Opinions on an upgrade please

**GeorgeL** · July 06, 2012, 01:16 PM

I'm considering an upgrade for my Dell XPS 630i as its starting to struggle to run the games I'd like to play (Shogun 2, Skyrim, The Witcher 2 etc.) above medium-ish settings. But basically I'm unsure what to upgrade, and was wondering whether there is a way to find out which part is bottlenecking performance, if indeed there is one particular part. Or whether someone could just advise me as to this point? My (limited on this issue) instincts point me to a video card upgrade. My budget is fairly limited and would probably only be interested in upgrading one part of the computer at this point. I've done a bit of researching and was thinking the Nvidia GTX 560 might not be a bad bet? Its just about within my budget...

Anyway, here are my specs atm:

CPU: Q9450 2.66GHz (4 cores)
Memory: 4GB
GPU: 9800 GT 1GB
Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

**The Useless Member** · July 06, 2012, 01:24 PM

Crazyeyes will come on sooner or later and show you a chart.

Are you just strictly limited to Nvidia or can you get AMD cards?

**GeorgeL** · July 06, 2012, 01:29 PM

I'm not limited to Nvidia cards, it was just I remembered back when I got this PC I think the AMD cards were sightly below-par in terms of reliability and performance in comparison to Nvidia cards. Also, I did some research over at Tomshardware, and they seem to be recommending the GTX 560 at around the extent of my budget. I can't see that image btw.

EDIT: So, is upgrading my GPU definitely the way to go for me?

**The Useless Member** · July 06, 2012, 03:43 PM

Your CPU isn't the best, but I think thst upgrading your GPU is the better way to go.

But crazyeyes may be able to show you one that's like $20 more and better, just wait for him.

I was thinking of getting an Nvidia card, I was getting the GTX 560 ti or something, and Crazyeyes shows me one for like $40 more that had almost twice the performance from AMD.

What's your power supply?

**GeorgeL** · July 07, 2012, 09:46 AM

Here are the manufacturer specifications. http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...HTML/specs.htm

I see there's a 750W power supply which I think is enough to manage a GTX 560. Is there anything untoward shown by those specs? Like can the motherboard handle that card? Will there be any issues upgrading the gfx card?

**irishron** · July 07, 2012, 10:16 AM

The only reason I can see having owned a Dell once is their case.

Take the card's spec sizs and match it against the room in the case where the card will go with a ruler. Measure twice, buy once.

**GeorgeL** · July 07, 2012, 10:21 AM

Yeh, I was planning to check such practical issues just before buying.

Ok, so the card will fit in the case. But am just wondering about power connectors as for example this card (http://www.dabs.com/products/evga-ge...x%20560&src=16) mentions it requires "Two available 6-pin PCI-E power dongles". Will I have these? Can I check?

**irishron** · July 07, 2012, 02:22 PM

Have you checked the connections available on your power supply? It would be the fastest way to find out.

OTC psus at 750w would have the connectors. If Dell's is proprietary, hard to telling without exctually physically checking.

**Colossus** · July 07, 2012, 02:52 PM

Considering TW games are so cpu intensive (and apparently terrible at multi thread support), is upgrading your graphics card going to have much of a difference if you still have the same cpu?

It would probably be a good idea for any other games though.

**Crazyeyesreaper** · July 07, 2012, 11:05 PM

the Q9450 is a bit long in the tooth but so is your GPU, for most games the GPU is whats holding you back in many newer games today its considered the minimum requirment,

I get a measurement of your case, in terms of depth from PCIE slot to wear the door panel would be, and length from the expansion slot bracket in back to the as far back as you can go

essentially total length and total width of space you have a good picture of the inside of your case would be just as helpful.

With that information I can be of better help.

**AtheistDane** · July 08, 2012, 12:11 PM

Hey GeorgeL,

I had a HP pavillon with pretty much the same specs and case size as your Dell, iirc a Q9300, P38 chipset and 9800GT - I decided to upgrade the graphics card, which did indeed help performance.
My greatest problem, as I suspect yours will be aswell, was the small size of the case, which meant that only graphics cards shorter than 23-24 cm would fit in the case.
I eventually ended up bying a Palit 560ti Sonic, which is a very small card (length wise only 19 cm) compared to other 560ti's. I really gotta say that card did a lot to improve my performance in Empire and Napoleon, I sadly never got to test it in Shogun 2, as I built an entirely new rig, but shogun 2 also utilizes the warscape engine so it should be true for that game aswell.

