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Upgrading from a NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti

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8.2K views 21 replies 5 participants last post by  mandead  
#1 ·
Hi folks - not been here for a long time, but thought it may be a good place for advice.

I'm wanting to (finally) upgrade from a Nvidia GTX 550 Ti 1GB to something more up-to-date.

I've got an Intel Core i5-3570K @ 3.40GHz (quad core), with 12 GB RAM - I think it's DDR3.

It's a pretty old board but unfortunately I can't remember which model it is; ASUS, I think, and it's about the same age as the card so it's likely capped @ DDR3.

I'm wanting to upgrade to something for ~ÂŁ150 (ÂŁ200 max) that will work on my board and give me a decentably noticable graphics upgrade without melting my PC.

Any takers?

EDIT: hold on, I think the board is an ASUS P8Z77-V LX2
 
#2 ·
Unless you're a high end gamer, there's not much gain to expect. If you are, you also need to use the full 16GB of RAM (4X4), possibly a more potent PSU and something like Nvidia GTX 1060-6GB. Again, if you don't game stick with your current unit until it dies, and consider a new one at that point. It's really pretty good for general use.
 
#9 ·
Appreciate the help.

Of these two, is it safe to pluck for the 1660? If not, I'll take your advice and go for the Super 1650:


The 1660 is better (I assume), so for the sake of ÂŁ2 I'm happy to do that, but only if it's ok for the board.
 
#15 ·
Yeah, I appreciate that.


Does anyone know what RAM I can use for this board?

I've got 12 GB of this, but would like to upgrade to 32GB (my board's max) of something. I note that DDR3 RAM is a bit pricy at times (which I can understand), but I'm moreso concerned about buying the wrong sort. I know it has to be DDR3, but beyond that there's things like pin (240 pin?), and DIMM vs. SO-DIMM.

For example, would this or this work on my board?
 
#22 ·
I went with 4x8 DDR3 dual-channel and a 1650 GTX - curiously, the card I bought doesn't use external power (my old card needed to be plugged into the PSU). Apparently it's an energy-saving thing, and it's just powered via the motherboard.

Anyway, all up and running nicely now. Feels much faster due to the added RAM, and games looking noticeably better. Also able to run a couple of games that wouldn't even start before (due to not having a DX12 card, I guess).

Thanks for your help. Hopefully I won't need to reply here again in another few years. :D