Can I upgrade my GPU?

[MsCactus]

Hi, I am planning on upgrading my gpu. I don't know if my system is compatable to install a GTX970....

My current specs are:
Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bits)
Processor: i7-2600 @ 3,40 Ghz
Ram: 8GB
Video Card: GTX560 (does need an upgrade jup..)
Motherboard: (this is what I found..) MedionPC MS-7728
Direct X: Direct X 11
I have a 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) 60Hz monitor

Hope this is what's needed...

I really want to play the new games like AC: Unity and FC4 and CoD AW on high settings so that's why I'm planning to upgrade ;)

Thanks for ur help ;)

[rotNdude]

Open the side panel of the computer and give us the specs on the power supply label or give us a link to the prebuilt make and model number.

[MsCactus]

It's A Medion Akoya P5385D (everything In it is still original) Other numbers I found: P5385D-LB and productnumber: 80015901

[andrew]

Get a GTX970 like you want, then if it doesn't work (or it's laggy or crashes) get a new power supply (at least 700 watts). The power supply will only cost you about $100, and chances are you won't even need it.

[MsCactus]

And my motherboard? I do know I can't upgrade my ram becouse it's made for just 8GB of ram so it doesn't have problems with my Motherboard? :D

[FluffyPinkDecoyBunny]

The GTX 970 card will work in your motherboard.

i can't find specifics as to what PSU the computer you have is built with; you either have to look at the lable on the PSU to see brand/model/specifications or you may just as well need to have the PSU replaced. I'm guessing it's probably some 400W (maybe 350 at the very least). You want to run a quality 550W PSU if you're looking to upgrade to a more powerful video card.

[MsCactus]

I have a 450w power suply (model no: FSP450-60EMDN) its from fsp group inc.

[Azza ☠]

Yeah, your biggest bang for buck would be that GTX 970 graphics card - it uses less power than others (min: 500W) to do high/ultra game settings at 1920x1080 (1080p), no sweat. It will give you about 5 times the performance increase, so well worth the upgrade.

You don't need to worry about your ram - 8GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 is optimal for gaming purposes. Games won't need more, only multi-tasking or applications. The games love the video memory in the graphics card instead - 4,096 MB vs 1,024 MB (4x more memory of your current card).

EDIT:

Didn't see your PSU (Power Supply Unit), you will need at least 500W PSU to run the GTX 970. If your also looking to replace that, then I highly recommend Seasonic as the leading PSU brand, something like the Seasonic X Series 750W is extremely good.

If you don't wish to replace the PSU, then perhaps a Nvidia GTX 660 Ti could run on it. It would be an alright upgrade for mid/high settings at 1080p.

[Andrius227]

Your cpu might be a problem. I have the exact same cpu and a gtx 680 and i already get bottlenecked by the cpu in quite a few games. Like, really badly. Seen some games where my gpu usage is under 60% but my framerate is dropping below 50 or 40... The problem is that this cpu can't be overclocked and most games don't fully support all 4 cores/8threads.

A gtx970 is a lot more powerfull and you would have even more trouble using it's full power. Maybe not in all games, but it will be a problem.

An example, i just started playing Dragon age 2, just to get some lore and stuff before Inquisition. Gpu usage stays in 50-70% range, but framerate still drops below 50 very often. My monitoring program shows 4 threads being used out of 8. I'm worried that i will have to play inquisition on medium settings because of cpu, unless they optimised it really well to use all 8 threads.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

You can get cheap but good quality EVGA 600B PSU if you want to run GTX 970.
(EVGA 100-B1-0600-KR)

You could also get GTX 770 about $100 cheaper then GTX 970, considering your outdated CPU might not be too bad choice. Better PSU like that 600W EVGA would be needed either way.
With your current PSU you wont be running much higher then R9 270 card.

[MsCactus]

O my...... So my cpu needs upgrading as well. Didn't expect that though mhost games just require a quad core cpu..... I really don't have the money to buy a new cpu as well..... I was hoping that just a new gpu would do the job...

[_I_]

2nd gen i7 should be fine yet

most likely you can upgrade it to an i7 3770

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

You can also just get the GTX 970 and better PSU and not really worry about that 15-20% performance bottleneck.
It would still be miles better experience in games then GTX 560 and your GTX 970 would be good for years and fine to use in another PC if you want to upgrade more in future.

[Andrius227]

Yes, i agree, futureproofing is good, even if you can't fully use that gpu right now. That cpu should be ok for a year or two i guess. You may find some games that run like total cr@p, but you may also find games that run super smooth. I mean i can still play all games on at least medium settings, cpu bottlenecking mostly starts when i max out my games, and even then some games run fine at max.

[XCT3]

AFAIK, Medion (still) uses a PCIe white list and there is no hacked BIOS available for the MS-7728. An MSI card might work. Contact Medion to make sure and please let us know.

A GTX560 (150 W max) can run 2018 games like Quake Champions at 1080p, probably faster than the minimum spec of a GT730 (25 W) (60 is twice 30, and gen 5 vs gen 7 doesn't really matter). 25 watt can be cooled passively though, which eliminates fan noise especially prominent in small GPU fans.

Before you upgrade, note which part the task manager performance tab often says is maxed out. Most likely the RAM. If you don't want to reduce the amount of active tabs in your browser (say by The Great Suspender or OneTab) then maxing out the RAM (2 times 8GB for about 100 USD with lifetime warranty, check your motherboard specs for the fastest supported type) helps. If games load slowly, then an SSD helps to more than halve the load times.