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Upgrade my HP Pavilion p6355fr

Kaiser -  
 Anonymous user -
Hello dear gamer friends,

Here’s what the title indicates: I’d like to upgrade my PC (originally I planned to build one, but I’ve just run into two issues that force me to shell out more than €1000, so buying a new PC is a bit off the table for the moment).

My budget is now a maximum of €200.

So I use my PC for work + playing MMO games (Guild Wars, Aion, WOW, and currently Star Wars, and soon Guild Wars 2 which I’ve been waiting for forever).

I must admit that with the release approaching, I’d like to be able to play at decent quality, without lag or extremely long load times on the map.

The Guild Wars 2 config will be almost the same as Star Wars, and although my PC seems more than sufficient (test done on Can You Run It), I’m forced to play at low quality at all levels and the loading times on certain planets are super long (for info my internet connection is “9025.212 Kbps (1128.151 Ko/sec)” and my monitor is a decent one I think, even if a bit old: “Eizo Flexscan L997”).

So the HP Pavilion p6355fr config is:

- Processor: Intel Core i3-530 at 2.93 GHz, RAM: 6 GB, storage: 1 TB combined CD/DVD double-layer burner, 15-in-1 card reader
- Processor: Intel Core i3-530
- CPU frequency / Bus frequency: 2.93 GHz /
- Intel H57 PCH chipset
- External cache: 4 MB
- Installed RAM: 6 GB
- Hard drive: 1 TB
- Case type: Mini Tower
- Optical drive: CD/DVD double-layer burner
- Card reader: 15-in-1
- Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD5450
- Dedicated video memory: 1024 MB
- Sound card: Integrated 7.1
- Network card: Ethernet 10/100 Mbps
- Connectors: 8 USB 2.0 (2 in front), 1 RJ-45, 1 VGA, 1 DVI, 1 HDMI, audio in/out
- Keyboard / Mouse / Remote: USB keyboard / USB optical mouse
- Operating system and software: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

When I run the test, my PC seems to pass very easily, yet I have to play at low quality!

CPU: Pass without a problem, seems so
Minimum: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4000+ or better, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0 GHz or better
You Have: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU 530 @ 2.93GHz

RAM Minimum: Pass without a problem, seems so
Windows XP: 1.5 GB, Windows Vista and Windows 7: 2GB, PCs using a built-in graphic chipset: 2 GB
You Have: 6.0 GB

OS Minimum: Pass without a problem, seems so
Windows XP (Service Pack 3), Vista, 7
You Have: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (build 7600), 64-bit

Video Card: I feel like it’s okay
Minimum: 256 MB of on-board RAM and Shader model 3.0 or better support (ATI Radeon X1800 or better, NVIDIA GeForce 7800 or better, Intel 4100 Integrated Graphics or better). You Have: ATI Radeon HD 5450

And yet I play at minimum quality!
So in your opinion should I change the graphics card, and which would be compatible, or should I modify something else.
Or should I resign to playing at low quality and wait a few months, even if it means starting the game without the pleasure I expected ^^

Thanks in advance for your advice

4 answers

  1. fabrice56
     
    Hi your ATI HD3450 graphics card is too weak for gaming; it's a card for browsing, office tasks, or watching videos, but that's about it. So you just need a new graphics card like ATI HD 7770, HD 7870, etc., or NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti or GTX 570.
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  2. Kaiser
     
    Hi there and thanks for your reply.

    So in your view, modifying my graphics card should be enough to run Star Wars and GW2 well.

    Otherwise, will all the graphics cards you’re proposing be compatible with my current PC?

    See you soon
    1
  3. Anonymous user
     
    Hi

    No need to spend €200 on a graphics card to play comfortably, especially since you will have to upgrade your PC's power supply anyway, which shouldn't exceed 280-300W, which is insufficient for a good graphics card.

    I therefore recommend an ATI HD 6850 which costs around €130, paired with a branded 80+ Standard or Bronze certified 400-450W power supply.
    Before asking a question: 1) The brain doesn’t wear out if you use it, don’t hesitate to use it!
    2) Google is your friend, the CCM search engine too, do a search!
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  4. Kaiser
     
    Hello, yes indeed the power supply is 300W.

    Otherwise, just mount a GPU with a new PSU + new GPU, will that be enough?

    For info I noticed my HDD runs at only around 5600 RPM or something (not 7200) => that must also play a role, right?

    Personally this evening on Star Wars Old I had a lot of lag, I'm afraid a simple graphics card won't be enough :-(

    Thanks
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    1. Anonymous user
       
      Oh really, were you able to play last night??? Server down from 4pm to 10pm in addition to the 2nd maintenance "planned" since Thursday morning, I loved these +/- 20 hours of server downtime in 48 hours ^^

      Anyway, I have a Q9550, a GTX 560 (no-Ti) and it lags sometimes in certain places (I play at 1600x900 with graphics settings maxed out except for shadows)

      I don’t think it’s very smart to spend a fortune to play at the max, I think a HD 6850 with your processor will already be good enough especially compared to the struggling HD 5450 and not at all suitable for your branded PC. They like to have “integrators” put ultra-budget cards in their PCs often accompanied by a lot of RAM that isn’t really useful; 6GB in your PC don’t really help, but a more powerful graphics card with 4GB of RAM instead would have suited you well, right? But RAM sells because most people are convinced that a PC with a lot of RAM will surely run well.
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