Thanks for reading!

 

I just bought THIS computer from Best Buy for $400.

 

It has integrated graphics and they're okay but i'd like something better. It takes a PCI Express x16 graphics card. Any suggestions on what to buy without having to make other modifications (like changing the power supply)?

 

Your help is MOST appreciated.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Skyhijinx

Well, the main problem here is that the PSU is really weak. It's strong enough for a computer with integrated graphics, but for playing games with a dedicated video card that has enough power to match the CPU's power you will most probably have to get a PSU with at least 400W, I'm afraid. Even rather old video cards that still have some power for gaming are consuming around 200W when processing demanding games.

Well, the main problem here is that the PSU is really weak. It's strong enough for a computer with integrated graphics, but for playing games with a dedicated video card that has enough power to match the CPU's power you will most probably have to get a PSU with at least 400W, I'm afraid. Even rather old video cards that still have some power for gaming are consuming around 200W when processing demanding games.

 

Is the PSU hard to change? I know the GFX Card is plug and play but I don't know anything about the PSU.

Its very easy to change, just check where all the power cable go and you are fine.

 

And dont spent too much money on a high end video card, since the system as a whole is pretty medicore.

Edited September 13, 2013 by AMightyKnight

So it wouldn't be worth it to buy like a 500w PSU along with a new GFX card?

 

The game runs pretty good now. It will be better when I upgrade my internet from 1.5mps to 15mps tomorrow. If I got a 500w PSU, any ideas on a good card?

A Radeon 6670 can be used in dual graphics (crossfire) with the A8-5500. That's a good solution.

 

Otherwise, whatever your budget will afford you, if you don't care to crossfire it.

A Radeon 6670 can be used in dual graphics (crossfire) with the A8-5500. That's a good solution.

 

Otherwise, whatever your budget will afford you, if you don't care to crossfire it.

 

Sorry... I don't know what "crossfire" means.

That system claims to use a standard ATX form factor and a standard PSU shape, so you should be able to replace it without too many problems.

 

Now, some things to note when doing these upgrades:

 

• DO NOT cheap out on your PSU. A good 400W PSU should run you $60-80. Yes, you can find cheaper stuff, but you're going to be gaming on it, with all the power/heat demands that a gaming video card and CPU require. Cheap power supplies drastically increase your chances of random crashes, weird failures, and even hardware damage.
  
• The case claims to be a standard ATX, but I see no special heat management on it. If you're going to be running a gaming video card, its going to generate heat and you'll need to watch to make sure that's not cooking the rest of the system.
  
• Save yourself some trouble and open the case before shopping for a video card. Measure the length of the area available to you on the 16X slot (usually the closest "long" slot to the CPU). Just because the motherboard can handle a PCIe 16x card doesn't mean that every PCIe 16x card is going to fit in the case.
  
• Considering the rest of the case, I'd suggest a video card that is designed to vent out the back panel (the same panel the video connectors are on), rather than simply circulating air inside the case.
  

Sorry... I don't know what "crossfire" means.

 

Crossfire means that you can use both GPUs at the same time. You will be utilizing the discreet graphics card as well as the graphics cores on the APU, rather than having to switch between one or the other.

 

It means you'll have more graphics power than you would with the 6670 on its own.

Be sure to check the power supply "pinout" dell and hp utilize custom oem mainboards that routinely have modified power supplies that will not work or will be destroyed if force too uses normal atx powersupply.

 

 

on the card front. 200$. get a nvidia 660/660ti/560ti, or get a amd 7850.

 

*IF* it can use a normal power supply.. get a bronze or silver rated antec/enermax that has a low noise fan. get one with at least 18 *minimum amps per +12v rail.

The game runs pretty good now. It will be better when I upgrade my internet from 1.5mps to 15mps tomorrow.

 

I don't see why.

 

SWTOR doesn't use much bandwidth at all, and

Bandwidth is not a measurement of velocity

 

Sorry for the bold and color, but seriously, I see people making this mistake all over the place. Bandwidth limits are just an expression of a policy rule on your ISPs routers: In this case, you will soon be allowed to send 15 Million (or so) bits of data every second. The actual speed those bits travel at is controlled by physics, not some account setting. Simply upgrading your existing service to use a higher bandwidth cap doesn't change the speed of electricity in a wire (or photons in a cable).

 

The only reason why the game would speed up after a bandwidth cap rise is if you were already using up all of your bandwidth. That's unlikely if SWTOR was the primary application using your network. To use the car analogy: Bandwidth is not the speed limit on the highway. It is the number of lanes. A bunch of trucks aren't going to get to their destinations faster if they take a 10 lane highway instead of a 5 lane highway... unless the 5 lane highway is overloaded with traffic.

 

What you really want with SWTOR (and other online games) is better latency: a measure of how quickly a piece of data gets from your computer to its destination. However, as your ISP can only control the first fraction of that trip, there isn't much that even they can do to speed it up for you. Some exceptions apply, of course, as sometimes upgrades from 1.5Mbs to 4+MBps are also changes in physical network connectivity (such as: DSL to fiber optics, etc).

 

However, long story short: Bandwidth is not a speed. Upgrading your internet service probably won't have much impact on your game experience. It certainly won't make the graphics better.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Malastare

Crossfire means that you can use both GPUs at the same time. You will be utilizing the discreet graphics card as well as the graphics cores on the APU, rather than having to switch between one or the other.

 

Unless I misread the specs, that's not possible on his motherboard. The chipset disables the graphics on the APU whenever it detects a PCI video card.

I don't see why.

