Upgrade the card or the rig?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
B

beeeex

Jan 8, 2019
13
0
10
Hi all! this is my first post here and I'm not sure if I'm doing this right.
So I'm sorry for that,I hope that you can forgive me and lead me the right path.

My question is pretty easy folks but it's quite Hamletic:
I got a gtx 550 Ti as graphic card on my pc which is also a quite old one.
Now gtx 550 Ti is EOL and i want to upgrade it but I got it basically for free from a friend and I'm trying to be very cost-effective with my upgrades because as I said my PC is pretty standard one with some little tweaks but it's from 2012/early 2013. I use it mostly for games and some "light" editing work.

What can I do? Upgrade only the card and be happy or wait and save for a new rig?
Thanks for your kind advices and suggestions

My specs:
CPU:Intel i5 2nd gen 2320 3.0GHz
GPU: nVidia Geforce GTX 550 Ti
RAM: Corsair Dual 16 GB
Mobo: BM6630_BM6330_BP6230
1 TB SATA Western Digital
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
clutchc

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
Apr 22, 2009
43,153
411
131,790
Save for new build is the easy answer, but if you want satisfaction now I would get a new video card now. If you have a 300W PSU, the GTX 1050 Ti would be ideal. If you have a 400W PSU, I'd even go with a GTX 1060. That would be about the max that the i5-2320 can keep up with w/o major bottleneck.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
E

ElectrO_90

Splendid
Apr 17, 2007
5,109
451
27,140
Any money you spend on a GPU will be beneficial and you can then put that in your new build if you decide to do one.
As clutchc said, it is all about PSU, so depending on your PSU specs will determine what you can put in there.
1060 or 580 is a very nice card and will improve your gaming, up to a point - then it would get better when you upgrade your entire rig down the line.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
alceryes

alceryes

Splendid
Jun 11, 2004
4,376
944
27,090
I would get a good video card now. A GTX 1060 uses about the same wattage and the same aux power (at least for the reference design). Just make sure it will fit in your case.
Then in another 1-2 years upgrade everything else and transplant the 1060 into the new rig.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

beeeex

Jan 8, 2019
13
0
10
Thanks a lot for your answers! So my supply is an Acbel pca022-za2g ( i never touched this either of course) and the case have more than enough room for the current gcard. So the next question comes forth, what card is a good card and doesn't squeeze completely my wallet? Is it a good or a bad time to buy? I first made my pc with around 400 pounds so i always saw a 400 p gcard a really huge investiment to do.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

beeeex

Jan 8, 2019
13
0
10
Thanks for the quick reply! But do you see it? I'll need to still add the supply, it's not that expensive i know but i also know you can't be cheap on that. So my question returns good. I mean i could really wait 1/2 years and spend for a new gear. Sorry i'm really struggling here D:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

beeeex

Jan 8, 2019
13
0
10
I don't have a budget i have a couple hundreds stored but I'm a student ( so definetly not floating in money) and i want to spend with care making good long term investments( i'm trying kinda)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
clutchc

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
Apr 22, 2009
43,153
411
131,790


So, which way do you want to go? Get the best card for the PSU that you have now... or get a new PSU and a card that maxes out your CPU?

Btw, what PSU do you have now? Make, model?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

beeeex

Jan 8, 2019
13
0
10
I think I'll go the second way but then in the near future i'll have to try to find a new mobo and CPU that will make good teamwork with what i have.
Now to upgrade last two questions: 1060 6GB or 3GB? I found a small difference in price(for some strange reason maybe my current region area) and thinking at the future maybe, is it any better? Or will it kill the CPU?
The second one is for the PSU i got a Acbel pca022-za2g 300W is it better(always looking forward) to take a 500W or 400W new PSU(i found the same magic little diffrence between the two items)?
Thanks for your kind answers and your patience!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
clutchc

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
Apr 22, 2009
43,153
411
131,790


Go for the 6GB version of the GTX 1060. The 3GB has fewer Cores, and of course half the VRAM. Since you are planning on eventually moving to a new platform, you can take any card and PSU you get with you. And yeah, that stock PSU is even too small to safely run the GTX 1050 Ti for long periods at max load. You'd be left with the GT 1030 as your best choice if you kept it.

Where can you shop? Amazon UK? I'm in the US.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

beeeex

Jan 8, 2019
13
0
10
Thanks for your wonderful advices guys!
Yeah I just noticed I couldn't use the 550 Ti either with that trashy supply, so that is a priority anyway.
i'll go for the 500W to be save at least(i don't think i need a 600W, do I?)
I will meditate a bit between the choices i have and I'm going to make a good decision.
I'm not familiar with AMD cards so i'll make sure to check it out and compare!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
clutchc

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
Apr 22, 2009
43,153
411
131,790


A good quality 400W will run most non-OC'ed GTX 1060 6GB. I'd go for more so you ahve some headroom. 500W or 550W is a good size that can run most cards that your CPU won't bottleneck. And 500W min is needed for the RX 580.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

beeeex

Jan 8, 2019
13
0
10
So i made up my mind. 1060 it is. I'll post 2 links: Is this what I could go for? idk if i can trust this ebay seller or i should go with the amazon one. Any tips for the PSU?(trusted make and model) thx!

https://m.ebay.it/itm/MSI-NVIDIA-Geforce-GTX-1060-6GB-0CV1-GDDR5-PCI-Express-DP-DVI-HDMI-Graphics-C-/273640030220?ul_ref=http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/724-53478-19255-0/1?ff3=2&pub=5575376664&toolid=10001&campid=5338268676&customid=d7dd13a0-02f9-4daa-b474-75972bfabf0a&lgeo=1&item=273640030220&srcrot=724-53478-19255-0&rvr_id=1822083348764&rvr_ts=57040b9c1680aa6a03c6b2a2ffff48d3&_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1&ul_noapp=true&pageci=26266bfa-4a17-4f9d-89ce-1f9b517c194e&epid=1884805788

https://www.amazon.it/Gigabyte-GV-N1060WF2OC-6GD-Grafica-1556MHz-1771MHz/dp/B01K7I7M00/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?__mk_it_IT=ÅMÅZÕÑ&qid=1547648485&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=gtx+1060+6gb&dpPl=1&dpID=51Sw903oQYL&ref=plSrch
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
O

ohiou_grad_2006

Splendid
Dec 3, 2011
3,551
10
24,115
I'm from the United States, but the way eBay and PayPal work here, they usually have buyer protection. Like if I order an item that does not work, I should be able to file a claim that the item I ordered is not as described. But look at the seller's feedback, specifically their feedback as a seller and that should give an idea of they are trustworthy.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

beeeex

Jan 8, 2019
13
0
10
Thx for the tip! He's got mostly positve feedbacks but i saw he's from uk and he's got only few pieces of hardware and he sells moslty other stuff that 's why I'm worried i don't have paypal unfortunately and i'm usually trusting more amazon for their criteria.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

beeeex

Jan 8, 2019
13
0
10
The price difference between the two cards( if we assume that the gigabyte version is the same as the MSI one ) is about 50$ which is basically.the cost of the new PSU covered. If you tell me that it is the right product and i don't risk a brink in a.box buying electronics on ebay, I'm in. 211$ on ebay vs 286$ on amazon it is still a good saving. Thanks for all.your help!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

beeeex

Jan 8, 2019
13
0
10
Hi man thx, anyway i need to buy a gcard for the new build as well and i'm sure i wont get a 1000$ brand new card, so i'm getting something that could fit the new build as well. Right now i got 500$ total and in 2 years i can maybe save ~200$ more so my best hopes are to upgrade only cpu and mobo for reasonable prices
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom