[SOLVED] Upgrading my graphics card even worth it?

Sep 7, 2019
4
0
10
desktop i bought some 8 years ago or so, upgraded to windows 10 etc.
started playing more PC games and well.....
Poor game performance/lag even in lowest settings.

Processor AMD Athlon II x4 635 2.90GHz Quad core
8GB RAM
AMD Radeon HD 4200
Power supply 250w
https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c02625685

what all would I need to upgrade? Anything I should even keep if I was to make a computer?
 
Solution
what would be the end results of doing this be? damage or what id get result wise?
No, no damage. You just wont' get the full performance of the RX 570, so it would be a lot of wasted money you spent on it until you upgrade your CPU (and motherboard and RAM). The RX 570 will give you the option to upgrade the rest of your system and still have a good GPU. The GT 1030 would be a good choice if you were not planning on upgrading the rest of your system. Because the integrated graphics on say a Ryzen 3 2200G is close to that of the GT 1030.

Consider the whole system upgrade...

You can use the integrated graphics in the 2200G to play games. Then you can decide if you want to buy a dedicated GPU if you get more serious about...
Depends on how much you're willing to spend. You will likely need a new PSU either way.

You can buy a better GPU than your CPU can handle, with the expectation that you will keep it for a lot of years (you kept that PC for 8 years.) And you can transfer it to a new PC when you can afford it.

But it all really depends on how much you want to spend. A GT 1030 GDDR5 would honestly be worth a try IMO if you want to spend the least amount possible. It's a 30W GPU, so you could possibly get away with using your current power supply.

On the other hand, you can get a decent 450W+ PSU and an RX 570 (best value GPU price/performance) and have it severely limited by your CPU until you can buy/build a new PC.
 
what would be the end results of doing this be? damage or what id get result wise?
No, no damage. You just wont' get the full performance of the RX 570, so it would be a lot of wasted money you spent on it until you upgrade your CPU (and motherboard and RAM). The RX 570 will give you the option to upgrade the rest of your system and still have a good GPU. The GT 1030 would be a good choice if you were not planning on upgrading the rest of your system. Because the integrated graphics on say a Ryzen 3 2200G is close to that of the GT 1030.

Consider the whole system upgrade...

You can use the integrated graphics in the 2200G to play games. Then you can decide if you want to buy a dedicated GPU if you get more serious about gaming.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $245.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-08 00:57 EDT-0400
 
Last edited:
Solution
WORTH is something only YOU can determine.

What kinds of games do you play?
Games such as sims, mmo or strategy games may well be limited by your cpu single thread speeds.
OTOH, if you favor fast action games, then a graphics card upgrade is a good idea.

Try this test:

a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

You have a 250w psu.
That should be sufficient for a graphics card that does not need aux 6 pin power.
The minimum card might be a GT1030.
GTX1050 might be appropriate.
About the strongest would be a GTX1650.

You could replace the motherboard/cpu/ram for as little as $200
Your X4-635 has a passmark rating of 3235 and a single thread rating of 989.
A $100 G5600 has a rating of 5664 and 2258.
A lga1151 300 series motherboard might be $60
a 8gb ddr4 ram kit might be $40.
You can go up from there.

Your case has poor ventilation so it will not support a hot processor or a very strong graphics card.
 

RLarcosPES2

Distinguished
Oct 10, 2014
164
18
18,615
If you are not wiling to build a completely different system(which is a better way to in my opinion, if you are willing to spend more money) You could shop around for a GT 1030 which a very capable card which only consumes 30 Watts. Just make sure it is the GDDR5 version.
 
Sep 7, 2019
4
0
10
a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

Even games like oxygen not included has lag with settings as low as it goes. I enjoy open world games, but that's agonizing to play with lag. So I can play old games in the lowest settings.... not much in terms of newer games without a lag. I can get 60FPS, but dare not multi task. Yes MMO, FF14, Witcher, etc. Generally games you'd want to enjoy in good detail/high frame rate. none of the above would work (enjoyably) with the computer as it is now.

I'm not against getting making a new computer, especially if I'm looking at replacing multiple parts. But I also don't want to buy a card and get meh game play.
 
Last edited:
Sep 7, 2019
4
0
10
Sense I'll be needing a new CPU and video card,. Hell my current motherboard doesn't even have an HDMi-making converters a thing... and over heating may be a concern, I'm leaning towards a whole new computer.
Any issues I should foresee with this plan then? Game play, the build in general, might want to improve? Or hell even a prebuilt one that's cheaper and meets my needs?


PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YT9Xmq

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($107.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 570 8 GB ARMOR OC Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.97 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $638.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-08 21:52 EDT-0400
 

RLarcosPES2

Distinguished
Oct 10, 2014
164
18
18,615
Sense I'll be needing a new CPU and video card,. Hell my current motherboard doesn't even have an HDMi-making converters a thing... and over heating may be a concern, I'm leaning towards a whole new computer.
Any issues I should foresee with this plan then? Game play, the build in general, might want to improve? Or hell even a prebuilt one that's cheaper and meets my needs?


PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YT9Xmq

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($107.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 570 8 GB ARMOR OC Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.97 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $638.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-08 21:52 EDT-0400
Since you will not be using the integreted GPU on the CPU, I suggested looking for a processor with more cores like a Ryzen 1600. Ryzen 2200g is based on the very first Zen architecture, the IPC is the same, but you get more cores and more threads and games have already started using them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dragos Manea