Looking to upgrade ASUS CM6730

[dodo2198]

Hi everyone,

I would like to try and upgrade my current stock PC, an ASUS CM6730. I believe it is the UK-020S version, so the specs are as below:

Processor: Intel® Pentium G2030
RAM: 4 GB DDR3
Graphics card: Intel HD 2500 graphics
Motherboard: Intel H61

Obviously going from the above I'd love to upgrade the graphics card, which should be an option as there are PCI-E slots, and there is more space for RAM (up to 8GB I believe)

Overall I'd be looking at a budget as low as possible, probably around the £100 mark, more if it's really worth it (especially if the processor would need upgrading too, I have absolutely no idea if it does at the moment). I'm a casual gamer but I'd simply like to get the best possible upgrade for a reasonably low price.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lutfij]

Based off this specs list, you could drop in a 2x4GB DDR3-1333MHz 1.5v kit into your system but that would eat up about 3/4th of your budget. You could also drop in an i5-2500 sourcing off Ebay but that would depend on your BIOS limitations. Prior to anything though you're going to have to perform a BIOS update to the latest revision.

What OS are you on? To avoid the dreaded black screen after dropping in a current gen GPU, I'd suggest sticking to the GPU's listed in the specs. The maximum would be to go for an older gen GTX750Ti without changing your PSU.

 

[dodo2198]

Appreciate the quick response!

I'm on Windows 8.1 - I'm not sure whether it's only limited to 4GB expansion wise (it already has 4GB RAM - I'll have to check tomorrow of they mean 8 gig in total).

As for the graphics card, I'll have to have a look at all the options (including the GTX750 Ti you mentioned) and see which one seems most reasonable - just out of curiosity, which one do you think is best to take at the moment from the list? I'm just wondering if the GTX750Ti would be limited by my processor. Also are there specific older models of this one? Is there anything that helps distinguish which model of that 750Ti is which?

Thanks!

 

[The Paladin]

Okay, your Asus Essentio CM6730-UK20S computer doesn't come with a lot of information and a lot of it is bundled under the CM6730 books as "here are the possibilities the system can be"

I need you to look on the Motherboard itself for an Asus Motherboard Number if possible. usually located near CPU or PCIE Slots. Look at the image below for an example of what you are looking for (the white label , in this example this is from a CM6650 Board) but the numbers before it is what I am looking for.

Now an educated guess without that very specific information, and based on Asus Web site (https://www.asus.com/ae-en/Tower-PCs/Essentio_CM6730/specifications/) the Asus CM6730-UK20S system, it looks like you can upgrade from 4GB to 8GB of ram Dual Channel, DDR3 at 1333MHz and you can only use 2 Ram sticks, which would look like 2x4GB DDR3-1333MHZ as max memory upgrade for this board. One must still get the motherboard information (or information from your current ram stick) to make sure it is DDR3 or DDR3L type ram as one is 1.5v the other is 1.25v and are not interchangeable.

Asus says DDR3-1333 and www.Crucial.com states DDR3L type ram (http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/ASUS/cm6330cm6630cm6730cm6830) so I will wait on your information on your current ram to make a suggestion. But if we can find a matching ram to your current 4GB (if single stick) we could keep cost about 50-60 Quid.

As for a video card your Asus CM6730-UK20S System has a single PCI-e x 16 Slot for that purpose. that said, since they do not specify what version that slot is, I will base myself on the "optional hardware for video card they suggested to buy for this system (see ASUS link above) and look at the AMD Radeon HD7470 1GB which is a PCI Express 2.1 x16 video card. (ref: https://www.cnet.com/products/amd-radeon-hd-7470-graphics-card-radeon-hd-7470-1-gb-series/specs/) so I will assume you Slot is also 2.1x16 which is pretty good news as it opens a lot more cards than not..

Now that said the specs on the Asus Cm6730-UK20S is indicated to have a stock Power Supply of 350W Peak.
This factor alone will define how big a video card you can have (example a HD 7870 needs 400w and a PCIe 6+2 connector which your PSU does not have) But again this only will guide your path to upgrading this system later, as your case is a standard ATX so you will be able to get aftermarket PSU installed and get bigger video abilities.

Now all that said, and considering you Budget of 100 Quid.

video card wise your looking at maybe a GT730 2GB for about 50 Quid, or a GT 730 4GB for 85 Quid, there is a better card still GT 1030 2Gb for about 65 Quid.

