Upgrading Graphics Card

[landon.luu]

I am planning to upgrade my graphics card but not sure if the motherboard is worth it to do an upgrade. Does it matter which motherboard you have? Below are the specs from my desktop that I bought back in 2015:

OS: Windows 10 Pro

Processor: AMD A4-7300 APU with Radeon HD Graphics 3.80 GHz

RAM: 16 GB (DDR3)

System Type: 64 bit

Power Supply: 480 Watts

I want to get the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card. When I look inside of my desktop, there is one slot to add the graphics card.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[gigantusmagnus]

the problem is that your cpu is to weak to pair with gtx 1080

so, the better option is to upgrade your entire pc if you want to pair it with 1080 or pick something like gtx 1030 or rx 550 or equivalent

 

[zyh1987]

The platform (a4-7300) is older and not particularly strong, so if you want better performance out of the graphics card 1080, you will need to replace your CPU, mobo, and ram. which nowadays is about $500 usd for a mainstream setup and $300 usd for a entry level setup.

$500 get you a ryzen 5 1600/2600 with b350 board and 16 GB ram or intel i5 8400/H310(b360)/16 GB ram.

$300 get you a intel i3 8100/h310(b36)/8gb platform. (this use to be the mainstream performance 1 yr ago)

these should be able to unleash the full potential of the 1080.

 

[landon.luu]

Building the entire new PC is not going to happen because I am not experience. But can you get a used PC on ebay with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card for under $1000? If so, can you add some links so I can take a look. Thanks!

 

[zyh1987]

to be honest, ebay tends to be stretchy.
and i don't think 1080 equipped pc sales at that price range. the price is still quite high from the mining craze.

 

[Eximo]

If you want to do this on the cheap you are going to have to learn, and set your sights on something more realistic. A $550 video card is not entry level, and is intended to push a high resolution monitor at very good frame rates. (Monitors like that start at $300 and go up from there)

So, if your current monitor is a 1920x1080 60Hz panel (or less), you don't need a GTX1080. Think GTX1060, pre-builts for that level are fairly affordable and not too much over-charging.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIADVH7EJ2809
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIADYY7CH1242

You can also check out deals directly from Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS, etc.

If you are dead set on a GTX1080, you need to double your budget and consider the whole experience.

 

[Rogue Leader]

+1 on do not buy a GTX 1080, while it will work its a huge waste of money with such a dog of a CPU.

You don't need experience to build a new PC, thats what this place is for, we can help you and have walkthroughs. A mid level system with a GTX 1060 will play games WORLDS better than your system with a GTX 1080.

 

[landon.luu]

So you recommend me to strip my current PC and rebuilt it from scratch? Is there a good place online to buy PC parts with reasonable price?

 

[Rogue Leader]

So you recommend me to strip my current PC and rebuilt it from scratch? Is there a good place online to buy PC parts with reasonable price?

Other than your copy of Windows 10 (which you can reuse as long as you login with a microsoft account), and maybe the drives, your old PC is useless. Where are you located? Amazon and Newegg are the cheapest best places.

 

[landon.luu]

Thanks everyone!