Gateway gt5692 upgrade worthy?

[Jmurphy2]

I have a gateway Gt5692 factory standard, everything works great I just would like to be able to turn my games up to max setting without killing my framerate. The specs seemed pretty nice, and the bestbuy guy told me I could upgrade the video card but i would have to replace the powersource. My question(s) is this true? is this worth it? and what all could I upgrade without spending alot of money. I pulled up the specs here so no one has to research. Thanks
Motherboard
Chipset
AMD 780G
CPU
CPU Type
Phenom X3
Installed Qty
1
CPU Speed
8450(2.1GHz)
L2 Cache Per CPU
3 x 512KB
CPU Socket Type
AM2+
CPU Main Features
64 bit Triple Core Processor
Graphics
GPU/VPU Type
ATI Radeon HD 3200

Graphics Interface
Integrated video
Memory
Memory Capacity
4GB DDR2
Memory Speed
DDR2 667
Form Factor
DIMM 240-pin
Memory Spec
2GB x 2
Hard Drive
HDD Capacity
500GB
HDD Interface
SATA II
HDD RPM
7200rpm

[jagjitnatt]

Get a new one mate. Not worth the trouble. Moreover its going to be tough looking for mobile GPUs. And you will also need a better thermal solution, which would be impossible.

And of course another power adapter to provide enough juice. In the cost of these three things, you can get a better Laptop. Look for a used Gateway 7811FX. Should be really cheap and play most games on medium settings.

[Suhidu]

Originally Posted by jagjitnatt

Get a new one mate. Not worth the trouble. Moreover its going to be tough looking for mobile GPUs. And you will also need a better thermal solution, which would be impossible.

And of course another power adapter to provide enough juice. In the cost of these three things, you can get a better Laptop. Look for a used Gateway 7811FX. Should be really cheap and play most games on medium settings.

He has a desktop, not a laptop.

[AthlonX2]

upgrade cpu,and gpu my first pc was a gateway GT5056 and i upgraded everything on that

[Jmurphy2]

ok, say i just replaced the graphics card? Is it true i would need a new power source? and would I notice a difference? Any recommendations on graphics card and power source i should get? Is more memory another option that i should think about? Sorry for all the questions I am a novice computer tech, thanks for all the help

[AthlonX2]

you should be able to run any video card that doesnt need external power,anything greater you will need a new psu

[AthlonX2]

these are the best cards i could find that will run in your system as is

Best nvidia
PNY VCGGT4401XPB GeForce GT 440 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bi...

best AMD
XFX HD-667X-ZHF3 Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 P...

[Jmurphy2]

Originally Posted by AthlonX2

these are the best cards i could find that will run in your system as is

Best nvidia
PNY VCGGT4401XPB GeForce GT 440 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bi...

best AMD
XFX HD-667X-ZHF3 Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 P...

Nice!! saving money ) Is this gonna be a noticeable upgrade? Should i look into more ram as well?

[BarbaricSoul]

those video cards arent going to allow you to run games at max settings.

[AthlonX2]

true no max settings but way better than onboard HD3200

[Jmurphy2]

ok say i wanted a better video card than that? What is involved in updating the powersource

[BarbaricSoul]

it's as simple as unplugging the wires and removing your old PSU and just installing the new PSU into the case and plugging up the wires. Not hard at all, provided your case has room for the new PSU(some prebuilt computers don't have room for a "standard" sized PSU). If that turns out to be the situation, you could buy a new case also and install all your hardware in that.

[Huddo93]

If you are looking to upgrade your PSU (Power Supply), you will need to do the following:
1. unplug the power cable from your computer to the wall.
2. Open up the side of the case and unplug the power connecters inside the case. This should include the 2 motherboard power connectors. the power connecter to the DVD drive, the power connector to the HDD and possibly any fans in the case
3. Undo the screws mounting the PSU to the case and remove it from the case.

INSTALLING NEW PSU
1. Reverse the steps above making sure to plug everything back in.

Now If you do look into buying a more powerful graphics card. It may take a 1 or 2 6pin power connectors.

