Hoping to upgrade my Lenovo K450 to meet current gaming requirements.

[MercinwithaMouth]

I bought a Lenovo K450 with a 280W PSU, GT 635 2GB, and an i5 4440 @ 3.1GHz. I'm wanting to upgrade to a Raidmax 630w so I can get an Asus GTX 970 4GB, along with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. I just need to know if this is feasible before I spend so much money getting the parts. Just looking to know if it will fight within the case and that I won't bottleneck while playing games like Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight. Also not sure if I will necessarily need the fan but feel it's a good investment. Thank you so much.

The Asus GTX 970 4GB I mentioned: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121912

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

You're good to go with that since it's the ITX version. Normal wouldn't fit after all, lol. So yes, you won't get bottlenecked so much that it would matter.
You can always increase the clock speed of i5 4440 by some 200Mhz (even though it's locked and motherboard is B85, you can still increase the clock speed by a little for a bit more boost)

 

[Calculagator]

Check out this list of recommended PSUs before making a purchase:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
You can certainly throw in pretty much any new PSU without any trouble, but my impression is that Raidmax PSUs are very low quality. With your specs, I would aim for a quality 500w-750w depending on how much you hope to upgrade later.

 

[Calculagator]

Also, you don't need an additional CPU cooler. The stock cooler will work just fine since you cannot really overclock. You could add an extra case fan maybe if you notice temps getting too high.

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

Also, you don't need an additional CPU cooler. The stock cooler will work just fine since you cannot really overclock. You could add an extra case fan maybe if you notice temps getting too high.

But it's really better to have one. Increases the life span considerably while also decreasing the noise.
IMO it should be pretty much first thing to do when purchasing a new pc/updating pre-built pc: get an aftermarket cooler.

I just can't imagine using a mere stock cooler, no matter what cpu.

 

[MercinwithaMouth]

Also, you don't need an additional CPU cooler. The stock cooler will work just fine since you cannot really overclock. You could add an extra case fan maybe if you notice temps getting too high.

Could you recommend a case fan for me?

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

Could you recommend a case fan for me?

Corsair AF 120 are good.

 

[MercinwithaMouth]

But it's really better to have one. Increases the life span considerably while also decreasing the noise.
It should be pretty much first thing to do when purchasing a new pc/updating pre-built pc: get an aftermarket cooler.
[/quotemsg]

I'll get one just to be safe. Could you recommend a cooler? Sorry to make it seem like I need my hand held, haha.

 

[boosted1g]

Raidmax PSUs have the unofficial name of "motherboard killer"

They attract people by being the cheapest 80 plus rated power supply, but they build the PSU just for that certification with no regard to longevity or preventing it from damaging the rest of your PC.

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

I'll get one just to be safe. Could you recommend a cooler? Sorry to make it seem like I need my hand held, haha.

The CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO is always a safe bet due it it's performance, price and size. It can fit in almost anywhere and keep almost anything cool.

And as said: Raidmax isn't a good psu choice.

Seasonic and XFX seem to be mostly preferred here, but I prefer Corsair psu myself.

 

[MercinwithaMouth]

Raidmax PSUs have the unofficial name of "motherboard killer"

They attract people by being the cheapest 80 plus rated power supply, but they build the PSU just for that certification with no regard to longevity or preventing it from damaging the rest of your PC.

What should I get in terms of a PSU then? I don't want it dying on me anytime soon.

 

[Calculagator]

But it's really better to have one. Increases the life span considerably while also decreasing the noise.
IMO it should be pretty much first thing to do when purchasing a new pc/updating pre-built pc: get an aftermarket cooler.

I just can't imagine using a mere stock cooler, no matter what cpu.

I might agree if this were AMD, but since the life span of the CPU is already much greater than any other part of the system and the stock coolers are almost silent, I just don't see the point. I know that my experience is not authoritative, but I have never even heard of an intel core CPU dying due to heat/age unless it was severely abused. The extra cooling might be able to enable turbo boost for longer periods, but the chance of a CPU wearing out is basically non-existent.

