[SOLVED] I want to upgrade my graphics card but I don't know where to start.

[Joeska]

I want to upgrade my graphics card, but I really don't know where to start. Here are the specs of my pc:

Motherboard - Milton
Processor - Intel® Core™ i3-9100 (3.6 GHz base frequency, up to 4.2 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, 6 MB cache, 4 cores)
Memory - 8 GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM
Graphics - Discrete
Graphics Card - NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 730 (2 GB GDDR5 dedicated)
here's the full specs list

Power Supply - 80 W Gold efficiency power supply

My real concern is the compatibility of the graphics card options to my pc and the process. Sorry, I know I am lacking information so let me know what do I need to say further

 

[RTX 2080]

Your desktop comes with a 180 watt power supply which pretty much keeps you from adding any GPU more powerful than the one you already have to your system. If it is a standard-sized power supply, you can upgrade it and then have more options, but if it is proprietary, you're out of luck.

 

[Joeska]

Your desktop comes with a 180 watt power supply which pretty much keeps you from adding any GPU more powerful than the one you already have to your system. If it is a standard-sized power supply, you can upgrade it and then have more options, but if it is proprietary, you're out of luck.

thanks! this is really helpful. I'm glad I asked. I have a few questions:

1. How do I know if it is a standard-sized power supply? If so, how do I upgrade it?
2. Is the power supply the only one hindering my ability to upgrade? Or are there other factors I need to consider?

 

[RTX 2080]

I need you take take a picture of the back of your PC case for me as well as a picture of the inside. I couldn't find very many pictures online.

Upon taking a closer look at your computer, the main problem is not just the weakness of your power supply, it is the design of the computer itself. It is a "slim desktop" in HP speak, so everything on the inside has been made smaller in the name of making the PC smaller. The compromises here are plenty: poor case ventilation, generous use of proprietary parts that cannot be easily upgraded, general lack of room on the inside to install a graphics card etc.

The reason you power supply is so weak is because it was never designed to support the type of hardware that is capable of gaming. I don't want to make you feel disappointed about your computer, but aside from the age of the parts (they are relatively new) your PC overall isn't very well suited to much more than the lightest gaming.

Let me explain what the general consensus is as far as computer hardware requirements for running modern games acceptably and then compare them to your hardware.

• CPU: Modern games need a minimum of a 4 core CPU with 8 threads, although the trend more recently has been that 6 core / 12 thread CPUs are the new baseline. Your CPU is a 4 core / 4 thread CPU and will result in games stuttering, not running smoothly and generally not working very well in many scenarios.
• RAM: Windows 10 generally swallows up 4 GB of RAM just to boot and run properly which only leaves 4 GB left (in your case) to run games. That usually isn't enough and 16 GB is considered the right place to be for modern games. Additionally, you have only 1 stick of RAM; 2 are needed (they have to be identical sticks of RAM) to take advantage of something called dual-channel memory. If you don't have it, you loose a bunch of performance.
• Hard Drive: You don't need a solid state drive for most games, but some of the newer ones have started requiring it. Gaming is also so much better with a SSD; hard drives mean very long loading times for game levels and stuff.
• Power Supply: Even some of the least powerful graphics cards for gaming require a 450 watt power supply to run safely, many need more than that.

Basically, since your PC is a Slim case with lots of proprietary components, very little of what I have talked about can probably be upgraded, and even if it could be, there aren't really enough good parts here to justify investing much in this PC.

The best case scenario is that your power supply is upgradable and that there is enough room inside to stick a smaller, lower-powered GPU that will not take up too much space or generate too much heat. Your GPU will not be able to perform at its best (due to being limited by other components), but it will still be a decent improvement over what you have now. If it's not good enough, you'll be best served by buying/building a PC better suited to gaming.