PC Compatibility question with upgrading hardware

[nicoBICO]

I custom build a PC on the Dell website with some advice from a tech buddy. About 1200 dollars all together when I bought it.

Pretty happy with the machine, but lately I've been playing some Triple-A games like "Shadow of Mordor" or "AC4" which on my system run like potato. I'm a little salty about the performance, so I'm willing to spend a couple hundred bucks in order to boost my PC.

I'd really like to increase my PC capability and I'm also interested with actually tinkering with my PC. I'm thinking I should upgrade my graphics card, but I don't want to spend more than 500 dollars. Also, if I get a beast graphics card will there be some sort of compatibility issues? Will I have to upgrade something else in order for it to even matter?

Right now these are my pc specs as it stands
(Not even sure what is most important to show off):

Windows 8.1 (Regreattable Decision) 64-bit

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770 CPU @ 3.40GHz (8CPUs), ~3.4GHz

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 645

16 GB RAM

1TB Hard drive

DirectX 11

I've probably left something out, so if there is any spec that is completely necesarry to include I'll be happy to include it.

For Inspiration to reply with godly information:

I present you a gif of a ladybug playing with sprinkles on Imgur:

http://imgur.com/gallery/g48Csck

[DanTheKraut]

Change the graphic card as example upcoming GTX 970 (will be around 350$) or the available 280x (costs around 300$) or if you want to spend more than that the 290 Tri OC (380$) which dominates atm when it comes to performance/price.
I wouldn't go with the Nvidia 700 Series as the upcoming 900 Series is better in every way even when it comes to the price.

Power supply should be around 500 to 550 and Memory about 8 GB (you need to check this). You can also enhance the general performance with a SSD this won't give you more FPS but will speed up loading times.

Your CPU is defnitly fine!

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Dell systems; look on the sticker where it shows the Dell label w/ Model#
If u provide us with the "Service Tag" Dell provides on your sticker label; we can look that up online and see the full specs of your system.

Ultimately; I do not understand why anyone would pay that much for a desktop from Dell; that is way overkill in cost and for that amount u could have built your own system from scratch and had a very decent gaming PC.

What is ultimately lacking is the GPU. For those two games in particular u will want at least a NVIDIA GTX 660 Ti 2GB -or- AMD R9 270; or better.

But a better GPU upgrade, u most likely would require the need to upgrade/change out the Power Supply. But if u provide the service tag, it should state the wattage of Power Supply in the specs.

[nicoBICO]

Messaggio originale di Bad-Motha:

Dell systems; look on the sticker where it shows the Dell label w/ Model#
If u provide us with the "Service Tag" Dell provides on your sticker label; we can look that up online and see the full specs of your system.

Ultimately; I do not understand why anyone would pay that much for a desktop from Dell; that is way overkill in cost and for that amount u could have built your own system from scratch and had a very decent gaming PC.

What is ultimately lacking is the GPU. For those two games in particular u will want at least a NVIDIA GTX 660 Ti 2GB -or- AMD R9 270; or better.

But a better GPU upgrade, u most likely would require the need to upgrade/change out the Power Supply. But if u provide the service tag, it should state the wattage of Power Supply in the specs.

The product ID? or is that something else?

Messaggio originale di DanTheKraut:

Change the graphic card as example upcoming GTX 970 (will be around 350$) or the available 280x (costs around 300$) or if you want to spend more than that the 290 Tri OC (380$) which dominates atm when it comes to performance/price.
I wouldn't go with the Nvidia 700 Series as the upcoming 900 Series is better in every way even when it comes to the price.

Power supply should be around 500 to 550 and Memory about 8 GB (you need to check this). You can also enhance the general performance with a SSD this won't give you more FPS but will speed up loading times.

Your CPU is defnitly fine!

I'll look into GTX 970. What if I shoot lower? Will it be fine? Ultimetely I'm shooting a smooth 60+ fps with ultra settings, for kicks.

[DanTheKraut]

Messaggio originale di neeknator:

Messaggio originale di DanTheKraut:

Change the graphic card as example upcoming GTX 970 (will be around 350$) or the available 280x (costs around 300$) or if you want to spend more than that the 290 Tri OC (380$) which dominates atm when it comes to performance/price.
I wouldn't go with the Nvidia 700 Series as the upcoming 900 Series is better in every way even when it comes to the price.

Power supply should be around 500 to 550 and Memory about 8 GB (you need to check this). You can also enhance the general performance with a SSD this won't give you more FPS but will speed up loading times.

Your CPU is defnitly fine!

I'll look into GTX 970. What if I shoot lower? Will it be fine? Ultimetely I'm shooting a smooth 60+ fps with ultra settings, for kicks.

