Can I Upgrade This?

Pally321

Pally321

Active Member
So, I haven't been on here for a LONG time, but I have a small Gateway PC that takes off about 1/4 the normal size of a case in width, I was wondering, is it possible to upgrade the video card inside? Im pretty sure the one in there is one of the cards that is permanently attached to the board, but I havent been able to look up. Also, I might be able to post the serial number of it later.
 
There may be a PCI Express or AGP slot. If that's the case, then yes. But it may not fit in the case. Could you tell us the model of the computer?
 
We'll need interior pictures or a model number to give you a definitive answer. It really depends on three factors:

1. Does it have a PCI Express slot? If not, deos it have an AGP slot? If it has neither, don't bother.

2. Can the power supply support an addon video card?

3. What's the processor? If it's something old and slow, is it worth buying a dedicated video card for?
 
If you buy that computer you are foolish. These days, for that price you could go i5 sandy bridge and geforce 560ti or a new radeon. Other specs like hdd capacity and ram would be about the same, but it would be considerably faster.
 
What would you reccomend? Keep in mind I would like it pre-built, don't want to go through the hassle of building one.
 
Don't rule out building your own PC so quickly; It's not as difficult as you might think, and you typically get better parts for your money. (Especially if someone you know is in college and can buy you a copy of Windows 7 at a heavy discount.)

Whether you buy prebuilt or DIY, there's no reason to buy an AMD processor. Sandy Bridge wipes the floor with the Athlon/Phenom II, and the word on the street is Bulldozer isn't the giant leap forward AMD needs to catch up. Intel has a processor for every budget, and the entire current lineup is interchangeable. (You could start with a Pentium G840 then eventually step up to an i5 without replacing any other parts.)

You can get a Dell Optiplex 790 with an i5 2500 for about $599. (Pretty close to what you'd pay for a similar set of base components plus a boxed copy of Windows 7 Home Premium.) Throw in a $170 GTX 560 and a $42 8 gb RAM upgrade and you've got a better computer than you'd get with that HP for not too much more money. (And a free copy of Arkham City, from a promotion with the video card.) It will handle everything you can throw at it for years.

Don't forget to check your local Craigslist or Kijiji to see if anyone around you is trying to sell their old PC at a decent price. You might not get the latest and greatest, but there's still a lot you can do with a Core 2 Duo E8xxx or Quad 9xxx series processor.
 
Hey now Bic, we should at least give AMD a chance to release some BIOS updates and such before giving any criticism towards the thing. I mean, didn't Gulftown also have an issue at launch before Intel released a BIOS update?(Not sure if this is correct, though)
 
Sandy Bridge quads are nice, but for gaming even a dualie will outperform the AMD hexacore. You can probably get a better videocard than the HD 6850. Personally, I would go with nVidia on drivers alone, but that's just me. There's one more problem with those pre-built PCs. They are junk. The hardware is the lowest-grade garbage available, the build quality is flax and the power supply is almost certainly not good enough.
 
I get what you guys are saying, but im on a tight budget, if I had the money I'd gladly build a PC but I can't go over $700. Also, I've actually never used an AMD processor or video card, all of my PCs have used Intel, I just thought this would be good. If I can build a PC for $700 or less that can play Battlefield 3 or other intensive games like Crysis on high settings, i'll gladly do it, I just need to know what know what would be the best deal.
 
Pally321 said:
... Crysis on high settings, i'll gladly do it...
Click to expand...

I tried the Crysis Pre-Release demo on my PC and it was very comfy to play with when all options are set to High. There are a few frame drops I noticed when lots of stuff is flying around but aside from that it runs nice and easy.

Main Specs:
viewtopic.php?f=41&t=7453

  • GIGABYTE M68MT nForce 630a Socket AM3 Motherboard
    AMD Phenom II 1055T Six Core Processor
    Corsair CMX4GX3M1A1333C9 XMS3 4GB DDR3 RAM
    Western Digital 500GB Caviar Blue Hard Drive
    DiabloTek Elite 450W PSU ATX Mid Tower Case

Total Cost of Main Parts: $335 without rebates.

Then I added an AMD Radeon HD6770 and this runs everything I throw on it. But then again, I'm not a PC gamer anymore so I can only confirm that I can run Crysis at 25-40fps on 1280x720 8xAA and DJMAX Trilogy at 1920x1080 at Maximum settings at 650-1500fps.
 
be880f990f5866b601eff1acc3f465f8.png

Video card has a $20 off rebate.
You can thank me later.
 
p8YK6.png

This is better than what Mako posted. Asus mobo versus ASrock (which is flax, from what I hear), and cheaper. You could substitute [urlhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422]this ram[/url] if you want to have 8gb. It would only be $10 more.
 
Just curious, is the video card the same? I see its a geforce 560, but will I get the same framerate?
 
Only difference is manufacturer, so far as I know. Its possible one or the other is clocked slightly different, but at the top end the difference would be +/-2%. I dont think they are, though.

EDIT: I wasnt paying attention. The one I posted is a 560, which is rather less powerful than the 560Ti that mako posted. So go with that one. Its only $10 more anyway.
 
560Ti is faster, silly.
Also, ASRock is by no means bad as long as you go for their $80+ motherboards.
 
Mako321 said:
560Ti is faster, silly.
Also, ASRock is by no means bad as long as you go for their $80+ motherboards.
Click to expand...
Oh. I didnt actually notice the one isnt a Ti. And why bother with a $80+ ASrock board when a cheaper Asus is still better?
 
'Cause I like the look of an ATX board in an ATX case.
Also, did I mention?
HAW HAW HAW ROSEWILL PSU
HAVE FUN WITH IT DYING OR EXPLODING IN THE NEXT 4 MONTHS.
 
Reviews on that power supply are fine. Besides, that stuff is all interchangeable. You can find almost any brand at that price.
 
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