Should i upgrade my GPU?

[Ebowla]

My PC has the following specs:

GPU - Nvidia Geforece 610
CPU - Intel Core i7-4790 CPU @ 360Ghz
RAM - 8Gb

It stuggles to run skyrim smoothly on any setting and id like to get games like witcher running smoothly/well.

Im pretty sure the graphics card is the part that's lacking but im pretty new to this. What can i do to fix this? (preferably for less than $200)

 

[CTurbo]

Yes the GT610 is not really even a "gaming" card and is barely stronger than the 4790k's igpu.


$200 USD could get you a R9 280x which is a VERY good video card.

What psu do you have?

 

[Ebowla]

PWGF-S500 (500Watts)

thanks

 

[rwayne]

absolutely upgrade! Often times I answer 'No' to this question but I think this upgrade is definately warranted. If you spent roughly $200 on a graphics card I think you would be amazed at the results. Just make sure the card meets the minimum power requirements. At this point in time Nvidia cards are more power efficent which is what you will need for a 500 Watt PSU.

Make sure you have a quality Power Supply Unit. The name of yours does not seem fimilar to me which makes me question if it is one or not. A quality PSU is extremely important and often gets overlooked by builders. May want to look at a 650 Watt unit made by Corsair, EVGA, XFX, Seasonic, or Enermax.

 

[CTurbo]

You could get a GTX960 and keep your psu(which probably needs to be upgraded anyway) or buy a video card AND new psu.

The R9 270x would be a huge upgrade and you could probably get a new psu with it.
The R9 280, R9 285, and GTX960 are all about equal in terms of performance. The 960 is the most expensive but is the only one that you could run on your current psu.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/evga-video-card-02gp42963kr%2Cgigabyte-video-card-gvr9285wf2oc2gd%2Cmsi-video-card-r9270xhawk%2Cxfx-video-card-r9280atdbd/

 

[Iamsoda]

My PC has the following specs:

GPU - Nvidia Geforece 610
CPU - Intel Core i7-4790 CPU @ 360Ghz
RAM - 8Gb

It stuggles to run skyrim smoothly on any setting and id like to get games like witcher running smoothly/well.

Im pretty sure the graphics card is the part that's lacking but im pretty new to this. What can i do to fix this? (preferably for less than $200)

Super nice CPU like really good, but it is being ruined by that gpu that isn't worth the parts its made of. Get an amd 280x or an AMD 290.

 

[CTurbo]

And here are the 3 cheapest psus worth buying

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/power-supply/#W=550,1600&e=5,4,2&sort=a9&page=1

 

[Iamsoda]

And here are the 3 cheapest psus worth buying

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/power-supply/#W=550,1600&e=5,4,2&sort=a9&page=1

I am pretty sure EVGA b1 versions aren't good.

 

[CTurbo]

I am pretty sure EVGA b1 versions aren't good.

You are correct.

 

[Iamsoda]

I am pretty sure EVGA b1 versions aren't good.

You are correct.

Your link shows up with them.

 

[CTurbo]

I chose the EVGA B2 model, but it's suspiciously missing from partpicker now ???

 

[CTurbo]

This is the correct link

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/evga-power-supply-110b20750vr%2Cevga-power-supply-220gs0550v1%2Cxfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9/

 

[Ebowla]

You could get a GTX960 and keep your psu(which probably needs to be upgraded anyway) or buy a video card AND new psu.

The R9 270x would be a huge upgrade and you could probably get a new psu with it.
The R9 280, R9 285, and GTX960 are all about equal in terms of performance. The 960 is the most expensive but is the only one that you could run on your current psu.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/evga-video-card-02gp42963kr%2Cgigabyte-video-card-gvr9285wf2oc2gd%2Cmsi-video-card-r9270xhawk%2Cxfx-video-card-r9280atdbd/

All of these cards are slightly too long for the case (1-2cm)
I'm very tempted to simply 'modify' the part above the drive bays to make it fit, which shouldn't be too difficult and wont get in the way of anything other than cables.
I've taken photos but don't know how to upload them to the site.

 

[Iamsoda]

You could get a GTX960 and keep your psu(which probably needs to be upgraded anyway) or buy a video card AND new psu.

The R9 270x would be a huge upgrade and you could probably get a new psu with it.
The R9 280, R9 285, and GTX960 are all about equal in terms of performance. The 960 is the most expensive but is the only one that you could run on your current psu.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/evga-video-card-02gp42963kr%2Cgigabyte-video-card-gvr9285wf2oc2gd%2Cmsi-video-card-r9270xhawk%2Cxfx-video-card-r9280atdbd/

All of these cards are slightly too long for the case (1-2cm)
I'm very tempted to simply 'modify' the part above the drive bays to make it fit, which shouldn't be too difficult and wont get in the way of anything other than cables.
I've taken photos but don't know how to upload them to the site.

upload to google drive, make it a sharable link, and then post that back here.

 

[Ebowla]

You could get a GTX960 and keep your psu(which probably needs to be upgraded anyway) or buy a video card AND new psu.

The R9 270x would be a huge upgrade and you could probably get a new psu with it.
The R9 280, R9 285, and GTX960 are all about equal in terms of performance. The 960 is the most expensive but is the only one that you could run on your current psu.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/evga-video-card-02gp42963kr%2Cgigabyte-video-card-gvr9285wf2oc2gd%2Cmsi-video-card-r9270xhawk%2Cxfx-video-card-r9280atdbd/

All of these cards are slightly too long for the case (1-2cm)
I'm very tempted to simply 'modify' the part above the drive bays to make it fit, which shouldn't be too difficult and wont get in the way of anything other than cables.
I've taken photos but don't know how to upload them to the site.

upload to google drive, make it a sharable link, and then post that back here.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_sBdAdpqqrRMkt5bVdTemwycW8/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_sBdAdpqqrRaEZkTURyTzVZN0k/view?usp=sharing

 

[rwayne]

All of these cards are slightly too long for the case (1-2cm)
I'm very tempted to simply 'modify' the part above the drive bays to make it fit, which shouldn't be too difficult and wont get in the way of anything other than cables.
I've taken photos but don't know how to upload them to the site.

Several AIBs make shortened versions of video cards for ITX builds. Something like this would probably be ideal for your application.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/productdetial.asp?pid=B67011FE-4BEC-427F-A7FE-C370A40F15BB&lang=eng