 

[MercinwithaMouth]

I'll get one just to be safe. Could you recommend a cooler? Sorry to make it seem like I need my hand held, haha.

The CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO is always a safe bet due it it's performance, price and size. It can fit in almost anywhere and keep almost anything cool.

And as said: Raidmax isn't a good psu choice.

Seasonic and XFX seem to be mostly preferred here, but I prefer Corsair psu myself.

Alright, cool! Thank you so much! <3

 

[MercinwithaMouth]

Thanks a ton!

 

[MercinwithaMouth]

Something like this good? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028&cm_re=Corsair_600w-_-17-139-028-_-Product

It essentially means it's 680W, yeah?

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

Something like this good? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028&cm_re=Corsair_600w-_-17-139-028-_-Product

It essentially means it's 680W, yeah?

Yes, that works great.
A lot of people I know like that.
Also, the 680W is only the peak wattage which it uses if needed, for a short period of time. Otherwise it's 600W, which is more than enough for you. You could even use only 500W, but 600W has a bit room for future.

 

[MercinwithaMouth]

Something like this good? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028&cm_re=Corsair_600w-_-17-139-028-_-Product

It essentially means it's 680W, yeah?

Yes, that works great.
A lot of people I know like that.
Also, the 680W is only the peak wattage which it uses if needed, for a short period of time. Otherwise it's 600W, which is more than enough for you. You could even use only 500W, but 600W has a bit room for future.

Even for that card/other power required appliances? Wow.

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

Even for that card/other power required appliances? Wow.

Yes, because Maxwell is so power efficient that it needs almost 50% less power than gpus before them (true amount is closer to 25% but still)

 

[MercinwithaMouth]

Even for that card/other power required appliances? Wow.

Yes, because Maxwell is so power efficient that it needs almost 50% less power than gpus before them (true amount is closer to 25% but still)

Going off of that I'd need more power though, wouldn't I?

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

Going off of that I'd need more power though, wouldn't I?

Uh...if it requires less power than gpus before them, why would it make you need more power?
That's like saying that your new car is more gas efficient so it needs more gas. lol

 

[MercinwithaMouth]

Going off of that I'd need more power though, wouldn't I?

Uh...if it requires less power than gpus before them, why would it make you need more power?
That's like saying that your new car is more gas efficient so it needs more gas. lol

Oh wow I read that wrong, sorry. Thought you meant CPU needing 50% less power than GPU. Blah. I knew the GPU requires 500w or so so I thought "wait what?"

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

Oh wow I read that wrong, sorry. Thought you meant CPU needing 50% less power than GPU. Blah. I knew the GPU requires 500w or so so I thought "wait what?"

read "Haswell"? Because Maxwell is the chip used in the GeForce 900 series.

 

[MercinwithaMouth]

Oh wow I read that wrong, sorry. Thought you meant CPU needing 50% less power than GPU. Blah. I knew the GPU requires 500w or so so I thought "wait what?"

read "Haswell"? Because Maxwell is the chip used in the GeForce 900 series.

Yeah. Haha

 

[MercinwithaMouth]

Okay, so I'm curious now as to whether or not I could take the contents from the Lenovo case and safely move it into a Phantom 410 case that I have in my possession, as well as whether or not I could purchase a larger card given it's a bigger case. It already has stock case fans, (one on the top and one on the back) so do you think I should still get the case fans I planned on getting?

 

[Calculagator]

Okay, so I'm curious now as to whether or not I could take the contents from the Lenovo case and safely move it into a Phantom 410 case that I have in my possession, as well as whether or not I could purchase a larger card given it's a bigger case. It already has stock case fans, (one on the top and one on the back) so do you think I should still get the case fans I planned on getting?

That should be no problem. Lenovo just uses standard parts in that desktop. I'm not sure how large the k450 case is-it looks plenty large to me, but i haven't measured it. The phantom 410 should be able to handle a large GPU. Of course, the large GPUs with larger coolers only have marginally better performance.
If you do move, you can cannibalize extra fans from your original case. I wouldn't buy any others unless you notice a problem.