Is 2012 PC build worth a new GC?

[First PC]

Questions:

This is for my son who has become an avid Fortnight player this year.
See below for specs.

The current GC will not play Fortnight.

Budget for a new Graphics card is around $200.00 +

Is it worth spending and extra 100 or so to go from 3 to 6 gig for memory for this build?

What is the best G card that this build will support & in my budget?

From what I have read Fortnight likes/needs 60 + FPS for better gaming.

Are some cards better for specific games, if so any picks for Fortnight?

Would increasing my Ram from 8 to 16 mb help? I saw a you tube that says I should...

Will my 400 watt PS be enough for a new GC? Or dose that depend on the GC?

Will my 3 each 25 CFM fans handle the heat of a new card? I assume all fans should be pulling air into the case so the PS and GC would vent it out?

I assume my case is big enough to handle any size card…

For a build of this age is it even worth spending 200? Or could I also us it on a new build later on…?
From what I have read, my i5 looks like it can still handle Fortnight. Yes?

=============================================

PC Built 2012:

OS: Win 7 Pro 64 bit

MB: Asus P8B75-V, 100 MHz bus speed

CPU: Intel 3rd Gen, i5, 3350p, 4 core, 256 cache

CPU Fan: Zalman, CNPS9700 / 9500ALED

HD: Samsung EVO 840 SSD, 250 Gig

Ram: 2 each, G.Skill, DDR-3-1333, 4 MB, CL9-9-9-24, 1.5v

Graphics: Nvidia, GeForce 7300 GT, 256 Mb

Power Supply: PC Power&Cooling, Silencer Mk 3, 400 watt, (80+ Bronze)

Case: Antec, Perf 2, Series SOHO File Server Case, model SX100011

Case Fans: Silenx, 3 each, 12 dBA, 25 CFM

Thanks for all help.....

 

[cliffordcooley]

OMG the IGP has more power than that 7300 GT. You may need a better power supply, but you definitely need a better GPU. The power supply really depends on which GPU you select.

I'd go for something around a generation or two old. A GTX 950 or possibly 1050 would do nicely. They may be a bit higher than your budget allows. If so then at least select a card in the 700 series or newer. Like the 750 or even a higher tier with the 760.

For reference I'm currently using the GTX 660, which is somewhat comparable to the 750. It seems to be a nice card as well, but is showing its age in some games.

 

[Jeffrey S]

A 950 or a 1050ti would be just right for that Ivy Bridge Core i5. Fortnite has fairly light requirements and will just fly on modest modern hardware!
I'm using a i5 2500k at the moment with a EVGA 950ssc pick up 2 years ago just before the bitmining thing for a reasonable $170. Now prices have settled right back where they should be again. A sub $200 1050ti upgrade would enable modern AAA gaming at buttery smooth framerates and higher detail settings.

 

[MaikuTech]

You're psu sucks, sorry to just be blunt about it.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...kill_ripjaws_ddr3_1333-_-20-231-311-_-Product
Also if you have 2 sticks at 4gb I suggest a nice upgrade to 1 8gb memory stick.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3OAFHD/?tag=httpwwwtechsp-20
This will fit your needs and that gtx1050 ti jeffy mentioned.

 

[First PC]

New problem:

I bought a EVGA 1060 Super Clocked GeForce GTX 1060 G DDR5 Card (single fan) that has 6 gig memory..

increased Ram to 16 GIG and added a 2 TB hard drive for storage for Christmas present.


Thinking this should really speed up the FPS for his fortnight or any other game he might play.

But the best FPS for Fortnite he can get is around 75 from this new card!

His Acer Nitro 5 lap top with Win 10 home, i5-7300HQ CPU, GTX 1050 Video card, 256 gig SSD HD and 8 gig DDR4 ram is getting a FPS of 150 to 200!!

Is the current old build bottle necking this new video card somehow?

Makiu Tech says my PS sucks, is it the 400 watt is not enough? I have a old 500 watt ANTEC silent PS (this thing must weigh 10 Lbs!) that I can use but recall that this card was ok with my 400 watt PS or at least on the border line of required power...will a GPU not kick in if there is not enough wattage or will the PS just over heat and die?

Is the MB bus speed too slow or the ram or the i5 can't support the speed of the new card??

I spent the extra money thinking it would do the job with the old PC until we build a new gaming desk top then transfer it to the new build.

I have no idea why his lap top is outperforming this desk top with the new card.

I did much reading and thought this card was a good mid entry level card for my old build.

Would the Video cards that was recommended in this post get FPS in the mid 150s? playing Fortnite with at least 1080 res on this old pc?

He has turned into a avid gamer and is begging me to build a new gaming pc but he is not the one paying all the bills and that will have to wait, so am very disappointed that the EVGA is not working as planned. Also the 60 FPS that I though would be fine for fortnite is now too low for his skill level of playing, 150 to 200 is what he wants, now weather that speed is in my budget is a whole other question if I can't get that speed out of this build...

