Trying to help my buddy upgrade his current PC

[Birdfeather]

Hi guys I'm trying to help my buddy upgrade his current, pc and I've got zero experience on upgrading pre-manufactured pcs or if his motherboard will even take other graphics cards.

Here is his pc: Hp pavilion h8 1210

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883157154

I figure at the very least he will need a graphics card and a better power supply to support it.

His budget is set at 400$ but would prefer to keep it closer to 300 if he can. Let me know what you guys think, thank you.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I would try to just add a better graphics card and see if the results are satisfactory. An nVidia GT 750Ti does not require an external power connector and should run on that PSU, although it is a bit marginal. The FX6100 unfortunately is the first iteration of bulldozer and is not that great for gaming, plus you wont be able to overclock on an OEM system. But with a gpu upgrade you should be able to play most games at decent settings.

Otherwise, try to find out if the motherboard in that computer will support Vishera processors (FX 6300 or FX 83xx). If so you could upgrade to one of those, in which case you might want to upgrade the PSU and get a faster gpu as well.

Edit: a GT750 Ti is around 130 t0 150 dollars, depending on model/rebates/sale prices.

 

[bonehead123]

I agree with tundra, get a better gpu & see what happens, it surely wont hurt anything as the 120 is a ways beyond the "long in the tooth" stage

You could probably upgrade the PSU for ~$50-75 with something alot better, but the CPU however, might be a different story...

I've owned 6 different prebuilt/OTS HP machines over the past 10 years, and none of them could accept a different cpu....

 

[Soulkeeper]

I didn't see any mention of what psu is in that computer.
From what i've seen with these "pre-manufactured pcs" they tend to not leave much extra wiggle room in their power/cooling choices.

I agree with the above posts on the vid card assuming the PSU can handle it.

 

[Birdfeather]

I appreciate the input guys. I'm going to discuss some of the options listed above and see what my friend wants to do.

 

[cbn]

I didn't see any mention of what psu is in that computer.

It has a 300 watt PSU.

 

[Towermax]

I've owned 6 different prebuilt/OTS HP machines over the past 10 years, and none of them could accept a different cpu....

Well, this time it's possible! According to HP, this system will support the following Zambezi CPUs:

FX-4100
FX-6100
FX-8100
FX-8120
FX-8150

Scroll down this link to "Processor Upgrade Information"

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...loc:2&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=5192441#N219

 

[Birdfeather]

Wow, now that was a good find lol.

 

[escrow4]

Mystery how that even sold (running off Newegg specs) - you have Bulldozer + 10GB of RAM (10GB???) + 5400RPM 1.5TB HDD + a GT 520 aka frisbee stuffed into a case with next to no upgrade room or ventilation with a $20 cheapo firecracker PSU. ?

I'd sell it and then save up to a $1K and build a decent i5 box. I wouldn't bother upgrading it.

 

[2is]

If you're going to spend the money on a new processor, new video card, new PSU, you might was well add a motherboard, carry the ram over and have a new build. 8150+new GPU will almost certainly need a better than an OEM 300 water, and you'll surely want to OC, so you'll want a good board.

 

[Cerb]

The mobo and case look to be able to handle dual-slot cards, but the cooling for the video card, and the PSU, I'm not really keen on.

Just getting a new PSU, a GTX 750 Ti should be fine, and around $190-230. The included PSU in a Pavillion is not one I would trust to add any power draw to. Add a new case, and it's more like $300. A new case, PSU, and much faster video card than the 750 Ti, and that gets to $350+.

With that CPU, stock, I would consider an R9 280 or GTX 760 the most that would be worthwhile (if and only if the option is there to spend the whole budget for 1080P gaming).

I'm not going to spec parts, though, because just needing an upgrade is a bit vague. Is he trying to game, and having trouble? If so, then yes, a graphics card is needed, and worth it (the CPU isn't great, but the graphics card will be the main limiting factor). Current IGPs can blow away what he has. If he needs CPU performance, then that's a whole 'nother discussion.

 

[Birdfeather]

I believe the direct quote he gave me was "I just want to be able to run games at a higher settings". I'm assuming hes having issues running some games at 60 FPS. To bad I didn't build him a PC rather then him buying this one or he wouldn't have this problem.

