Which GPU should I pick for a budget PC with limited upgrade options?

Joe from the Philippines is looking to upgrade his budget PC with limited options with a new GPU, we help out.

Question by Joe from Philippines | Answered by in Video Cards & GPUs on
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I want to upgrade my graphics card, but I don't know where to start. Here are the specs of my PC:

  • Motherboard - Milton
  • Processor - Intel Core i3-9100 (3.6GHz base frequency, up to 4.2GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 6MB cache, 4 cores)
  • Memory - 8GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM
  • Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 2GB

I don't know where to start. Please help me!

Hi Joe,

No problem! Since you have a pre-built machine and more importantly a slim desktop machine, you may be limited by both the chassis and included power supply.

Which GPU should I pick for a budget PC with limited upgrade options? 1

Looking into your machine specifications from HP, the included power supply is 180w Gold rated which means you will need to stick to graphics cards under 75w slot power. Solutions include everything from the Zotac GT 1030, which is marginally better than your GT 730 up to a GTX 750 Ti from which MSI has a model that requires only slot power and should roughly double your GPU performance.

Another thing to note is your CPU, the i3-9100, is four cores at 3.6GHz and not overclockable, so you don't want to get too crazy upgrading graphics only to be bottlenecked by the CPU. That said, the best currently available GPU with no external power requirement is the GTX 1650 with several vendors including Zotac and GIGABYTE having options there. If you want an AMD card, the RX560 will be your top option.

I hope this helps with your upgrade!

Last updated: Nov 8, 2020 at 08:07 pm CST

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