What Graphics card can I upgrade to?

[AaronDDB]

Hi, I've recent bought a brand new desktop, and it does the job, but I'm wanting a better graphics card, but I'm not sure what graphics card my desktop supports.

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium
Motherboard: MSI A78M-E35 uATX
Processor: AMD A8-7650K Radeon R7, 10 Computer Cores 4C+6G 3.30GHz
Memory: 8.00GB (6.94 GB Usable) RAM

Also, it appears my Processor's GHz has decreased from 4.2 GHz, anyone know why and how I can put it back up?


Cheers to both these in advance!

 

[Oniel100]

Don't know what your price is for a graphics card but there is a good deal on newegg for a Radeon R9 280 its $170 with $20 rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150706

 

[AaronDDB]

Don't know what your price is for a graphics card but there is a good deal on newegg for a Radeon R9 280 its $170 with $20 rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150706

Ah that's a sweet price, however, there are loads of different brands of that graphics card. How do I know which brand will suit my desktop?

 

[DasHotShot]

All cards and brand will suit it.

It is what performance level you want and how much you want to pay.

The onyl difference in manufacturer is cooling solution, warranty and factory OC. The rest is based onthe same PCB for every model, the "reference design".

 

[AaronDDB]

All cards and brand will suit it.

It is what performance level you want and how much you want to pay.

The onyl difference in manufacturer is cooling solution, warranty and factory OC. The rest is based onthe same PCB for every model, the "reference design".

Oh okay, so if I wanted, instead of going with AMD Radeon, I could go with an Nvidia Geforce GTX?

 

[DasHotShot]

All cards and brand will suit it.

It is what performance level you want and how much you want to pay.

The onyl difference in manufacturer is cooling solution, warranty and factory OC. The rest is based onthe same PCB for every model, the "reference design".

Oh okay, so if I wanted, instead of going with AMD Radeon, I could go with an Nvidia Geforce GTX?

Yep, no problemo.

You need 1x PCIe x16 slot. If oyu have that (you have) you can put any PCIe GPU in there and it will work fine.

However some draw mroe power than others and some are very long and might not fit (that'
s what she said).

So what is your PSU (model/make) and Case (model/make)?

 

[AaronDDB]

All cards and brand will suit it.

It is what performance level you want and how much you want to pay.

The onyl difference in manufacturer is cooling solution, warranty and factory OC. The rest is based onthe same PCB for every model, the "reference design".

Oh okay, so if I wanted, instead of going with AMD Radeon, I could go with an Nvidia Geforce GTX?

Yep, no problemo.

You need 1x PCIe x16 slot. If oyu have that (you have) you can put any PCIe GPU in there and it will work fine.

However some draw mroe power than others and some are very long and might not fit (that'
s what she said).

So what is your PSU (model/make) and Case (model/make)?

Ah nice!
Well according to the box, I have no PSU, but have PSU support, which is ATX...

 

[DasHotShot]

Well no...you have top have a PSU (power supply) unless your PC runs on Unicorn tears.

 

[AaronDDB]

Well no...you have top have a PSU (power supply) unless your PC runs on Unicorn tears.

Maybe it runs on that then, but it says on the box 'PSU' and it has ticked 'No PSU' but maybe the people I bought it off put one in or something, I don't know. Anyways, I checked on ebay where I bought it from, and it says that I have a 500W power supply.

 

[DasHotShot]

Ok, chances are you have a generic cheap 500 w supply then (you HAVE to have a PSU to operate a PC, this is not optional).

So you can pick any PCIe x16 GPU (most mainstream graphics cards from the past 5 years onwards).

I suggest looking into an 80+ rated bronze or better PSU with 450w-500w too.

 

[AaronDDB]

Ok, chances are you have a generic cheap 500 w supply then (you HAVE to have a PSU to operate a PC, this is not optional).

So you can pick any PCIe x16 GPU (most mainstream graphics cards from the past 5 years onwards).

I suggest looking into an 80+ rated bronze or better PSU with 450w-500w too.

Okay, so I can buy the AMD R9 280X?
Right, so I have to buy a PSU then yeah?

 

[DasHotShot]

Especially if you plan on a 2xx series AMD card which are power hungry, you want a quality PSU replacement, yes.

 

[AaronDDB]

Especially if you plan on a 2xx series AMD card which are power hungry, you want a quality PSU replacement, yes.

Alright cheers dude. Is this gonna give me a stupidly large electricity bill?

 

[DasHotShot]

Especially if you plan on a 2xx series AMD card which are power hungry, you want a quality PSU replacement, yes.

Alright cheers dude. Is this gonna give me a stupidly large electricity bill?

This is the golden point.

Many kids on this forum don't pay for electricity, so they don't care about efficiency.

The more efficient the PSU, the less it draws from the wall to achieve the advertised wattage.

A generic 500w supply (might not even deliver 500w) will be maybe 60-70% efficient at best. That means it needs about 800w or more to deliver 500w.

A platinum or gold rated supply, with over 90% efficiency will give you 500w and only need 550 or so to do that. Makes a huge difference as the hours roll on.

The more efficient and high quality the PSU, the more it costs.

It almost always makes sense to buy the best PSU you can afford right now, to save hundreds even thousands over the years in electricity.

 

[AaronDDB]

Especially if you plan on a 2xx series AMD card which are power hungry, you want a quality PSU replacement, yes.

Alright cheers dude. Is this gonna give me a stupidly large electricity bill?

This is the golden point.

Many kids on this forum don't pay for electricity, so they don't care about efficiency.

The more efficient the PSU, the less it draws from the wall to achieve the advertised wattage.

A generic 500w supply (might not even deliver 500w) will be maybe 60-70% efficient at best. That means it needs about 800w or more to deliver 500w.

A platinum or gold rated supply, with over 90% efficiency will give you 500w and only need 550 or so to do that. Makes a huge difference as the hours roll on.

The more efficient and high quality the PSU, the more it costs.

It almost always makes sense to buy the best PSU you can afford right now, to save hundreds even thousands over the years in electricity.

Yeah, I get you.
Alright sweet dude, so I should probably aim for Platinum or Gold PSU then.
Cheers for all your help, dude!