Now if you're asking why is this dad upgrading this old PC for a son that already has a mid level gaming lap top the idea is that while he is at his mothers with the gaming lap top dad can use this upgraded PC to scan his collection of old Kodachrome 25 slides into digital files with my Epson 750 scanner. I have been wanting to start this project for some time now and my current PCs do not have enough graphics power to scan the supper high DPI Kodachrome slides into a high def file without taking all day.

 

[romainB]

I agree.. interesting debate

 

[MaikuTech]

If your i5 3350p is hitting 80% to 100% all the time while you are gaming.
You might want to consider updating most of your main components.
This includes mobo, ram, mainly the cpu, your evga video card isn't the problem.

I think your cpu is bottle necking with it making your system choke alot.
Yes I know you don't have money to spend right now or to waste.
Sooner or later this year you will be forced to upgrade. :/

 

[delrey]

I agree with MaikuTech, the CPU is most likely the bottleneck.

I looked up some user benchmarks and there isn't as dramatic of a difference between the 2 cpu's as I thought. Did you change the PSU?

What memory configuration did you get?
How are your temps?
Clean install of new drivers for the GPU?

Also, look into lowering the graphics a little and see if that helps any.

 

[First PC]

Up Date 3-31-19

I set up MSI After Burner and Riva tuner Statistics Server sw to see the CPU load while playing Fortnight.

From what I read online it is a better over clocking package than the EVGA app.

I was never a gamer so this is all new to me, but was always into tech in some form so have basic understanding of what to do.

To my dismay The i5 CPU was running at 97% load while the 1060 was putting out a FPS of 97 avg.

So there is the bottle neck!

For those non gamers out there this soft ware monitors every stat there is for your GPU and mother board. It also can over clock the GPU chip & control many other setting for the GPU.

For a newbie like me it's a bit overwhelming but I will fig it out.

So I set up the OSD " (on screen display) to show CPU & GPU Load and FPS instant and average.

My son has become a much better Fortnight player much faster than I planned on!

He wants/needs FPS of 200 to 250 !!

I don't even know If the 1060 EVGA Card (I just bought him) is good for that speed...

Does anyone know if the top of line i7 at the time would be enough of a speed boost to get this old rig up to enough speed to support my current card at its max potential...thinking I would swap out my i5 for a i7 or whatever the max chip this old mb would support. As I recall my MB bus speed is 100 mHz I will assume that speed has increased like the speed of the MB ram has, and all this needs to be fast enough to support the GPU, correct?

Or would I be throwing money into a build that is just too old for today's GPU technology.

 

[treetops]

Up Date 3-31-19

I set up MSI After Burner and Riva tuner Statistics Server sw to see the CPU load while playing Fortnight.

From what I read online it is a better over clocking package than the EVGA app.

I was never a gamer so this is all new to me, but was always into tech in some form so have basic understanding of what to do.

To my dismay The i5 CPU was running at 97% load while the 1060 was putting out a FPS of 97 avg.

So there is the bottle neck!

For those non gamers out there this soft ware monitors every stat there is for your GPU and mother board. It also can over clock the GPU chip & control many other setting for the GPU.

For a newbie like me it's a bit overwhelming but I will fig it out.

So I set up the OSD " (on screen display) to show CPU & GPU Load and FPS instant and average.

My son has become a much better Fortnight player much faster than I planned on!

He wants/needs FPS of 200 to 250 !!

I don't even know If the 1060 EVGA Card (I just bought him) is good for that speed...

Does anyone know if the top of line i7 at the time would be enough of a speed boost to get this old rig up to enough speed to support my current card at its max potential...thinking I would swap out my i5 for a i7 or whatever the max chip this old mb would support. As I recall my MB bus speed is 100 mHz I will assume that speed has increased like the speed of the MB ram has, and all this needs to be fast enough to support the GPU, correct?

Or would I be throwing money into a build that is just too old for today's GPU technology.

Your monitor probably does not even go past 60 hz and if that is the case any fps beyond 60 is almost pointless. Look up your monitors stats. A gaming mouse like a death adder would be a better way to spend your money. Or a gaming monitor with 120+ hz and low response time with free or gsync. FYI the min watts for that card is recommended 400 watt with system included. So it's fine, especially if its not at 100% load due to your CPU being bottle necked.

I really wish the old stickies were here.

https://www.geforce.co.uk/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-1060/specifications

 

[DarkLord]

The systems monitor may not go past 60, but if your son runs the game without vsync the game will show a higher FPS number, you could also set Fast Sync, which will help keep the game running smoothly even while above 60FPS (the limit of the monitor).

I would also recommend a cpu upgrade if your competely against a platform upgrade , I would say the best options for you would be a 2600k, 2700k, 3770k. All three will perform within about 10% of each other under gaming. I upgraded my girlfriends computer from a i3 2120 to a i7 2700k and the performance uplift in games was amazing.

Though to be 100% clear I would not recommend a better video card upgrade later on, basically anything higher than that GTX 1060 and the CPU will be holding you back.

Hope that helps!