I'm thinking of adding a video card to my 1 year old HP desktop. Is there a site or way to figure out if a card would give me a decent improvement? My HP is an AMD A8 6500 (3.5 GHz) with INTEGRATED Radeon HD 8570D graphics card, which seems pretty fast as it is, but I'd like to add a budget or midrange card ($50-$150). I don't need top end performance, just a decent improvement. Would a budget card even improve the performance at all? Also, if I add a card, do I have to reassign the memory that was used for the integrated card to the processor, or does that happen automatically? TIA
Many people who decide to upgrade from integrated graphics to a dedicated video card is because they want to use their computer for gaming.
An often overlooked piece of hardware is the power supply.
If the current power supply can't handle the demands of a video card and/or the demands of gaming, the computer will shut down or blue screen or have other issues.
If your intent is to use that computer for gaming, you'll most likely need to upgrade to a better and higher wattage power supply.
I already figured I'd need a better power supply. The computer is an HP Pavilion 500-164 (A8 6500 with 8 gb of memory, and I THINK it has 1 gb devoted to the graphics. I want to game, but they don't have to be the latest games, they can be from maybe the last 5-10 years. BTW it's a quad-core.
Many people who decide to upgrade from integrated graphics to a dedicated video card is because they want to use their computer for gaming.
An often overlooked piece of hardware is the power supply.
If the current power supply can't handle the demands of a video card and/or the demands of gaming, the computer will shut down or blue screen or have other issues.
If your intent is to use that computer for gaming, you'll most likely need to upgrade to a better and higher wattage power supply.
AMD A8 6500 3.50 GHz quad-core processor
HP Pavilion 500-164
8 GB DDR3-1600 RAM (upgradeable to 32 GB)
1 PCI express x16 (Gen 2)
3 PCI Express x1 (Gen 2)
AMD Radeon HD 8570D graphics (has no dedicated memory and is dependent on speed and type of system memory)
300 watt power supply (would have to upgrade)
I'm looking for mid range improvement for games in last 5-10 years, but not the latest or greatest.
I'm using older CRT monitor so I'll need VGA connection(?)
BTW, is a second generation PCI Express the same as PCI ex 2?
I'm using older CRT monitor so I'll need VGA connection(?)
VGA or DVI-I with a DVI-I to VGA adapter.
BTW, is a second generation PCI Express the same as PCI ex 2?
Yes. PCI-Express 3.x cards also work in PCI-Express 2.x slots.
What's your budget? You'll need about $200 or more for a decent upgrade.
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