Here is a comparison of the OEM 7470 GT 730 2GB and 1030 2GB cards side by side, just to help you choose.
I am sure other will suggest other cards, I don't know everything of course.

until you upgrade the PSU you will be limited to low powered video card.

The suggestion above of the GTX750TI is a really good one, but your looking at used cards on ebay or such places. and take risk cards where not abused and or cooked in ovens to make then work again.

 

[Lutfij]

I can't say for sure about what to identify a GTX750Ti with since the ones that come out of the factory since the GTX1000 series began churning out have the updated BIOS whereby an incompatible UEFI BIOS environment will result in the aforementioned black screen in spite of powering up.

Pertaining to the ram, the maximum capacity is 8GB so if you split that across 2 slots on your board, you have 4GB's in each.

DDR3L are rated to run at 1.35v, DDR3U(ultra low voltage) run at 1.25v. Crucial's site suggestions need a grain of salt in them since I've had my fair share of misinformation from them that lead to bad purchases for my friends(when they wanted an upgrade). Although their chart/list is comprehensive their information is questionable(at times). the suggestion for a highest end HD7000 series card is a good proposal since finding older AMD cards without the BIOS issue can be had for cheap off Ebay.

 

[dodo2198]

Okay - I've had a quick look. I've taken some pictures as well, not sure if they'll upload properly on the comment as I can't see them on the preview.

Motherboard
Motherboard 2
RAM stick
Extra RAM slot
PSU
Video Card Slot

As you can see (hopefully!) I've got some pictures of the motherboard in general, the RAM slots, the RAM stick itself, the PSU (says something about Max Output for 30 secs - is that normal?) and the slot for the video card. Hopefully the labels are all readable so you can easily tell what each component is like. If I've somehow cocked up the pictures I'll just write up what I saw.

Edit: I've pasted them as links - let me know if you can't access these for some reason.

 

[The Paladin]

okay as seen below your Essentio CM6630, Uses an Asus P8H61-M Pro Motherboard.

which means?
Manual can be found : https://www.manualslib.com/manual/473593/Asus-P8h61-M-Pro.html
Asus web link https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8H61M_PRO/
according to: http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASUS/P8H61-M_PRO.html and asus web support : https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8H61M_PRO/HelpDesk_CPU/

You could easily upgrade to a I5-3570 or I7-3770 CPU, it is 77W, and motherboard can handle up to 95w so it will not stress it what so ever. the 3770 is a pretty decent Cpu for gaming. and relatively cheap (on ebay.com that is)
You will need to get the last upgrade to run an I5 or I7 on the board :
P8H61-M PRO BIOS 4802 : https://www.asus.com/support/CPU/1/39/4/14/QcUQBkItsSA9XvuX/C20120428152107/

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/473593/Asus-P8h61-M-Pro.html?page=9#manual reveals;
You can upgrade to Dual-channel memory architecture 2 x 240-pin DIMM sockets support unbuffered non-ECC, DDR3 1333/1066MHz memory modules, Motherboard Supports up to 16GB system memory, and Support Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)

The Video card Slot is a PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots which is good.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/473593/Asus-P8h61-M-Pro.html?page=52#manual reveals your have an EFI Bios !
which should be good news and permit you to use any PCI 2.0 compatible video card on your system. (not limited to older video cards under GTX 750TI)

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/473593/Asus-P8h61-M-Pro.html?page=57#manual , seems to be showing the AI tweaker is capable of overclocking a cpu and ram, though if I was you I would be weary of doing an overclock on an H61 chipset motherboard of that age, and may suggest to only get an I7-3770 (pay less) unless you can find solid information this can be done safely.

so what does all that mean to you? and your 100 quid budget?
well it means you have options.

1. a quick look at your ram image gave me the model HY64C1C162ZY and did a search on it on ebay.uk.co and found one ending in 5days selling for 24 quid. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4GB-Adata-PC3-12800U-DDR3-1600MHz-Non-ECC-Memory-1X-4GB-module/372011170548?hash=item569d97faf4:g:QmsAAOSwxxdZZq3f buying that would make you pc up to 8gb and not break the bank

2. 16Gb is feasible on your budget btw I did another search for 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 and found ram starting at 64 Quid for your system : www.ebay.co.uk link here


3. video card is limited by your 350w power supply. but since the 750TI is only needing 300w you could get one of those. again they can be found on ebay seemingly cheaply I saw them starting at 40 Quid.(web link here)


4. lastly I checked CPu prices, and I7-37xx series do run over 100 quid alone, but the I5-3570 run much lower and could be a good combo/upgrade for you as well (ebay web link here)

hope I covered all your questions