[SOLVED] Upgrading GPU to suit power & CPU.

[JohnSmith7798]

I currently have a Radeon HD 7700 and am looking to upgrade to suit my power and CPU.
Max power is 460w, and the lead to the GPU has 2 6-pin plugs. I have an adapter to take 6 pins to 8 pins from another pc if it helps.
My CPU is an Intel Core i7-3770 @ 3.40GHz.
The motherboard is a 2012 Dell 0NW73C, which I'm hoping won't cause an issue with the upgrade.

I use it mainly for photo/video editing with Adobe products, PLEX Server and hoping for it to suit gameplay with the Quest 2.
Shopping in Ireland/UK.

 

[siaan312]

I wouldn't put anything other than a low-mid end gpu in there.
Say a gtx 1660 super, and that's stretching it.


You can't upgrade the cpu, atleast not to something meaningful.
The best cpu that can go in that socket is the 4790k, which is around 10% faster.

 

[JohnSmith7798]

I wouldn't put anything other than a low-mid end gpu in there.
Say a gtx 1660 super, and that's stretching it.


You can't upgrade the cpu, atleast not to something meaningful.
The best cpu that can go in that socket is the 4790k, which is around 10% faster.

I'm only getting into upgrading my pc, so lots to learn. My plan is to upgrade parts now and again, keeping what I can so that the pc stays a decent spec. When you say that the cpu can't be upgraded because of the socket, what does that mean? Is it the psu that's limiting it or is it the motherboard, and how can I work around that in the future?

 

[Zerk2012]

I'm only getting into upgrading my pc, so lots to learn. My plan is to upgrade parts now and again, keeping what I can so that the pc stays a decent spec. When you say that the cpu can't be upgraded because of the socket, what does that mean? Is it the psu that's limiting it or is it the motherboard, and how can I work around that in the future?

You already have about the best processor you can get a 4790K will NOT work in that motherboard.

I would be looking at adding 8GB more memory, and adding a 1650 Super.

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1650S-Super-vs-AMD-HD-7770/4058vsm7710

 

[Nemesia]

What kind of budget do you have and do you plan on upgrading parts often?

 

[JohnSmith7798]

You already have about the best processor you can get a 4790K will NOT work in that motherboard.

I would be looking at adding 8GB more memory, and adding a 1650 Super.

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1650S-Super-vs-AMD-HD-7770/4058vsm7710

That sounds good. I have 16GB of memory arriving tomorrow for it, so it'll be 24GB. I'll look to get a 1650 Super.
I guess the next step is to research how to go about upgrading the motherboard at some stage if that's what's holding the upgrades back. I'll look to do that early next year.

 

[JohnSmith7798]

What kind of budget do you have and do you plan on upgrading parts often?

No particular budget in mind. Don't want or need to spend silly money, just have a decent pc for Quest games and image editing. I'm hoping to get more familiar with all this and keep upgrading parts now and again as needed. I've always just bought a prebuilt pc from the likes of Dell before.

 

[Zerk2012]

That sounds good. I have 16GB of memory arriving tomorrow for it, so it'll be 24GB. I'll look to get a 1650 Super.
I guess the next step is to research how to go about upgrading the motherboard at some stage if that's what's holding the upgrades back. I'll look to do that early next year.

The bad thing about Dell it's not that easy to upgrade the motherboard.

The next upgrade I would make is a new PC after this one.

 

[Nemesia]

No particular budget in mind. Don't want or need to spend silly money, just have a decent pc for Quest games and image editing. I'm hoping to get more familiar with all this and keep upgrading parts now and again as needed. I've always just bought a prebuilt pc from the likes of Dell before.

If you don't have any particular budget in mind why don't you just buy let's say a Ryzen Zen 2 CPU with a B550 motherboard, 16GB DDR4 RAM, A decent SSD, a good PSU, a decent GPU and call it quit for a few years with some upgrade paths down the line with that B550 for the Ryzen 5000 series and 2 more RAM slot on the board and the PSU headroom for a GPU upgrade later?

"I guess the next step is to research how to go about upgrading the motherboard "

Unfortunately you bought 16GB of DDR3 RAM and if you want to upgrade to a decent platform early next year you will have to buy DDR4 RAM.

 

[JohnSmith7798]

If you don't have any particular budget in mind why don't you just buy let's say a Ryzen Zen 2 CPU with a B550 motherboard, 16GB DDR4 RAM, A decent SSD, a good PSU, a decent GPU and call it quit for a few years with some upgrade paths down the line with that B550 for the Ryzen 5000 series and 2 more RAM slot on the board and the PSU headroom for a GPU upgrade later?

"I guess the next step is to research how to go about upgrading the motherboard "

Unfortunately you bought 16GB of DDR3 RAM and if you want to upgrade to a decent platform early next year you will have to buy DDR4 RAM.

That's true. After buying the graphics card, I'll have spent about €400/€450 on it. It may have to last me for longer leaving it as it is. Hindsight is a great thing! Perhaps I could sell it on to make some money back.
For my next pc, am I better build from scratch to allow for upgradability, and is there a guide I could follow for doing that?