[SOLVED] Need help turning my HP Envy H8-1503 into a gaming computer.

[Dusty_2017]

I bought this computer (HP Envy H8-1503) just about a week ago. My intent of turning it into a gaming computer has made me question a lot of things I never thought about before, like will my computer support GDDR5 or will it run only in GDDR3 like the other card that's currently installed?(AMD Radeon HD 7570).

Motherboard
Pegatron IPMMB-FM
HP/Compaq name: Formosa
SSID: 2AD5h
BIOS: UEFI

Windows 10 Home 64-bit

2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD SATA III 6GB/s 7200 RPM
128GB Micron SSD C400

Processor: Intel Core i7-3770 non k
Installed RAM: 2 x 2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 SDRAM 1600MHz (PC3 12800) CL9-9-9-24
(Would it be okay if I purchased two 4GB DDR3 Crucial Ballistix and put it in with my current two 2GB DDR3 Crucial Ballistix? They're different models, same clock speeds, frequency, and all that fancy stuff. Or would my computer run better with four matching size sticks or RAM??

Stock 460W PSU (Upgrade to 550W?, 600W?, or 650W?)
(Might be buying a Corsair 650TX power supply tomorrow (9/24/2019) to get this build started)

I play games like Battlefield 4, Battlefield 1, (Hopefully Battlefield 5), DiRT 4, Civ V, ARMA 3, etc.. I don't plan on gaming at 4k or anything that high of resolution. I have a 22" LG LCD monitor that I use.


My budget for a video card is around $200 CDN but I plan to buy used, is that a good idea or should I buy new? I see everything from GTX 750 Ti's for almost a $100 to GTX 960's for about $150 -$200, GTX 1050 and 1050 Ti for about $120 - $200, I even seen a GTX 660 for $40 lol.

I also seen used RAM online, I seen 8GB of compatible RAM for $50 used but I mean it's 2019, why are we still paying almost $10/GB for old used RAM?? Anyways, also seen some new RAM (8GB), different brand but same DDR3 RAM, same 1600MHz, same (PC3 12800), same CL=9-9-9-24, for $53 online.

 

[Dusty_2017]

My old computer ran games, it was a Core i5-2400 with 8GB RAM & 650W PSU and a GTX 570. Ran games great at around 40-60 fps which is all I need because my eyes are only about 30 fps? Lol idk. There's also utilities that check to see what will bottleneck and what's compatible with your computer isn't there?

 

[clarkjd]

In my experience, upgrading a pre-built PC is almost nevere cost-effective, due to having to replace existing parts to withstand the greater loads of a gaming scenario. A more powerful GPU almost always require a new, more powerful PSU, which depending on the formfactor may not fit your case. Also, your motherboard may not work with a standard PSU, and only accept a PSU from the computer manufacturer, which might limit the GPUs you can put in. Also, the BIOS of a pre-built is locked down, so overclocking is out of the question, and may not allow you to upgrade your CPU.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

On the other hand, I've seen some YouTube videos where some of them took Dell systems of those specs and installed something like a gtx 1070 and supposedly their fps was close to newer systems.

If you are going to do it, your best bet is probably buy ram off of eBay. I would make sure first off that your PC will accept a standard atx PSU. If so, you could get a graphics card and some ram. That should hold you a year or so, then carry those items to a full build.

 

[Dusty_2017]

Honestly i see no point on upgrading an i7-3770 since its waaay too old.
Graphics Card technology are fully supported as long as you have a compatible PCI-E port. So, yes. your PC will support any GDDR5 graphic card. Still, this dosent mean your old processor wont bottleneck it. And thats the main problem here.
In best case scenario what you can do its to archive 8 - 12 gb of slow DDR3 ram, onto that processor and a 1050 TI. Which is a nice improvement for that PC but its not even close to becoming a gaming pc standard. And... you will probably end up trashing the whole PC next year or so...
In my opinion barely worth the effort.

So, I stuck with my current setup and I bought a 'Zotac GTX 1060 6GB AMP! Edition' used from a tech who works at a computer store. With my stock 460W PSU I managed to run Windows 10, games, browser, benchmarks, even used the USB ports so far in the little time that I've installed the graphics card. I ran Just Cause 3 at Very High and it ran like a dream! No lag issues, I have 12 GB of RAM installed running at 1333MHz until I can buy a new MOBO from NewEgg or something and sell off my current hardware to invest in better hardware but for now this computer is surprisingly efficient for what it is. Sure it's an old Core i7-3770 and running at 1333MHz but it has plenty of headroom for applications with it's 12GB of RAM. From what I've learnt, the best doesn't always have to be backed up by top of the line hardware, all it has to do is get the job done. Thank you all for your feedback I appreciate every bit of input, only thing I seen here was 'constructive criticism' and nothing more.

Anyways, have a good night, I'm going to keep using this until I upgrade hardware...

 

[Dusty_2017]

In my experience, upgrading a pre-built PC is almost nevere cost-effective, due to having to replace existing parts to withstand the greater loads of a gaming scenario. A more powerful GPU almost always require a new, more powerful PSU, which depending on the formfactor may not fit your case. Also, your motherboard may not work with a standard PSU, and only accept a PSU from the computer manufacturer, which might limit the GPUs you can put in. Also, the BIOS of a pre-built is locked down, so overclocking is out of the question, and may not allow you to upgrade your CPU.

I don't plan on overclocking because then what comes to mind is buying more effecient cooling hardware. Plus, I mean if I run it at the manufacturer's specs then theoretically it should run great, unless of course it's about this one card I read about, I'm not sure who it was made by but I think it might be ASUS and it's the Radeon RX 580, not sure which model though. Anyway people said the card was failing after only a week to three weeks. Seen them $160 off at my local computer store, I was thinkning that was a great deal until I read the reviews.. Always, I mean ALWAYS READ REVIEWS or what I also do is search on Reddit for current hardware and hardware problems. Anyway, yeah.. Those are my thoughts right now lol..