Need advice on upgrades!

[rothery]

Hi, im brand new to pc customising, I had a pc built for me a while back and frankly it just isnt cutting it. My specs are:

CPU: 2.1Ghz AMD A6-3500 APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics
RAM: 16GB
OS: Microsoft Windows 8 (build 9200), 64-bit
Video card: ATI Radeon HD 5400 Series
Power supply: 500w

My assumption is that the video card is the issue, but frankly I know very little. Any suggestions as to what I need to upgrade would be very much appreciated, but be aware that I'm on a pretty tight budget. Thanks!

 

[EarthDog]

What is the budget exactly for this upgrade? And for your sake, what brand is the PSU? Can you provide a link?

Also, why are you upgrading? For gaming I assume (you mention the vidoe card being the issue so...)

 

[rothery]

Wow thanks for getting back so quickly. I dont know what brand the PSU is as i havent actually opened it i can just see that is says max 500w through the clear section of the case. I will open it if its important.

budget is around £100, no idea if thats going to get me anywhere.

Yes the upgrades are for gaming, it will play games but only on the lowest graphic settings.

 

[EarthDog]

The power supply is one of the most important parts of the PC. A lot of the time they are garbage. ANd if they are garbage, they can (at worst) take out your entire system. I just want to make sure that you have something decent there before you upgrade your GPU.

That said, for that budget look for a 750Ti in your neck of the woods.

 

[rothery]

The power supply is one of the most important parts of the PC. A lot of the time they are garbage. ANd if they are garbage, they can (at worst) take out your entire system. I just want to make sure that you have something decent there before you upgrade your GPU.

That said, for that budget look for a 750Ti in your neck of the woods.

I think the Psu says Winpower on it?

win power sl-8500btx

 

[EarthDog]

Heh.. no clue on that thing... I can't find anything on it to see what is actually inside of it. But 65% efficiency is TERRIBLE.. Like 2004 terrible. Things are 85-90%+ efficient these days...

 

[rothery]

What power supply would you recommend? Are they easy to fit? Also would the 750ti be a large improvement?

 

[EarthDog]

Yeah that thing is a POS it seems Its really 400W PSU but rated at 500W to start...: http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=24248

I would say something like this would be fine: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

750ti is a marked improvement over a 54xx series card. Look up some reviews of the 750ti and see... I believe we reviewed one as well on our front page.

 

[rothery]

Yeah that thing is a POS it seems Its really 400W PSU but rated at 500W to start...: http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=24248

I would say something like this would be fine: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

750ti is a marked improvement over a 54xx series card. Look up some reviews of the 750ti and see... I believe we reviewed one as well on our front page.

Looks like lot of cables with the power supply. Can any novice fit that??

Also could you please have a quick look and this and tell me if its the right one? MSI N750Ti TF 2GD5/OC - NVIDIA GTX 750Ti GAMING 1085MHz (Boost 1163MHz) 540..

Thanks for your time

 

[EarthDog]

Any 750ti... but that is a 750ti, yep.

The plugs only fit where they are supposed to go, so it is easy.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Looks like the GTX 750 Ti uses less power than a GT 640!

I thought all GTXs required an external power plug to get the power needed for the render power!

 

[rothery]

Looks like the GTX 750 Ti uses less power than a GT 640!

I thought all GTXs required an external power plug to get the power needed for the render power!

Does the corsair Psu linked earlier supply that?

 

[EarthDog]

Yes. It is a 6 pin pcie adapter if it is required. Commonly they come in 6+2 for as more powerful gpus use the 8 pin.

 

[caddi daddi]

if your new to changing things in the case, grab a camera and take some pics before you start removing things that way you have them to refer to.

I agree, big time with the others, get a good power supply first, it kind of suck that you don't gain anything from it but it protects the things we are going to spend money on.

 

[rothery]

Seems like sound advice to me. Its my brothers pc so his money that will be spent. I'll be installing any new parts though so I will take some photos before I start. Thanks.

 

[bob4933]

A potato will be an upgrade over that 5450 xD

the 750ti has incredible performance/$, you wont regret it.

There are also TWO versions of it, one has an external power supply needed, and one runs off the PCIE bus. From what I've seen when I was researching that card, USUALLY the external powered ones overclocked marginally better, but it really wasn't enough to matter.

 

[Mjolnir]

The MSI doesn't require the external connector. The standard evga models do not either. I recommend these models for ease of use. The Asus gigabyte and ftw evga require a power connector.

I use the evga gtx 750 Ti super clocked single fan model. Completely silent and cool running. Has my vote! But stick to ones that don't require the extra power IMO. There's no difference. My one managed 1400mhz core anyway without one..

 

[rothery]

Whilst i have all of your attention, all this talking about improving my brother pc has made me start wanting my own lol. What do you think of this build?

http://www.geforce.co.uk/whats-new/guides/geforce-gtx-750-ti-mini-itx-pc-build-guide

Its only using a 300w PSU as far as i can tell though so a little confused there.

 

[rothery]

actually following the link its a 450w PSU

 

[Mjolnir]

It's a great little build though it's also a little bit old. Still using Ivy bridge. We're on Haswell refresh now.

I've used the case for my parents office rig, nice little case. Would do well with a gtx 750 Ti for sure. . But unless you need the form factor it may be cheaper to get something more 'standard' (ps08 with Silverstone essentials psu etc)