You should not expect to max out the latest TW games, but you should be able to get pretty good performance with a combination of medium and high settings.

If you dont like Palit for whatever reason (or they are not available where you live) you can get a Gainward 560ti Golden Sample instead, it is identical in size and shape to the Palit (see this review http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/08/22/gainward-geforce-gtx-560-ti-golden-sample-r/1)

If you have got more space than 24 cm maybe you should look into buying a 560ti 448 core card, it is perhaps 20% faster than a 560ti. If not here's a reference for a lot of 560 tis

**Crazyeyesreaper** · July 08, 2012, 02:15 PM

he needs to keep PSU requirments in mind a 560TI 448 core can suck down 200+ watts of power a typical OEM PSU for most rigs is 350-500w and the 350 to 450w models wont run a high end GPU not without potentially popping and killing the entire rig so the OP still has alot f info he needs to provide.

**AtheistDane** · July 09, 2012, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by Crazyeyesreaper

he needs to keep PSU requirments in mind a 560TI 448 core can suck down 200+ watts of power a typical OEM PSU for most rigs is 350-500w and the 350 to 450w models wont run a high end GPU not without potentially popping and killing the entire rig so the OP still has alot f info he needs to provide.

Well the Dell XPS 630i has a 750W PSU. Not sure about the certification, but even if its "only" on pair with a 600/650W bronze certified its more than adequate for a single mid-range GFX.

Originally Posted by GeorgeL

Thanks for the replies. The case is massive so no worries there - there is nearly 30cm of room for the card. My PSU is 750W, though it is the default that came with the Dell 4 years ago. What about the HD7850, I hear that is much more energy efficient?

The HD7850 is a very good choice. It is indeed more power efficient and faster than a 560ti/560ti 448.
I personally really like this 7850, MSI is using a shrinked down version of the TwinFrozr IV cooler from the MSI 680 Lightning on this card, the TwinFrozr IV being the best aircooler in existence. Its a bit more expensive than reference 7850s but I promise you the extra cash is worth it, MSI build really high quality products and this version has a lot of headroom for overclocking (and if your not into that, buy it because its quieter and cooler than the reference design).

**GeorgeL** · July 09, 2012, 07:26 AM

Thanks for the replies. The case is massive so no worries there - there is nearly 30cm of room for the card. My PSU is 750W, though it is the default that came with the Dell 4 years ago. What about the HD7850, I hear that is much more energy efficient?

**Crazyeyesreaper** · July 09, 2012, 02:17 PM

better option if you dont plan to overclock.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131472

trying finding that model in your country its got the highest overclock at the lowest price here in the States, and with a 140 MHz overclock out of box which not a bad choice

The MSI card is better if you like you like to tweak and overclock yourself in which case it will be the better option.

**AtheistDane** · July 10, 2012, 08:17 AM

Originally Posted by Crazyeyesreaper

better option if you dont plan to overclock.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131472

A really nice card, and slighty higher clocks than the MSI one - and 10 dollars cheaper.

Originally Posted by Crazyeyesreaper

The MSI card is better if you like you like to tweak and overclock yourself in which case it will be the better option.

If you ask me, you should always buy dual-fan GFXs, they cool better and are easier to clean (in my experience most of the hard-to-clean dust settles in the enclosed part of the heatsink, and on a single fan card, there is more enclosed heatsink than on a dual-fan card).

**Crazyeyesreaper** · July 10, 2012, 02:37 PM

can of compressed air at wallmart = gpu is clean lol costs about $3 up here and allows me to keep the typical cpu HSF, and GPUs clean for about 3 months from 1 can, but all this varies depending on component choice the biggest problem is the reference BLOWER coolers those tend to get dust build up fairly bad

The powercolor isnt to hard to clean the shroud doesnt cover the entire card fully so a can of compressed air with straw can easily clean it out.