Gaming PC upgrade 8 July 2015 at 3:09PM in Gaming MoneySaving 9 replies 1.3K views

ben_m_g

Currently i'm running an overclocked i3 (4.7?) a Nvidia 460 and 4 gig of ram, with a 500GB HD

I am hoping to get it upgraded to run fallout 4 when it's released and (after suggestions from the board) am looking at arkham knight as a reference.

Frankly, it doesn't have to run 60 fps, I don't use enough to warrant spending big bucks on it, but I would like any upgrade to be worth while (i.e. not having to upgrade again in a few years to keep up).

I am at a loss with graphics cards, I can see what is recommended, but there seems to be a lot of the same spec for very different prices.

If I remember rightly, changing type of card is a lot more involved than I thought, and I have no personal preference.

What would be recommended?

d70cw6

i would expect your system to cope ok at moderate detail levels and at 1080p or less. You may want to invest in a newer card such as a 960 or amd equivalent.

remember that the game is being designed to work on ps4/xbone also which limits overall requirements somewaht

Cisco001

How much you willing to spend?

ben_m_g

I don't really want to spend over £150 total, I have no idea what that will get me.

bluenoseam

I'd think you'd need to go up to 8gb of ram & probably look to get something like a 280x radeon or a 960/970 nvidia to get it to run properly which will probably set you back over the £150 mark all in.

Problem is if you go for the 280x they're power hungry, so upgrading your graphics may also require an upgrade of your power supply adding another few quid into it.

PenguinJim

An overclockable i3...? That might be a first-gen, but 4.7GHz still sounds scary-high. But as it's only an i3, you can forget about AMD graphics cards - they're more CPU-dependent, and your CPU will be holding them back.

If you can stretch to £168, this and this will put your PC far ahead of the latest consoles. Because you're going Nvidia -> Nvidia, you should just be able to swap the cards, and when you install the latest Nvidia drivers, choose "Clean Install". But before ordering, open up your PC and make sure you have an available RAM slot.

If you really cannot go beyond £150, you can save £53 and get this graphics card instead - that plus the RAM will cost £115 total. A 750 Ti graphics card is extremely efficient in power/heat, and can keep up with a PS4 comfortably. For example, it can play Grand Theft Auto V on "High" settings at over 60 frames per second (PS4 can only manage 30FPS).

Next Wednesday is "Amazon Prime Day" or something at Amazon, so you might want to sign up for the free 30-day trial of Prime and see if there's a deal on a GTX 960 there next week. Like you say, it should be worth spending a little bit more now and having it last much, much longer.

ben_m_g

bluenoseam wrote: »

I'd think you'd need to go up to 8gb of ram & probably look to get something like a 280x radeon or a 960/970 nvidia to get it to run properly which will probably set you back over the £150 mark all in.

Problem is if you go for the 280x they're power hungry, so upgrading your graphics may also require an upgrade of your power supply adding another few quid into it.

I forgot to note down my PSU size, I will try to take a look tonight to see what i'm running.

ben_m_g

PenguinJim wrote: »

An overclockable i3...? That might be a first-gen, but 4.7GHz still sounds scary-high. But as it's only an i3, you can forget about AMD graphics cards - they're more CPU-dependent, and your CPU will be holding them back.

If you can stretch to £168, this and this will put your PC far ahead of the latest consoles. Because you're going Nvidia -> Nvidia, you should just be able to swap the cards, and when you install the latest Nvidia drivers, choose "Clean Install". But before ordering, open up your PC and make sure you have an available RAM slot.

If you really cannot go beyond £150, you can save £53 and get this graphics card instead - that plus the RAM will cost £115 total. A 750 Ti graphics card is extremely efficient in power/heat, and can keep up with a PS4 comfortably. For example, it can play Grand Theft Auto V on "High" settings at over 60 frames per second (PS4 can only manage 30FPS).

Next Wednesday is "Amazon Prime Day" or something at Amazon, so you might want to sign up for the free 30-day trial of Prime and see if there's a deal on a GTX 960 there next week. Like you say, it should be worth spending a little bit more now and having it last much, much longer.

I brought the unit as a "stable overclock" no idea what that means if i'm honest.
I will check out your links later and see what comes on Wednesday.

Thanks.

ben_m_g

Sorry for the slow reply, my power supply is labelled "tx650W".
Would this be enough to handle the upgrade (assuming I went ahead on suggestions above).

bluenoseam

Definitely enough for the 380 4gb card & I think it's enough for everything up to dual chip cards or multi card setups, neither of which I think applies here.