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[SOLVED] Help upgrading graphics card (pc noob)

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elliotjameshoey

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Jun 4, 2018
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Hi there I am considering upgrading my gtx 1080 for a rtx 2080 bearing in mind my pc was prebuilt and I have very little pc experience.
My current specs are:
I7 8700
Gtx 1080
32gb ram
2tb SATA hdd
256gb ssd
460W Air cooled chassis

My question is, will I have to change anything else in my pc to upgrade to an rtx 2080? Or is everything fine as is?
Thank you everyone in advance, I look forward to hearing your responses 👍
 
Solution
NightHawkRMX
Well if you are happy enough with performance now, I wouldn't upgrade.

Then if you really want an upgrade, I would suggest seeing if your PSU can be swapped out and then upgrade PSU and GPU.

In a few years as GPUs get more efficient, there may be something that offers much better than GTX1080 performance while drawing an acceptable amount of power for an OEM 460w.
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BTW, Nvidia recommends a minimum 650 Watts PSU for the RTX 2080. You might need be needing an upgrade, assuming your current PSU is not sufficient.

QUALITY of the PSU matters, not the wattage though.
 
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Hi there yes it is alienware, and I'm not sure on the make of the pcu as i don't think it said, as I said total pc noob. I have attached a link to a screenshot of the order confirmation containing all of the parts that came with my pc, I really appreciate you all helping me out. Specs
 
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elliotjameshoey said:
Hi there yes it is alienware, and I'm not sure on the make of the pcu as i don't think it said, as I said total pc noob. I have attached a link to a screenshot of the order confirmation containing all of the parts that came with my pc, I really appreciate you all helping me out. Specs
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Ok so yes you will need a new pair which for a prebuilt is either gonna be a pain or impossible. Also what resolutions and frame rate are u trying to hit.
 
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Given that it's a prebuilt and that it's 460W, then, as @C0v3r says, that sounds like a Dell or Alienware.

The RTX 2080 has a TDP of 225W (Founders Edition) and 215W (others, except of course if the board-partners clock them higher, which they typically do with some models).

Dell used to explicitly state that their 460W PSUs will support up to a 225W GPU, not sure if they do anymore - I'm not sure I'm THAT comfortable with the idea of going that close to the PSU's limit - especially given that the Coffee Lake CPUs are known to exceed their official TDP rating, sometimes dramatically, and that it's an i7.

TL;DR - Fourth that: get a better PSU.


ADDITIONALLY: What is your monitor's resolution and refresh rate? Does it have FreeSync, GSync, or neither? The answers to those two questions will determine whether it's worthwhile to make the upgrade.
 
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King_V said:
Given that it's a prebuilt and that it's 460W, then, as @C0v3r says, that sounds like a Dell or Alienware.

The RTX 2080 has a TDP of 225W (Founders Edition) and 215W (others, except of course if the board-partners clock them higher, which they typically do with some models).

Dell used to explicitly state that their 460W PSUs will support up to a 225W GPU, not sure if they do anymore - I'm not sure I'm THAT comfortable with the idea of going that close to the PSU's limit - especially given that the Coffee Lake CPUs are known to exceed their official TDP rating, sometimes dramatically, and that it's an i7.

TL;DR - Fourth that: get a better PSU.


ADDITIONALLY: What is your monitor's resolution and refresh rate? Does it have FreeSync, GSync, or neither? The answers to those two questions will determine whether it's worthwhile to make the upgrade.
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My monitor is 2K gsync 165 hz refresh rate and I can easily hit 60-70 on a combination of ultra/high on most games. But I would love Ray tracing
 
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Ok so if ur going for 1440p Ray tracing then good luck with a 2080 you might be able to squeeze 60 fps. but also if you don't wanna use Ray tracing the 2080 will give you a good bump in performance. However idk for sure but you might be able to put an rx 5700xt into there because of its efficiency without doing a psu swap.
 
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Investing in an RTX GPU is not really worth, IMO, unless you REALLY want to play ray traced games. Get the RX 5700 XT instead.
 
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Ok
C0v3r said:
Oh ok then op don't do that
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OK so sounds like what I should do is wait till better graphics cards come out to further justify the upgrade as from what I'm reading here the rtx range is not worth it especially if it requires me to change multiple components. Does this sound like a reasonable course of action?
 
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elliotjameshoey said:
Ok

OK so sounds like what I should do is wait till better graphics cards come out to further justify the upgrade as from what I'm reading here the rtx range is not worth it especially if it requires me to change multiple components. Does this sound like a reasonable course of action?
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Maybe but again like we said we don't know if it is possible to stick a new psu in that case which best case scenario you can get a new case and transfer all of the parts but the psu and you can get a new psu and GPU then but I would wait.
 
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A
C0v3r said:
Maybe but again like we said we don't know if it is possible to stick a new psu in that case which best case scenario you can get a new case and transfer all of the parts but the psu and you can get a new psu and GPU then but I would wait.
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OK thank you all for your help I hugely appreciate it, I will try hang back on a gpu upgrade for a few years and in the meantime I will look into whether it is possible to upgrade the power supply to something more like 600w.
 
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