Uprating a graphics card on an old computer?

[LuS1fer]

..and not even a top end one.

Back in 2010, I bought this:
AMD Phenom™ II X2 550 Black Edition Dual Core Processor AM3 (3.1GHz, 6MB Cache)
Windows 7 64bit
Midi-Tower ATX Chassis with 550W PSU - REPLACED with CX750 Corsair
ASUS M2N68-AM SE2 Mainboard, AM2+ with integrated Graphics - MATX
4GB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM - (2x 2GB)
HDD long replaced with multiple HDDs
1GB ATI Radeon 5750 Graphics Accelerator GDDR5- ***DirectX 11***

24" Benq monitor added.

I hate waste and this does all I really need it to. I don't game on it or stream anything bar the odd YouTube video but have about 16000 photos stored and about 4000 plus music tracks.

I was looking to upgrade to a 27" or even 32" monitor but then realised that modern monitors laugh in the face of VGA connections and adapters don't appear to be a good solution.
Accordingly, I was thinking of binning the graphics card for something more modern like a Radeon R260 (IIRC) or GTX 1060 so I get HDMI connection plus maybe add upgraded sound card for the music side of things.

I realise that dual core is passe and memory is limited but intend to clone the main HDD onto an SSD to speed it up a touch.
I have no plans to change the Windows 7 as I like it as much as I dislike Windows 10.

[130R]

One option could be to look at upgrading with a Ryzen 3 3200G/3400G bundle (CPU, Mobo, and say 8GB 3200MHz RAM) and ditch the external GPU as they have integrated graphics. They can do up to HDMI 2.0a and DisplayPort 1.4 I believe with relevant mobo. That would probably cost between 300 and £350, but would give you a significant upgrade.

[FourWheelDrift]

1060 will be a waste of money and be horribly bottlenecked by your CPU. So you won't be getting any extra benefit and nothing you can't get from a older card.

You should be looking at a gtx650 gtx660, gtx670. Or similar AMD card. As long as they have your HDMI.

To give you an idea of maxxing out CPU with gfx cards: A better CPU than yours, a 4 core AMD Phenom X4 965 will bottleneck a slightly factory overclocked gtx680.

eBay I guess.

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Tuesday 30th July 12:00

[Church of Noise]

I've put an Nvidia GT1030 last year in a desktop I built in 2006.
These cost very little and provide all you need in terms of HDMI support etc etc. I use the machine today as Home Theater PC and it runs very nicely.
(if you would like to make further changes, my other recommendation is to swap the HDD for an SSD. the impact om the smoothness of your system will be immense, at a very limited cost)

Additional idea: if you run the HDMI output of the card over your amplifier, you don't even need an additional sound card and you can use the amp+speakers.

[LuS1fer]

Thanks for the replies. I'll start with the SSD then look at a lesser upgrade.
Having checked the system, I was slightly alarmed to see that when I had it repaired, a while back, the AMD-Phenom-II-X2-550 had been replaced with an AMD-Athlon-II-X2-250 but it appears they are similar in terms of performance anyway (ie crap)

Edited by LuS1fer on Tuesday 30th July 16:14

[LuS1fer]

As I was poking around, back there, I couldn't help but notice that my graphics card actually had an HDMI output.
My Benq monitor doesn't have an HDMI input but has a DVI-D input.
Looks like my graphics are coming out of an ancient socket.
I bought an HDMI to DVI-D cable and the graphics are quicker and better.
If only I understood this magic...

[macdaddy11]

You've moved from the old analogue signal to digital. The world will be brighter, crisper, birds will sing, women will find you attractive and you'll get knowing nods from other nerds...

[Donbot]

I felt like that when I bought a HDMI cable for my xbox 360.

[The_Jackal]

I was about to type this before I read your last comment.
For your type of usage, an adapter is perfectly fine.
And your graphics card wold be perfectly fine to play something like World of Tanks on.
People get carried away with spec chasing.

[AJB88]

SSD and some extra ram wouldn't got a miss (2x 4gb)

[LuS1fer]

Just to update, I cloned my HHD onto a Crucial CX500 SSD using Macrium Reflect and it not only worked but is indeed noticeably faster.
I put the old HDD into my docking station but it seems that has packed in so have had to buy another.
Now my Super Writemaster (Samsung?) is playing up and only opens on the second press of the button.

Anyway, given memory is about £45, will 8Gb make a noticeable improvement over the 4Gb I have now? I have checked the Asus M3 motherboard box and the max it will take is 8Gb.