able to have the RX 480 installed into it?

It probably will, but it will depend on manufactor. MSI, Asus, ect... all have their own custom PCBs, which will result in varying dimensions.
If not the 480, the GTX 960 is your best bet. While the 380 completely obliterates it in terms of performance at the same price (interesting note, the only other price point where this happens is the 980ti tier, where the 980ti destroy the Fury X), the 960 consumes noticeably less power. Though the 960 struggles with anything past 1080p, and will probably be obsolete soon

 

[madmatt30]

^ I wont quote as it clogs the thread for people on mobile site.

yes the 480 will suit you fine IF there is a fairly low tdp single fan reference type model released fairly soon after release date.
Ill still stand by there will be a mass dirge of heavily overclocked ,fancy twin fan models at first which will be unsuitable, with far higher tdp & power requirements than amd's spec sheet.AMD may care about efficiency this time but the 3rd party manufacturers will not at all.

 

[madmatt30]

I will argue with slightly edible regarding the 960 vs 380 - the 380 beats it fairly evenly by around 10% performance wise - certainly doesnt obliterate it though at all.
If you were desperate to upgrade now at this present time then you could do far worse than the 960s I listed,theyre essentially 8-10x more powerful than your current gpu,so much so that its hard to make a viable comparison.
eminently capable of playable fps at high settings 1080p on any current game title.