Question Upgrade video card

[jasjeski]

Want to upgrade video card on Dell Inc. OptiPlex 790 sff or Hewlett-Packard p7-1234, is Dell 790 newer/better? Would like to get one from local Micro Center Store.

 

[Obakasama]

Do you know the specs of the two systems? Prebuilts tend to have more than one configuration, and the CPU can be different. In order to know which is better for the intended usage, the specs would need to be known.

From what I came across through an internet search the Dell should be better, but I wouldn't take this as an affirmative answer.

Also be careful in upgrading the graphics card in such systems. Likelihood is you'd need a new PSU, and the motherboards may not be industry standard.

 

[jasjeski]

Specs of the two systems
System Model
Dell Inc. OptiPlex 790 01 System Service Tag 8RDCKS1 (support for this PC) Chassis Serial Number 8RDCKS1 Enclosure Type Desktop

Processor a
3.10 gigahertz Intel Core i5-2400 256 kilobyte primary memory cache 1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache 6144 kilobyte tertiary memory cache 64-bit ready Multi-core (4 total) Not hyper-threaded

Main Circuit Board b
Board Dell Inc. 0J3C2F A00 Serial Number 8RDCKS1CN7360417M03JX Bus Clock 100 megahertz BIOS Dell Inc. A22 07032018

Memory Modules c,d 10122 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
Slot 'ChannelA-DIMM0' is Empty
Slot 'ChannelA-DIMM1' has 4096 MB (serial number 3A7C5021)
Slot 'ChannelB-DIMM0' has 2048 MB
Slot 'ChannelB-DIMM1' has 4096 MB (serial number 3890E501)

Controllers
Standard SATA AHCI Controller

Display
Intel(R) HD Graphics [Display adapter] VIZ M320VT [Monitor] (31.5vis, April 2010)

Bus Adapters Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller Intel(R) 6 SeriesC200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 1C26 Intel(R) 6 SeriesC200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 1C2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

System Model
Hewlett-Packard p7-1234 System Serial Number: MXU22302G0 Asset Tag: MXU22302G0 Enclosure Type: Desktop

Processor a
2.60 gigahertz AMD A6-3650 APU with Radeon HD Graphics 512 kilobyte primary memory cache 4096 kilobyte secondary memory cache 64-bit ready Multi-core (4 total) Not hyper-threaded

Main Circuit Board b
Board: PEGATRON CORPORATION 2ACF 1.03 Serial Number: 115462140001964 Bus Clock: 100 megahertz UEFI: AMI 7.23 07/04/2012

Memory Modules c,d 1524 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
Slot 'A1_DIMM0' is Empty
Slot 'A1_DIMM1' has 2048 MB (serial number 7B0D2E8F)

Controllers
ATA Channel 0 [Controller] (2x) ATA Channel 1 [Controller] (2x) Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller (2x)

Display
AMD Radeon HD 6530D Graphics [Display adapter] Hanns.G HL203DPB [Monitor] (19.9"vis, s/n 136AB3WY01460, September 2011)

Bus Adapters Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller (3x) Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller (4x)

 

[Obakasama]

Seeing those specs there my original assessment remains unchanged. The i5-2400 will outperform the A6-3650. Not sure what they're doing with the odd RAM configuration though.

I would still be wary about the PSU aspect which you'd need to power a graphics card.

 

[jasjeski]

Odd RAM configuration, I had 2 sticks of 4gb memory, someone gave me a stick of 2gb. I added
it and it shows up on system properties.
Looks like it has a 250 W power supply. I wasn't going spend to much $100-$150? Maybe should look into newer computer this one is 8 years old?

 

[Obakasama]

In some cases that RAM configuration might be more troublesome. As long as the system is fine and software isn't negatively affected.

Most modern graphics cards will require a higher wattage PSU. Depending what you plan to run the PC may be adequate, but yes it is a bit on the old side. However if it does what you want and you're happy with it, it's not an issue to worry about.

 

[jasjeski]

Thanks for the help