What to Upgrade?!

[JohnnyP159]

(Short Explanation for those who don't want to read the whole thing: What I should improve in my PC Specs so I could get a 'Good' gameplay? When I say good I mean playing a new game (ex. GTA V, Battlefield 4, Horizon, etc.) on high settings while it's running smoothly without any lags, except for when there's a ton of things like explosions.)


So Hey Guys,
Lately I've been back a bit at gaming and I when I started playing, I remembered I have had and still have a problem with my computer running even the most basic games. I have to run GTA SA (A really old game for those who don't know) on the lowest settings just to get an average gameplay. If there are explosions in the game for example, it would lag a bit. Another example is Minecraft. I know that lately it's been requiring better PC specs, but even in partially old versions, I still have to put it on lowest setting to run it in a modest speed.

I've asked many people what I should improve in my PC Specs so I could get a 'Good' gameplay. When I say good I mean playing a new game (ex. GTA V, Battlefield 4, Horizon, etc.) on high settings while it's running smoothly without any lags, except for when there's a ton of things like explosions. But all the answers I got until now are un-certain and I also got many different answers that each one says something different and some even say opposite things. So I decided to try my luck here to check if I could get a certain answer.

From what I understood I just probably need a GPU or Graphics card or something, but even if I do, I'm not sure which ones I should buy.

I don't understand much about computers that's why I'm asking and this is the all the info I know I could provide of my specs:


DxDiag:

Spoiler

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System Information
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Time of this report: 5/7/2017, 20:25:11
Machine name: JOHNNY-PC
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_ldr.170307-1800)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: P55-USB3
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.8GHz
Memory: 12288MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 12284MB RAM
Page File: 4448MB used, 20116MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
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Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 9400 GT
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0641&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4071 MB
Dedicated Memory: 487 MB
Shared Memory: 3583 MB
Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Acer LCD Monitor X203W
Monitor Model: Acer X203W
Monitor Id: ACR0008
Native Mode: 1680 x 1050(p) (59.883Hz)
Output Type: DVI
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um
Driver File Version: 9.18.0013.4144 (English)
Driver Version: 9.18.13.4144
DDI Version: 10
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 2/20/2015 10:43:24, 17559432 bytes

If there's any need for anything other than this, tell me.

 

[JohnnyP159]

5fos was a typo, he meant 5fps. You know what fps is?

Fitting a graphics card is a question of length, if you know what case you have i can tell you exactly how much length you have to work with. If not, you need to measure: http://www.antec.com/images/product_detail/One/Big/03.jpg

Ah yes, I know what fps is, but an extra fan would only make a difference of maximum 5 fps? I thought that fans are really important for the performance of the computer. And btw now it's a $10 difference so do you think it's worth it?

Regarding the case, I don't know how to check, but I'm hoping these could help:

I posted multiple pictures in-case one or two of them isn't clear enough

 

[LucoTF]

No its the boost clock and memory clock that affect fps, the different fan designs just help keep the card cool. But there aren't major differences between the 1050ti series, not in performance or temperature. That's why we're both saying just get the cheapest one you can find on the day (or the one you like the look of)

So you have plenty of room in your case. The windforce one is 230mm long and it will fit no problem in your case by the looks of it.

Here's one more new thing for you to learn - cable management 😉

 

[JohnnyP159]

Great! Thanks again!
And yeah, I really do need to do a bit of cable organization, hehe. Probably will do it when I get the graphics card.

 

[LucoTF]

Im only pulling your leg mate lol. I used to be a bit of a cable freak but these days my approach to cable management is having a non windowed case 😀

 

[JohnnyP159]

Haha, well I already have the non-windowed case dealt with 😛 but I believe that cable management will be good because it might relief me in the future when trying to fix something or trying to figure out where a problem is in case I have one. I also saw in some video where they say that having cables all around may block some of the air flow and decrease efficiency. But after some thought, there is also a pro side of it where it's easier to trace which cable goes to where and make the fix time much smaller in case I need to fix it (if there are like zip-ties and some cables closed together to make it look nicer).

Btw, just ordered the gtx 1050ti at $118 and will be here in about a week or so. I might update this post in case I'll need more help or if I'll want to update you guys about it

 

[JohnnyP159]

So I bought it, it works Great! Games run pretty smoothly on the highest graphics! Runs between 30-60 fps. I believe it was really worth the cost, thank you very much. Luckily I bought it for around $120 and now it costs around $180. For anyone who's wondering what graphics card you should buy, I would suggest this one!

Thank you so much LucoTF and madmatt30!