Technical > PC Hardware Discussion/Reviews > How far can I push it?

How far can I push it?

Just a *WAG*.

That's probably a 100 watt processor. You want to pair it up with a 5570 that will need 260 watts peak, (again, just a guess.)

I would suggest a more powerful PSU to add to your rig. Doesn't need to be excessively expensive.

You need to consider overhead. (I always add at least 25% above what each component needs to operate added up, then add the +25%).

Do this, and you can't go wrong!

Buy a 500watt PSU, and you will be GOLDEN!
--
Come fold for a cure with us @ Team Helix.

I figured I'd probably need to upgrade the PSU, was just wondering if I could get away with it .
Time to see if I can find a Better PSU that I can cram in this little box!

reply to 0zero01
heck of a deal no... what is the point of this machine please?

Once you start replacing stuff like the psu you killed any deal you got... you still have a lolwut cpu that is not made to game with it i mean TBH it is like stupid to add a card to that cpu (really APU as they call it) cause you bought a low low end cpu for a GOOD IGPU...

Kinda like buying a civic and attaching a trailer hitch...

Considering hard drive prices right now and the fact that this little thing has:
AMD A6-3600 Quad core
4gigs ram (just got 16gigs for $99 from crucial)
Terabyte hard drive.
HDMI Output
Usb 3.0 (11 usb ports)

Sounds Like a deal to me.
Already playing Arkham city and Assassins Creed Revelations on it
(at Medium Quality ).
Shipped to my door for a total of $380
Why not spend a few extra bucks on it?
There's no way I could build this from scratch for what I paid even after the little upgrades I want to do to it.
As for the point of this machine? It has no point really. It was an impulse buy . Im not looking to make a top of the line gaming machine out of this I understand that's improbable, I would like to see how far I can take it.

So do you have an answer to any of my questions or did you just want to rain on my parade?

reply to 0zero01
I don't know that the a6 can even do hybrid crossfire with the older core of the 5570. It is designed for use with the Turks and Caicos (6xxx) cores.

As far as the power supply and a 5570 you MIGHT be able to get by with it. Or you might not. I don't think anyone can promise you.

I really don't think you should do this. The advantage of the A6 is that it has reasonable performance for an integrated solution. I think you should just live with the performance limitations of the system as it is.

reply to 0zero01
Before you start, maybe you should read this:
»www.techspot.com/review/486-grap···orth-it/

So I ended up getting a HD 6570 and a 400watt Mini itx PSU for
$150 from newegg.com. Couple that with the 16gigs of ram I got for
$99 and this little "add to" build came to about $629 total.
After the Upgrade my specs will be as Follows:

Win7 64bit Os
AMD Quad-Core A6-3600 2.1GHz
16gig ddr3-1333
1tb 5400rpm HD
16x dvdr
AMD Radeon HD6530D Graphics (integrated) + Radeon Hd6570 1gig pciE x16 card (Possibly can do Radeon Dual Graphics)
Gigabit Ethernet
400w mini itx psu
11usb ports (2 are usb 3.0)
Total Price $629!
No where near a super high end machine by today's standards, but at that price point I think I did good.
Now hopefully it wont blow up in my face after I put it together !

reply to 0zero01
Not to burst your bubble, but that 1TB HD is an SATA 2/3.0 Gbps 5400rpm drive.

I'm glad for you that you believe you got a steal.

If you really wanted a budget gamer, you should have gone this route, and you could have been blowing away modern games:

»Re: PC Upgrade--For gaming

said by Krisnatharok:

I don't necessarily agree with a case AND PSU for $35 (since you get what you pay for with bargain basement PSUs can stand a good chance of ruining your entire rig with dirty power)--especially when you are gaming and the PSU has to deal with a beefier GPU found in any ole regular home PC--but the case and PSU I would be looking at, considering your budget, are:

• Microcenter Diablotek Legend ($20 after MIR, with just tax if you pick it up in store): »www.microcenter.com/single_produ···=0367569
• CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 PSU ($35 after MIR): »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···17139026

I've seen the PSU as low as $25 when it hits shell-shocker status.

Also take with a grain of salt what matt5 is saying about the 6670 compared to the Nvidia 430. Since the onboard IGPU of the FX acts as a 6670 as well, you need to compare the performance of two 6670s in Crossfire (or at least a review site that compares the FX chip + 6670 in terms of graphic performance).

To be clear, it is no screamer (its 3D Mark 11-P score is P1452, while GTX560ti/i5-2500K systems score between 8000 and 9000), but should be considered only because of your budget.

For instance, Newegg is selling a CyberPowerPC "Ultra Gamer" pre-built for $549 with these specs:

AMD FX-4100 Quad-core Bulldozer processor with a stock cooler
Gigabyte M68MT-S2 NVIDIA 7025 chipset motherboard
8GB DDR3-1333 MHz memory
AMD Radeon HD 6670 1GB graphics card
500 GB SATA III 6 Gb/s HDD
DVD Burner optical drive
500 watt power supply
Azza Black Orion Red case
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

»pcper.com/category/tags/hd-6670

Not bad when they throw in the OS ($100 value) and keyboard/mouse.

However, if you are trying to play BF3 in addition to the much older games you listed (which will have NO problem flying along on the FX-4100 system), I'd go for at least an i3 chip and a Nvidia 550 or Radeon 6850 GPU.

HOWEVER.

It is certainly possible to build a system under your budget that can at least play BF3 on low settings. You won't have all the eye candy, but it will chew through older games like MW2 and have no problem playing newer releases, albeit at lower settings.

Here's my attempt, and while it requires you to pick up the CPU and computer case at Microcenter (that saves you about $50 over ordering everything from Newegg), it's my "best attempt" at giving you what you need under your budget. If your old optical drive is IDE and not SATA, throw in another $20 to pick up a new one.

CPU - Core i3 2100 LGA 1155 3.1GHz Boxed Processor - $100
Mobo - ASRock Z68M/USB3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 - $93
I would go with: MSI Z68MA-ED55 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel Z68 - $110 ($17 more after shipping)
RAM - G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model - $37
GPU (nvidia) - MSI N550GTX-Ti-M2D1GD5/OC GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 - $100
GPU (AMD) - SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 - $142
HDD - Reuse ($0)
PSU CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W - $37
CASE Diablotek Legend Mid Tower ATX Computer Case - $20 (normally $30, $44 at Newegg)
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM - $100
Optical - Reuse ($0)
TOTAL $487

Just a note: I picked components based on price and many of these items may have a limited time sale or MIR that you would need to jump on fairly quickly to get this price (including shipping, where applicable).

2nd Edit: I just realized I configured for you a much more powerful system than the CyberPowerPC Pre-built, although we didn't include an HDD and an optical drive. Go me.

reply to 0zero01
Let us know how it turns out

reply to Krisnatharok

Re: How far can I push it?

reply to asdfdfdfdfdf
Will do asdfdfdfdfdf! And thanks for the advice on the video card!

Definitely sounds like the experience.