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Resolved Question

Query About new pc

Mar 23, 2015 7:11AM PDT

I want a high performance PC (gaming) I really like the HP ENVY Phoenix 810 series desktops, they really look cool and have decent specs for money. BUT they don't have a great GPU; I personally want to got for GTX 970 as it perfectly fits in my budget and has a great performance ...
I would like to ask you is it possible to upgrade or install the gpu externally bought on the HP Envy desktops without any issues like voiding the warranty.

Also, if I buy the one with core i7 with GTX 970 with the case they provide is liquid cooling necessary? if yes then is it possible ?

and one more thing guys if you have opinion on my gpu selection please advice

Thanks Happy

Discussion is locked

miasanmia has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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That's an easy no.
Mar 23, 2015 7:17AM PDT

As to the liquid cooling, outside of folk that overclock I've never found that to be needed.

The 970 with the i5 games well.
Bob

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Thanks
Mar 23, 2015 7:26AM PDT

Thanks I expecting this config to last longer you know like 2-3 years I mean it can run all the games to max settings in that period
do you think i7 is too much ? and i5 will do just fine?

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Now that's a different question!
Mar 23, 2015 7:44AM PDT

Max settings on 4K displays are barely possible with gear far beyond what you listed so to write that such a rig will go for years is another easy no.

Remember you declared "max settings" so even the 970 will be overrun by today's games at 4K.
Bob

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alright
Mar 23, 2015 7:49AM PDT

alright but I don't think i would be able to fit a good 4k display in my budget I'm expecting a decent performance at 1080p level .. I think 970 will do good at 1080p on today's games like farcry 4 ? and my budget it around $1000-$1200 so what changes you would suggest ?

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Again, no.
Mar 23, 2015 7:57AM PDT

"Once again, we had to dial back the visual settings to keep things smooth, trading the very high detail preset for the normal detail preset."

From a detailed review on the 970. So it's clear to me that max settings is still not possible with the 970. It does very well in spite of that but for max settings, even on 1080 you'll have to move up a notch.

Yes, http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-5.html shows it's top tier but you are asking for more.
Bob

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Okay but
Mar 23, 2015 8:08AM PDT

Okay how about if I put it this way, would I be able to play games at like at least 50+ fps now and in future on 970 with adjusted graphics settings at 1080p ? by adjusted I mean low AA levels etc.
If no then does the amd has a better gpu in this price range ?

although I had a very crappy experience with the amd drivers support I had this 7670m on a laptop and without the driver update it could run fifa 15 on 1080p with high rendering and 2x aa at around 30-45 fps but after a update the performance went down dramatically low now it would run at 15-25 fps with the same settings but at 1355x768 res

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Let's admit this one thing.
Mar 23, 2015 8:20AM PDT

That my batteries for the crystal ball are on back order.

The future and the past are the same here when it comes to max settings. All game companies have max settings that can't be used on today's hardware. So you usually don't get to use max settings for a year or more until the graphic hardware comes out with enough oomph.

There are long dissertations on why this is but my short version is that you as a game company don't want to leave future sales in a lurch. When 2017 comes around your game in 2015 will look sweet on the new hardware. If you had limited yourself to top end hardware in 2015 your game sales would be horrible.

Each game can really push the FPS around. I've seen game rip along at over 100FPS on a card then another game in the same month plummet to 20FPS. You have to find benchmarks to compare.

LAPTOPS have to pull back clock rates for very simple reasons. We don't have the heat exhaust capability as we do on the desktop. A desktop 7670 may be just fine compared to its laptop counterpart.
Bob

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Thanks a lot bob
Mar 23, 2015 9:41AM PDT

Thanks a lot for everything .. one thing though I know laptops pull back the clock rates to avoid over heating and also to save power but before the driver update it was cool but not very efficient though.

Also these laptops are now made with dual gpu one being the amd one and other is onboard intel hd 4000... in the earlier driver , it gave a choice to select the gpu for demanding programs but after the update that option is gone also I tried rolling back to the earlier drivers but during the installation screen went black and didn't comeback. Tried the safe mode but after booting, screen goes black idk why this happened in safe mode too ... any ideas ?

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Sorry no.
Mar 23, 2015 9:48AM PDT

The selection of which GPU is still in my few laptops that have such. But I find the most common way to destroy this is to download drivers from other than the maker's web pages or the maker's supplied update system. Laptops feel fragile in this area.
Bob

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Answer
Re: new PC
Mar 23, 2015 7:18AM PDT

A packaged PC usually doesn't come with a PSU that supports a power-hungry video card. After all, that would add to the cost and most users wouldn't use fully use it.
So it's best to buy the configuration you need.

Kees

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Thanks
Mar 23, 2015 7:29AM PDT

Thanks man but do you think building a decent config around the gtx 970 is possible in the budget around $600 - $700 ? also I know I shouldn't be caring about the looks but still can beautiful case with some custom led lightings is possible in that budget ?

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a change
Mar 23, 2015 7:51AM PDT

my bad my budget is around $1000-$1500 ( sorry made a mistake in conversion of currency ) Happy

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Re: new PC
Mar 25, 2015 7:55AM PDT
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This just updated. Best for the buck.
Mar 25, 2015 8:07AM PDT