GPU UPGRADE HELP

Mitalius

Mitalius

BoW To MeH
Hopefully some of you on here are familiar with building computers, or knowledgeable about the process. So I have an ASUS Essentio CM6730 bought at Best Buy and my system specs are as follows.

-RAM: 16 GBS DDR3
-SPACE: 1 TB
-CPU: INTEL CORE i7 3770K 3.4 GHZ
-GPU: NVIDIA GT 630
-MOTHERBOARD: INTEL H51 CHIPSET.
-POWER SUPPLY: 350 WATTS.

So with that all aside, what I want to do is upgrade my gpu to a GTX 680 if possible without bottlenecking my desktop to oblivion, and improve my PC gaming experience. With my current GPU, it plays some of the new games well at settings turned up high, and some others decent at one point, but then at critical points it tends to slowdown. So, is this possible?
 
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I have no idea what's underneath the hood from the specs you mentioned and Asus site doesn't seem to specify what kind of motherboard is included in that package. Did you mean H61 chipset? H51 as far as I know doesn't exist. If it's H61 (Cougar Point) then I can assume you have 3rd gen Intel I7 processor (Ivy Bridge) 3xxx series socket LGA1155.

First of all the 350 watt power supply does not fit the minimum for GTX 680 which requires a recommended power supply of at least 500+ watts (and the right kind with the correct power connectors - which most modern power supplies should have).

Looking at the computer case alone, it looks like a budget build. I'm not sure if the case is ideal for gaming either for cooling since adding a graphics card will add to internal temps. I wonder if they just included a stock cooler or something else in there. Also how much RAM do you have in there?

I'm sure you may be able to upgrade but you may need some additional components in there as well.
It's probably best to ask in other forums that deal with building computers .
 
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@Slayer_X64 @WuHT @Norik

All those long paragraphs in the PC vs console topic about PCs being better than consoles and explaining how simple / cheap it is to build a gaming PC...

AND YOU CAN'T EVEN HELP MITALIUS OUT??? LOL!!!!
 
skytoast said:
First of all the 350 watt power supply does not fit the minimum for GTX 680 which requires a recommended power supply of at least 500+ watts (and the right kind with the correct power connectors - which most modern power supplies should have).
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To expand on skytoast's post:
Better to err on the side of caution and consider springing for more wattage (500 being the minimum) and look for something 700W+.

Some board partners for the GTX 680 may have different power pin configurations, so make sure you look that up and save yourself some headache down the road (6+6 vs 6+8 pin)

Knowing the exact mobo will help a ton as well, which is more informative than giving the brand of the prebuilt PC.

If you're going to hunt around for best prices, you could consider those computer part pricing sites or try a computer building forum (which there are tons around).

---
Guess my urge and natural tendency to assist others has overcome my common sense of generally ignoring whatever garbage ishimaru has to say.
 
WuHT said:
Guess my urge and natural tendency to assist others has overcome my common sense of generally ignoring whatever garbage ishimaru has to say.
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Lol, because you're pretty much obligated to help Mitalius out in this topic! If not, that means you only like to discuss PCs in-depth when you're arguing.

Also I'm glad you could help him, thank you! I think it'd be blunt if you didn't because like norik the other topic it was 5 paragraphs about "Building a PC is so easy!" then a "PC Build Help" topic comes along, you'd just refer him to another forum? I'd then wonder what use you even were....

@Mitalius RAM looks good, your CPU: INTEL CORE i7 is actually what I have, and this is what I recently got for my PC:
http://www.zotac.com/products/graph...etail/geforce-gt-630-synergy-edition-4gb.html
 
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Ishimaru Jinrai said:
Lol, because you're pretty much obligated to help Mitalius out in this topic! If not, that means you only like to discuss PCs in-depth when you're arguing.

Also I'm glad you could help him, thank you! I think it'd be blunt if you didn't because like norik the other topic it was 5 paragraphs about "Building a PC is so easy!" then a "PC Build Help" topic comes along, you'd just refer him to another forum? I'd then wonder what use you even were....

@Mitalius RAM looks good, your CPU: INTEL CORE i7 is actually what I have, and this is what I recently got for my PC:
http://www.zotac.com/products/graph...etail/geforce-gt-630-synergy-edition-4gb.html
Click to expand...
Is it the 3770K, like I have? Also, I also have a GT 630, but it's the standard one.
 
Boot into your bios - should tell you what you have. If you don't know how to do that well then I would really read up on it and get familiar with some computer basics because if you intend to build one, its best you become familiar with all of it. If you don't know what your doing, that could cost you in the end as parts can be mishandled quite easily and parts can damage (static, screwing up the CPU socket pins, killing your CPU, not applying thermal paste, etc) and/or even some safety concerns such as electrical hazards if you're really not careful. If you decide not to do any of this then either find a friend who knows how to help build it for you or you probably just better off buying a completed PC designed for gaming in mind.

If you have a i7 3770K (Ivy Bridge), the processor is fine. Infact even modern i5 would be alright. Your GPU however, GT 630 is pretty underwhelming for real performance graphic intensive games. It's pretty much a budget PC with entry level gaming. For Nvidia cards, you want to opt for GTX line of cards.

You can find specs for all Intel processors at: http://ark.intel.com
 
Mitalius said:
So with that all aside, what I want to do is upgrade my gpu to a GTX 680 if possible without bottlenecking my desktop to oblivion, and improve my PC gaming experience. With my current GPU, it plays some of the new games well at settings turned up high, and some others decent at one point, but then at critical points it tends to slowdown. So, is this possible?
Click to expand...
As long as the 680 isn't going to overwhelm your power supply, you should be fine.
 
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