Graphics Cards

[bkfrawley]

Hey guys,

Here's my direct question at hand - What GPU should I get and are there other components that would need upgrading as well?

I bought the computer knowing it would need an upgraded GPU sooner than later but I'm lost on which to get. I'm not aiming to run every game on ultra settings but I also wouldn't mind spending a little extra to have a newer/better GPU that will last longer. Below is a link to the computer I have with the exception that I've added a 2TB HDD and upgraded the RAM to 16g.

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Desktop-Trace-9310/dp/B08FPL6S4Y/ref=asc_df_B08FPL6S4Y/?ta...

Also, when I bought the computer I was not aware that AMD and NVIDIA were complete opposites. So if someone has a recommendation on how to better understand AMD and how it compares to NVIDIA, I would much appreciate it.

Any help would be much appreciated!

[elstaci]

The RX5500XT that comes with your IBUYPOWER computer is not a bad GPU card. You should be able to play most of today's games. Maybe not in Ultra in all of them.

But the most important hardware you need to look at when you upgrade the GPU Card is the PSU you have installed. I read on the link to Amazon that your computer uses a 500 Watt PSU.

I suggest you replace it with a 850 Watt Gold PSU which will be more than enough for the most powerful AMD or Nvidia GPU cards and keep the 500 Watt PSU as a backup or to test hardware before installing it in your computer.

Good thing you doubled the RAM to 16GB that is more than enough to play today's games.

Also you need to make sure the new GPU Card is not too large to install inside your computer case.

I also bought a IBUYPOWER PC for my wife more than 6 years ago. Never had any issues with that PC except after 5 years the 450 Watt IBUYPOWER PSU burnt out because the PSU Fan burnt out. I replaced it with a Corsair Gold 850 Watt PSU. I also replaced the CPU which came with a FX6300 with my own FX8350 processor after upgrading to a Ryzen PC. But I needed to alter the inside of the IBUYPOWER Computer case to make room for the large CPU Cooler that I needed to install to keep the FX8350 from overheating.

I also needed to replace one of the two computer case fans that also went bad. Replaced it with a stronger Computer case fan.

For a cheap PC purchase it has worked  extremely well since my wife uses it all day long, all week long, year round.