[SOLVED] Ready to upgrade HP Pavilion 690-0xxx gaming desktop, need help with picking parts

[Pigzooka]

I'm technically asking for help with PSUs as well as graphics cards, but I hope that's okay. I have an HP Pavilion 690-0xxx gaming desktop. Product ID is 3LA92AA#ABA. I bought it on sale and have already upgraded it by adding a 500GB Crucial SSD (model no. CT500MX500SSD4). For those who don't want to go hunting for this computer online (I'm sorry, I understand), the processor is an AMD Ryzen 5 2400G and the graphics card is an AMD Radeon RX 580. It has 8GB RAM and a 400W platinum internal power supply, brand unspecified.

I would like to upgrade the GPU of this computer. I'm looking for a sub-$300 model, something along the lines of the RX 5600 XT. Please let me know if this is a ridiculous expectation. I'm looking to improve performance quite a bit, but I don't play extremely demanding games like The Witcher 3 or anything, so a I feel like a midrange-ish option like that should work for me?

I have been doing my research and found that my current GPU consumes 150W, and that my theoretical future RX 5600 XT also consumes 150W. Does this mean that I don't need to upgrade the PSU to swap out the graphics card? I know that that might be good practice, but at the same time, this is already expensive enough and I don't want to make it more so.

I'm looking for advice about whether my choice of GPU makes sense, whether I should upgrade the PSU and if so what kind of PSU (especially in terms of wattage) I should get, and whether there is some kind of fundamental incompatibility that I'm not seeing. Thank you all for your help!

P.S. This is a very basic question, but how hard is installing a GPU? I've already added an SSD, which wasn't too bad.

 

[SamirD]

You shouldn't have an issue with power and a gpu is just a little more delicate than an ssd since you're working with circuit boards that aren't full encased, and you will need to completely remove power from your system (unplug and press the power button to drain out any remaining current). But aside from that, it's not much different than the ssd install--just take your time and be cautious.

 

[hang-the-9]

I would wait till the new card generations are out for a bit and see what the mid-range of those are like, the 5600 XT is a decent boost over the RX 580 but for an extra $300 I don't think I'd buy one now if I had the RX 580 already. Doubly so since you said you don't even play games that would need a faster card. Only way this makes sense is if you will be tortured if you don't spend the money or if you are buying a higher resolution or higher refresh rate monitor and want a good card for 1440 or 1080 at 144hz to run smoother.

My advice to those with a good enough CPU and video card that want to spend money on an upgrade is to go with a nicer keyboard/mouse/audio/monitor/chair instead. When I replaced my older IPS 22" screen with a newer Dell Ultrasharp 27" screen it felt like I got a whole new computer just from the display quality. Mouse/Keyboard/Audio is your only way of actually interfacing with the computer so unless you already have great parts there it's not a bad idea to look for something you may like better. Nicer headphones make a huge difference in quality of experience using a system for example, and if you have a keyboard you really meld well with that is also a pleasure.