 

SWTOR doesn't use much bandwidth at all, and

Bandwidth is not a measurement of velocity

 

Sorry for the bold and color, but seriously, I see people making this mistake all over the place. Bandwidth limits are just an expression of a policy rule on your ISPs routers: In this case, you will soon be allowed to send 15 Million (or so) bits of data every second. The actual speed those bits travel at is controlled by physics, not some account setting. Simply upgrading your existing service to use a higher bandwidth cap doesn't change the speed of electricity in a wire (or photons in a cable).

 

The only reason why the game would speed up after a bandwidth cap rise is if you were already using up all of your bandwidth. That's unlikely if SWTOR was the primary application using your network. To use the car analogy: Bandwidth is not the speed limit on the highway. It is the number of lanes. A bunch of trucks aren't going to get to their destinations faster if they take a 10 lane highway instead of a 5 lane highway... unless the 5 lane highway is overloaded with traffic.

 

What you really want with SWTOR (and other online games) is better latency: a measure of how quickly a piece of data gets from your computer to its destination. However, as your ISP can only control the first fraction of that trip, there isn't much that even they can do to speed it up for you. Some exceptions apply, of course, as sometimes upgrades from 1.5Mbs to 4+MBps are also changes in physical network connectivity (such as: DSL to fiber optics, etc).

 

However, long story short: Bandwidth is not a speed. Upgrading your internet service probably won't have much impact on your game experience. It certainly won't make the graphics better.

 

Very informative. Thank you for the clarity. Certainly took the wind out of my sails but I appreciate the explanation. My current DSL service comes through the phone line. The new service will be a new line coming into my house. Not sure if that means it's the fiber optics that you speak of. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Unless I misread the specs, that's not possible on his motherboard. The chipset disables the graphics on the APU whenever it detects a PCI video card.

 

Looks like you are correct. Bummer. That's a poor design for a motherboard that is meant to work with these products. Totally misses out on maximizing performance.

Well, I suppose that's what you get for a $400 desktop. I didn't expect it to be a gaming monster; I just wanted to see what I could do to improve my experience.

Well, I suppose that's what you get for a $400 desktop. I didn't expect it to be a gaming monster; I just wanted to see what I could do to improve my experience.

 

Honestly, it's a good deal for $400. It can be upgraded a bit with a solid mid-range graphics card. No shame in this rig at all.

Honestly, it's a good deal for $400. It can be upgraded a bit with a solid mid-range graphics card. No shame in this rig at all.

 

In that case, if it was you what PSU and GFX Card would you go with using this PC?

I don't see why.

 

SWTOR doesn't use much bandwidth at all, and

Bandwidth is not a measurement of velocity

 

Sorry for the bold and color, but seriously, I see people making this mistake all over the place. Bandwidth limits are just an expression of a policy rule on your ISPs routers: In this case, you will soon be allowed to send 15 Million (or so) bits of data every second. The actual speed those bits travel at is controlled by physics, not some account setting. Simply upgrading your existing service to use a higher bandwidth cap doesn't change the speed of electricity in a wire (or photons in a cable).

 

The only reason why the game would speed up after a bandwidth cap rise is if you were already using up all of your bandwidth. That's unlikely if SWTOR was the primary application using your network. To use the car analogy: Bandwidth is not the speed limit on the highway. It is the number of lanes. A bunch of trucks aren't going to get to their destinations faster if they take a 10 lane highway instead of a 5 lane highway... unless the 5 lane highway is overloaded with traffic.

 

What you really want with SWTOR (and other online games) is better latency: a measure of how quickly a piece of data gets from your computer to its destination. However, as your ISP can only control the first fraction of that trip, there isn't much that even they can do to speed it up for you. Some exceptions apply, of course, as sometimes upgrades from 1.5Mbs to 4+MBps are also changes in physical network connectivity (such as: DSL to fiber optics, etc).

 

However, long story short: Bandwidth is not a speed. Upgrading your internet service probably won't have much impact on your game experience. It certainly won't make the graphics better.

 

5 star post right here.

 

If you have DSL, are you AT&T? Get Comcast or WOW instead if you're going to be gaming.

Yes, i'm currently on AT&T DSL (sbcglobal)

 

I'm getting Suddenlink.

My current DSL service comes through the phone line. The new service will be a new line coming into my house. Not sure if that means it's the fiber optics that you speak of. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

In that case, you probably will see an improvement in latency, but it won't be more than 20ms less than what you have now. In most cases, that's not going to have much effect at all.

 

However, your Netflix quality is gonna go way up.

In that case, if it was you what PSU and GFX Card would you go with using this PC?

 

Without getting into brand wars, you're looking at about $150, $75 for the reliable power supply and $75 for a medium-grade graphics card. Are you buying at a brick-n-mortar store like a MicroCenter or ordering online? At a store, you want a power supply with the least amount of chinese writing on the box, and if there's manufacturer's warranties, fill them out and mail them right away so if there's ever a meltdown in the power supply, you get a freebie back. Cat hair, smoking, spiderwebs, anything could gunk it up and ruin it a year or two down the road.

Edited September 13, 2013 by ImpactHound

A quick search found me this 550w PSU.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9

 

Seems well enough to a noob.

In that case, if it was you what PSU and GFX Card would you go with using this PC?

 

If it were me:

 

Corsair CX500: $60

MSI nVidia GTX 560 Ti: $180

If it were me:

 

Corsair CX500: $60

MSI nVidia GTX 560 Ti: $180

 

That card's good, but probably overkill for a best buy box.

 

Fill out the warranty card on the graphics card too, in case those fans ever die. Rarely get gunked up but the bearings can go, only happened once in the past 5 cards, I upgrade every 2 years.

A quick search found me this 550w PSU.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9.

 

Not a bad result. Not bad at all. Actually, that's a pretty good selection.

 

Its a Seasonic S12II, which is used in a number of different brands including Seasonic itself and Corsair. If you're not doing anything crazy, there's no real point in aiming higher than this. The S12II powers thousands of reliable systems.