THIS IS IMPORTANT, you may want to look at the graphics card first, and decide on that before buying the power supply, as the connectors on the graphics card will determine what Wattage you want and what connectors you need.

And as a side note, it is also possible to take 2x 4pin Molex and turn them into 1x 6pin connector using a adapter that usually comes with the graphics card.

Hope this helped, if you got any other queries hit me up im glad 2 help

*EDIT*

What screen resolution are you trying to play games on btw?

[Jmurphy2]

Well the games I play arent real intense. There are a few I have wanted to try but for instance when i play wow i have to keep it on the lowest setting, as far as screen resolution i havent changed anything from default.

[Huddo93]

So whats the default resolution?

*EDIT*
+ Whats your budget? because that will allow people on TPU to give advice on possible upgrades that you wish to do. That is if you want to upgrade both your Graphics Card and your PSU or even just your Graphics Card.

[jagjitnatt]

Originally Posted by Suhidu

He has a desktop, not a laptop.

OOOppppssss. My bad.

Get a GPU dude. A 6850/6950 with a Corsair 650W PSU should be good

[xBruce88x]

from what i've read from googling, although it doesn't officially support the Phenom II, the retail version of the board does. You'll be able to upgrade to a 95w Phenom II x3/x4 and should be fine. The BIOS will detect it as an "Unknown CPU" but it should still function. You should be able to get a non-black ed. AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W ... Since you may have to re-use the Gateway cooling solution, you may want to get some thermal paste to go with that.

A decent 450-500w PSU and a GPU such as a HD 6770 or GTX 550 TI should be plenty for WoW.

I wouldn't worry about the BIOS. Other users on other forums have said they upgraded to a Phonom II and it works just fine, its just they prefer an unlocked BIOS that lets them change settings and see their cpu listed properly. Since you're limited to 95W due to the motherboard itself, I wouldn't worry about fine tuning too much (unless you want to underclock.) Either way 3ghz quad core is a lot better than 2.1ghz triple core. That and the improvements to the cpu architecture overall. http://www.anandtech.com/show/2702/9 so even if the phenom II were 2.1 ghz it would still perform better lol

[Jmurphy2]

Hey guys i know it has been a while but I upgraded my graphics card to geforce gt 610 because I found 1 cheap along with a 650w ps. I now want to upgrade my processor but I am not sure if it is ideal because I have a amd 780g chipset and would probably have to replace it? If I replace both of those would I have to replace the OS as well? I heard I would from an un-credible source. There is a upgrade to windows 8 pro available to me as a student for 40$. would this solve the OS replacement problem. thanks for your help.

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

No you will not have to replace the os with a cpu change. I would look for a cpu to run in your board and call it a day. A 95watt phenom II x4 would be great.

[Jmurphy2]

Can I use an AM3 chipset processor as long as it is 95w?

[brandonwh64]

Can you give us the exact motherboard model? To do that download CPUz and click the mainboard tab and give us a screen shot of it. Thanks!

[Gas2100]

Originally Posted by brandonwh64

Can you give us the exact motherboard model? To do that download CPUz and click the mainboard tab and give us a screen shot of it. Thanks!

googling his computer,


http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHERB...06272Rnv.shtml

http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHERB...6272Rsp2.shtml

the rest of it: http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/10...5553Rcl2.shtml

[3870x2]

Originally Posted by BarbaricSoul

those video cards arent going to allow you to run games at max settings.

Depends on the game and resolution. By looking at the topic, I dont think he has a 27" x1600 monitor.

[brandonwh64]

So its a foxconn RS780? Hmmm I am searching right now to see if there is any beta bioses for newer chips.

*EDIT*

From the reports I have seen on tomshardware that users have found that the phenom II 945 95W CPU will work fine without any bios changes.

[Jmurphy2]

Lol I looked on all of the major sites that I trust(newegg & tigerdirect) for this processor but no one sells it anymore >.<
I am not sure what I am going to do. I don't really trust buying a used one. Thanks for your help guys I appreciate it.