Depends on your resolution and the game for 1920x1080 you should be fine for most games (excluding Crysis and a few others which are already released) with a 280x or a 970 to make them playable with a smooth feeling which doesn't mean you will hit 60 fps all the time (sometimes more and sometimes less). I read that Shadow of Mordor needs a 6 GB GPU for the highest settings otherwise it stutters.

You can always go lower but when it comes to nvidia I would definitly say the benefits of the 900 Series are worth to wait.

[nicoBICO]

alright thank you sir.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Messaggio originale di neeknator:

The product ID? or is that something else?

Should be a Dell logo sticker on your desktop chassis that shows "Service Tag" and "Express Service Tag"

Either tag id would do. I simply input this into Dell.com/support to view the product specs fully.

Overall if your budget allows, GTX 970 would be VERY good GPU and be capable of maxing pretty much any games @ 1080p

However, u will need to look inside the system and look on the Power Supply unit for specs. As you will want a quality 500-watts or more unit to meet the minimum requirements of such a GPU. As a GPU like GT 640 is quite low-end and thus they would have also most likely included a low-end PSU to go with that; of approx 300-400 watts.

[100% Recycled Awesome]

If you're really interested in tinkering, you should just build it yourself.

Also, Dell always gimps you on PSU.

For $1,000 you could build something way better than anything Dell will sell you for $1,000

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zcZf23

i7 4770, GTX 970, 8GB RAM. $1,041

[Bad 💀 Motha]

FYI, if the system is brand new, u could complain to Dell and do a return+refund with them.

[VisciousFishes]

Messaggio originale di 100% Recycled Awesome:

If you're really interested in tinkering, you should just build it yourself.

Also, Dell always gimps you on PSU.

For $1,000 you could build something way better than anything Dell will sell you for $1,000

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zcZf23

i7 4770, GTX 970, 8GB RAM. $1,041

+1 - stay away from pre-built systems, especially from Dell. Dell don't build their systems with good airflow around the cases, as far as I am aware.

[nicoBICO]

At this point the system is about half a year old. Also, reading over the numbers again, I'm positive I've spent more than a hundred dollars than what I initially said. About 200 I'm sure. Also my machine is in a large case. It looks like a monster. It is an XPS 8700, and from what I've gathered on some random GEForce forums, GTX 970 isn't even working with the machine yet :/

Also, I'm really interested in GTX 980 for the future. I'm thinking of saving up for that. I use amazon, but I having a hard time finding it, becaus eit appears to be like there is more than one type of gtx 980. On the Geforece website it says amazon sells it so that is not an issue :)

Wondering... is this it? http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-GTX980-4GD5-Graphics-Cards/dp/B00NJ9BJQ8/ref=br_lf_m_10052256011_1_5_ttl?ie=UTF8&s=pc&pf_rd_p=1928288722&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=10052256011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=00Q47DMSV965VD1PKP5G

[BOSMEN]

alright thank you sir.

[nicoBICO]

is this it? what are the differences between prices? anyone?

This one has a super deal so this looks good to me

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-256bit-Graphics-04G-P4-0974-KR/dp/B00NI64A7C/ref=br_lf_m_10052256011_1_1_ttl?ie=UTF8&s=pc&pf_rd_p=1928288722&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=10052256011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1TRM0A5VTMNPA7EE4P68

[100% Recycled Awesome]

Messaggio originale di neeknator:

is this it? what are the differences between prices? anyone?

970s are going to range from $329 to $359 based on their coolers, who makes it and overclocking. Performance between them isn't going to be significantly large, but the overclocked ones should perform a little better.

[nicoBICO]

ok thanks. How new are the 980s?

[Azza ☠]

If your shooting for 1080p (1920x1080) resolutions with high to ultra settings running smoothly at 60fps+, then the GTX 970 is your biggest bang for your buck and more than enough. Plus when DirectX 12 arrives it will be boosted even more.

I'm using the GTX 780 for 1440p at ultra, the GTX 970 is meant to have double the memory bandwidth, more performance, while using less power, and has become it's replacement. It was rated the best performance for cost pick for 2014.

GTX 980 is uber insane, if your got the cash and want to go into 1440p / 4K UltraHD resolutions on duel/tri screen monitor setups while still running at ultra settings. At 1080p, you will however not notice much performance gain for the cost difference.

It will gain you approx 9-10 times the performance juice of your graphics card which you have currently. GTX 645 was never designed with gaming purposes in mind.

Suggest the duel fan models - better components, cooler, quieter, with more performance:

Asus GTX 970 (Strix) DirectCU II
or
EVGA GTX 970 with ACX 2.0 Cooler

You won't go wrong, they are serious beasts!