What do I need to do to upgrade my PC?

[reconsister2]

Hello guys, I am new to how computers work and what they're composed of. But, I was wondering if you guys could tell me what I need to upgrade and what to upgrade my computer parts to, to make it play COD decently without lag.

Here are the specs:
Item # 848252
Manufacturer # H5Q15AA/F3E01AA/J4W4
processor brand AMD
processor model A10-6700
memory 12 GB
hard drive capacity 2000 GB
optical drive DVD±RW/DVD-RAM/DVD±R Double Layer
operating system Windows 8.1
processor speed 3.7 GHz
memory speed PC3-12800
memory type DDR3 SDRAM
maximum memory capacity 32 GB
wireless connectivity 802.11b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0
wired connectivity 10/100/1000 Ethernet
modem no modem
ports 4 USB 3.0; 8 USB 2.0; 1 Ethernet; 1 DVI-D; 1 VGA 15-pin D-sub
memory card reader Yes
audio hardware Beats Audio; High Definition Audio, up to 7.1 channels
TV tuner No
peripherals included USB keyboard; optical mouse
hard drive type HDD (hard disk drive)
segmentation Essential
form factor desktop computer
warranty length 1-yr limited
brand name HP
manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
model name Envy 700-056/700-216
postconsumer recycled content 0%
total recycled content 0%
processor type A10
video hardware AMD Radeon HD 8670D graphics with up to 6244MB total available memory

 

[clutchc]

You need a discrete gfx card. Do you know the make/model of your PSU? Can you see the nameplate on it? What is your budget?

 

[reconsister2]

You need a discrete gfx card. Do you know the make/model of your PSU? Can you see the nameplate on it? What is your budget?

Well I'm not sure what the PSU is, but I believe it is 300W. Here's a link to the product.
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/848252/HP-Envy-700-056700-216-Desktop/
My budget is 100-200 dollars. And I have not yet purchased the computer yet.

 

[clutchc]

Ouch! An HP. They are notorious for being finicky with aftermarket cards that they don't have on their approved vender list. I was going to recommend the GTX 750 Ti, but with its new UEFI BIOS, it has been hit and miss with other HP owners here. The safest bet would be to go on the HP forum and ask around as to what other HP owners have found to be trouble-free.

Having said all that... the last HP owner I worked with here, found this GTX 750 Ti to work fine on his HP desktop: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487024
And Nvidia recommends a 300W minimum PSU for the card.

 

[reconsister2]

Ouch! An HP. They are notorious for being finicky with aftermarket cards that they don't have on their approved vender list. I was going to recommend the GTX 750 Ti, but with its new UEFI BIOS, it has been hit and miss with other HP owners here. The safest bet would be to go on the HP forum and ask around as to what other HP owners have found to be trouble-free.

Having said all that... the last HP owner I worked with here, found this GTX 750 Ti to work fine on his HP desktop: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487024
And Nvidia recommends a 300W minimum PSU for the card.

So that means my power supply is fine as is? Do I run any risks by using the minimum watts? I noticed that graphics cards have ports to connect to monitors. Does that mean I use those instead of the preinstalled ports? Also, does the installation of this graphics card require me to replace my old one? Or is it just added somewhere in the desktop? I also noticed that this graphics cards comes with 2 GB of RAM, does that mean its adding onto my 12 GB of RAM? Is that card good for playing COD? Would it run the game smoothly without lag?

 

[clutchc]

Whoa. Slow down with all the questions.
1) Yes, the PSU should be fine with the GTX 750 Ti that I linked to. (Hope your HP recognizes it)
2) I have no idea what you mean by "running minimum watts"
3) Yes, you move your monitor's video cable from the integrated video port over to the gfx card's video port. Are you using HDMI, DVI. or VGA?
4) No, your old "gfx card' is actually just an on-die GPU that is built into/part of the processor... the APU. You won't be removing anything. (unless you have another gfx card sitting in the PCIe x16 slot that you haven't mentioned)
5) No. video RAM (VRAM) is separate from system memory. Your integrated GPU used the system RAM for its VRAM, but this card has its own faster VRAM. By not using the integrated video, you will actually make the memory that the HD 8670D was using available again to the system.
6) How well it does with COD will depend on your monitor's resolution and the in-game settings you use. But it will do MUCH better than the HD 8670D. Lag can be caused by many things. If you play on a busy 64 player server, your CPU will be the culprit usually for "lag". Because it would have trouble keeping up with all the other players' positions and movements if it is under-powered.

 

[reconsister2]

Whoa. Slow down with all the questions.
1) Yes, the PSU should be fine with the GTX 750 Ti that I linked to. (Hope your HP recognizes it)
2) I have no idea what you mean by "running minimum watts"
3) Yes, you move your monitor's video cable from the integrated video port over to the gfx card's video port. Are you using HDMI, DVI. or VGA?
4) No, your old "gfx card' is actually just an on-die GPU that is built into/part of the processor... the APU. You won't be removing anything. (unless you have another gfx card sitting in the PCIe x16 slot that you haven't mentioned)
5) No. video RAM (VRAM) is separate from system memory. Your integrated GPU used the system RAM for its VRAM, but this card has its own faster VRAM. By not using the integrated video, you will actually make the memory that the HD 8670D was using available again to the system.
6) How well it does with COD will depend on your monitor's resolution and the in-game settings you use. But it will do MUCH better than the HD 8670D. Lag can be caused by many things. If you play on a busy 64 player server, your CPU will be the culprit usually for "lag". Because it would have trouble keeping up with all the other players' positions and movements if it is under-powered.

I will be doing dual monitors with 1080p Dell 24" monitors. I will be using an hdmi to dvi cable and a dvi for the 2 based on the ports the GTX 750 ti has. Thank you so much for helping me! I appreciate it alot. I think I will be getting the GTX 750 ti.

 

[clutchc]

Let me know how it works. I am trying to come up with a solid solution for gfx cards for HP desktops. If you install the card and you happen to get a black screen with a blinking cursor, try shutting down, unplugging the video from the card for a few seconds and plugging it back in. Reboot.

 

[reconsister2]

Let me know how it works. I am trying to come up with a solid solution for gfx cards for HP desktops. If you install the card and you happen to get a black screen with a blinking cursor, try shutting down, unplugging the video from the card for a few seconds and plugging it back in. Reboot.

This is the right one correct? http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclock-Dual-Link-Graphics-02G-P4-3753-KR/dp/B00IDG3IDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416785370&sr=8-1&keywords=gtx+750+ti
I will let you know probably in about a week or two.

 

[clutchc]

Yes, same one. Btw, I used that recently in a budget build. Great little card for the power it consumes. Faster than a GTX 650 Ti Boost.

 

[reconsister2]

Yes, same one. Btw, I used that recently in a budget build. Great little card for the power it consumes. Faster than a GTX 650 Ti Boost.

Alright! Thank you!