Hey guys, my current setup is a dell optiplex 790dt with a nvidia geforce 8400gs graphics card, all other specs are awesome, I use two monitors but would like to upgrade to 3 as well as be able to play newer games, I feel like my specs should be awesome but with my graphics card it is more like a graham cracker. I am trying to replace my graphics card to match the other specs on my computer, any help is so appreciated!! my dxdiag is Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (10.0, Build 16299) (16299.rs3_release.170928-1534) System Manufacturer: Dell Inc. System Model: OptiPlex 790 BIOS: Default System BIOS Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2400 CPU @ 3.10GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.1GHz Memory: 16384MB RAM Available OS Memory: 16342MB RAM Page File: 11902MB used, 20822MB available DirectX Version: DirectX 12 Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS Manufacturer: NVIDIA Chip type: GeForce 8400GS DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC Device Type: Full Device Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_10C3&SUBSYS_13003842&REV_A2 Device Status: 0180200A [DN_DRIVER_LOADED|DN_STARTED|DN_DISABLEABLE|DN_NT_ENUMERATOR|DN_NT_DRIVER] Device Problem Code: No Problem Driver Problem Code: Unknown Display Memory: 4043 MB Dedicated Memory: 459 MB Shared Memory: 3583 MB Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz) HDR Support: Not Supported Display Topology: Extend Display Color Space: DXGI_COLOR_SPACE_RGB_FULL_G22_NONE_P709 Color Primaries: Red(0.638195,0.331555), Green(0.310070,0.624523), Blue(0.155773,0.066906), White Point(0.313977,0.329602) Display Luminance: Min Luminance = 0.500000, Max Luminance = 270.000000, MaxFullFrameLuminance = 270.000000 Monitor Name: HP LV2311 LED Backlit LCD Monitor
If your goal is to play 'newer' games that CPU is kind of old now and without it being an overclockable K series chip it will likely have a hard time keeping up with the current stuff. I know that my CPU i5 2500K overclocked to 4.8ghz is starting to show its age on newer games. The problem right now however is that GPUs and ram are both expensive as hell right now so if it is rough right now. Most people just suggest buying prebuilts that are on sale with how the market is right now. Oh and if your computer right now is a prebuilt the PSU won't have enough power for a decent GPU anyways.
I am able to use MSI afterburner to overclock, I am not sure how "real" that is though! When I bought the PC, I was told with the i5 processor and the 16gb ram I would be able to run anything. I didn't realize the graphics card was so crummy though!! Thanks for the info @Randomacts It was upgraded but afraid to take my pc apart before I research more to see if the psu was updated as well.
You can't really overclock a non K intel CPU. Even with my K part the chip is 7 years old so Oh and MSI afterburner only overclocks GPUs not CPUs.