 

[crashtech]

I second the the PSU upgrade, but I am not in the camp that believes in constraining GPU choices based on what CPU is in use. For instance, a GTX 770 that is presumably "bottlenecked" by the CPU will still perform a lot better than a 750ti in virtiually all situations. The budget allows for a 280x or GTX 770, a nice PSU, and if another fan will fit in the case, that'd be good, too. The 770 will throw less heat, but the 280x theoretically has the performance (and price) edge.

 

[2is]

I wouldn't say virtually all scenarios. With that CPU, and not being able to OC, there will be quite a few games where the CPU is easily be the limiting factor.

 

[USER8000]

The motherboard is actually an mATX 970 based one,so is a current AMD chipset:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=uk&lc=en&docname=c03117539

Funny,how you cannot buy any retail 970 mATX motherboards.

Here are some internal pictures of the case:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=uk&lc=en&docname=c02863836
http://h20435.www2.hp.com/t5/The-Ne...mline-Desktops-Tested/ba-p/64565#.U7ivqrFBk20

This GTX760 is quite short:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-772-_-Product

One of these XFX PSUs should fit:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=-1&isNodeId=1

IIRC,they will be under 150MM long.

 

[Ken g6]

Heck, you could [thread=2389797]build[/thread] a whole new, serviceable gaming PC, without OS, for ~$420. There's surely better options with the existing PC, but I'm not sure how much to keep or not keep.

 

[crashtech]

I wouldn't say virtually all scenarios. With that CPU, and not being able to OC, there will be quite a few games where the CPU is easily be the limiting factor.

I believe you. But I still think a 770 would power past a 750ti in those situations, too, though as you say it will be limited. I suppose we could debate the merits of upgrading the CPU, but to me AM3 is not really worth the effort. A PSU and GPU can be carried over into a new LGA 1150 build in 6 months time, should the performance of the old system prove unsatisfactory. Of course in 6 months time a new crop of GPUs will likely be on offer, so there's that. So many ways to skin the cat!

 

[Cerb]

I wouldn't say virtually all scenarios. With that CPU, and not being able to OC, there will be quite a few games where the CPU is easily be the limiting factor.

Once a new video card is added, yes. Right now, it's a GT 520, which is only slightly faster than a HD 6450.

A PSU + GTX 750 Ti would make a good stop-gap. A GTX 760 or R9 270X would be good to hedge on a later CPU/mobo/OS upgrade, without going overboard, IMO (FI, if he got a GTX 770 now, and didn't upgrade the CPU for another 9-12 months, it will be wasted in most games, and the next gen will be better at a lower cost). IMO, a GTX 770, or R9 280X, would only be good ideas if the OP's friend will upgrade the rest of the system before year's end, so as to be sure to be able to make use of that GPU performance before it starts to be obsolete.

 

[crashtech]

Maybe we ought to know what monitor he has before setting all this in stone.

 

[2is]

Once a new video card is added, yes. Right now, it's a GT 520, which is only slightly faster than a HD 6450.

A PSU + GTX 750 Ti would make a good stop-gap. A GTX 760 or R9 270X would be good to hedge on a later CPU/mobo/OS upgrade, without going overboard, IMO (FI, if he got a GTX 770 now, and didn't upgrade the CPU for another 9-12 months, it will be wasted in most games, and the next gen will be better at a lower cost). IMO, a GTX 770, or R9 280X, would only be good ideas if the OP's friend will upgrade the rest of the system before year's end, so as to be sure to be able to make use of that GPU performance before it starts to be obsolete.

I fully agree that a video card is #1 priority. I'm just saying if the options are something like a 750Ti + a processor upgrade, vs something better than a 750ti and the existing CPU, i'd personally opt for the 750ti. That's just me because I know I'd benefit from that setup more for the games I play and how I like to play them.

 

[toyota]

It has a 300 watt PSU.

this is not a 300 watt psu that you want to run a 750 ti with. unless something changed in the last 6 months these are the same pos units they have been using since around 2000. they are rated for 19 amps on the 12v at 25C. in real world conditions these are lucky to make 14 amps even when brand new. so best case is that he has about 170 watts MAX on the 12v line where 90-95% of the power needs to come from. these cheap oem psus degrade quickly when pushed and a 750 ti and 6100 system would be pushing it fairly hard from day one. sure some reviewer can throw a 750 ti and run some benchmarks but good luck on that psu not burning up in a couple months.