Please help me upgrade my pc for gaming

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Terryjordan

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Oct 10, 2012
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Sorry if this if subject has been brought up a ridiculous amount of times but my problem is I've just paid £600 for a computer that I was recommended to buy from the guy working in the shop, apparently this computer would run GTA IV smoother than anything, so I get the pc home & the only way I can play GTA IV smoothly is on the lowest possible graphics. I'm guessing that I need a better graphics card, but any suggestions would be appreciated. Since I've already paid £600 for the pc I would feel out of pocket if I wasn't to get the gaming experience that I had intended.
Here are the specs for my pc

ADVENT DT2111
Quad core
Intel core i5-2320 3.0Ghz CPU
8GB RAM and 2TB Hard drive
AMD HD6670 2GB GDDR3

PS: I know almost nothing about pc's so please try to be idiot proof if possible. Thanks
 
You can sell that GPU on ebay so you can put extra money on a GPU, the 7970 is one of the higher end cards, that GPU is classed as a low/mid range card these days.

GTA IV has performance issues even on top of the range systems, so its pretty much normal.

Do you have a budget on how much you spend on a GPU.
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking the £150 mark. I'd probably kick it up to about £200 if needed. How much do you think the gpu I have now is worth? Cos I'd put that towards the £200 I'd be willing to spend
 
At that price point there's a good selection of AMD7850 or 7870 cards, plus the GTX660 if you fancy Nvidia.

That 7970 linked above is a really nice card but its really long and I can't find any pictures online of the interior of your case. It might fit without any issues but it's definitely something you need to consider.

If size is an issue, the GTX660 is very compact and slots in between the two AMD cards on performance. I bought one myself due to potential size constraints and it's a nice little card at around £180. I went for the Gainward golden sample one as it was fairly cheap and very compact, but otherwise I'd probably have gone for the MSI one.
 
Thanks for the help, I'm not sure what the space is like inside my pc so I think I'd be better off finding a more compact gpu. Is there anything else I would need to upgrade or do my specs seem ok? Thanks
 
Without knowing the model of your motherboard and PSU it makes it a bit tricky to suggest things. I can tell you it's mATX form, or at least I assume so, but other than that it's hard to tell.

What I can suggest is that a GTX660 and 7850 use quite low power and only one 6pin connector compared to a 7870 which uses two. Power consumption may be an issue as your current card uses very little power and doesn't seem to need an additional connector.

In terms of size, the MSI versions of the GTX660 is 235mm long and the 7850 is 200mm long, both of which should be fine for the vast majority of cases. My Gainward GTX660 is 180mm long which was useful for me but probably not much help to you.

As for the rest of your specs, RAM isn't hugely critical as long as you have plenty, and any i5 is good, as a rule.

What all of this means together is that it's very likely a mass produced PC won't have much extra power for you to play with, meaning you might need to invest in a new PSU as well as a new graphics card, if you want to boost your performance.
 
Yes that is the pc I have. So is that the AMD 7850 2GB that you recommend?
Also can anyone reccomend a better PSU.
I don't have a clue what I should be looking for and I'm not sure what PSU my computer already has.
Thanks for all the help everyone
 
Yeh that looks great, to be honest I was even expecting any warranty on the card so that's a bonus. Is it only the card that I will need to purchase & then it's simply just getting the card and the psu fitted? Thanks
 
Hello again,
GTA is a horrible game to try and benchmark. My old system was way above the minimum requirements and never looked very good (though I managed to get it running smooth). New system means I can turn everything up to 11 but it's never going to be without the odd graphical glitch or weird shadows. (Kinda odd that nobody has mentioned it but if you haven't updated GTA to one of the later patches, its pretty terrible regardless of how good your system is)

If your budget is still £150ish-

PSU
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/430w-corsair-builder-series-cmpsu-430cxv2uk-80-eff-uncertified-quiet-fan-atx-v23-psu
OR
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/450w-antec-basiq-vp450p-gb-80-plus-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-v23-psu
(might find a better offer somewhere else)

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-radeon-hd-7850-twin-frozr-iii-oc-4800mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-900mhz-hdmi-mdp
Good card but a bit expensive really

Overclockers have a deal on that card today
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-154-MS I'm a bit "meh" on Overclockers but its not a bad price (delivery won't be cheap though)

Theres other cards you could look at if that's a bit expensive together.


 


Nice find on the graphics card from overclockers but the power supplies only have 1 PCIE connector.
 

Hmm I thought the 7850 only needed one? Sorry if I'm wrong. The GTX660 definitely is just the one.
 


Bit better, bit more expensive
Crysis2%20HIGH.png

(in different games different cards do better, but that seems pretty fair, it's between the 7850 and 7870 in price and performance)

Roughly-
7850 £150+
GTX660 £175+
7870 £180+

The two PSUs I suggested should work fine with 7850/GTX660 (unless I really did make a mistake)
 
Is there anyway I can find out if the 7850 will work with the psu?
Would just like to know that its all compatible before spending.
 
GTX660 and 7850 both use 1 PCIe cable, as they are both <150W cards (unless simon can correct me, I'm desperate to incorporate "Simon says" into this thread now) so those PSUs should be fine.



I have no idea about Zalman for PSUs, but if you are interested in that Overclockers offer I linked earlier then theres always this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-059-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084 buying from one place can save you a few pounds in postage.
 
Sorry I made a mistake earlier and only 1 PCIE power connector is needed AMD recomend a 500W+ power supply but a good make 450W will do it. I personally recommend only Corsair or Antec but if you can find good reviews (not customer reviews) that test the current and voltage stability on a power supply then its OK.
 
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