A user wants to upgrade their gaming PC. Installing a new graphics card fails for several reasons. The special form factor of their computer plays a significant role.
Upgrading one’s gaming PC is usually a great experience. As long as nothing goes wrong and no beginner mistakes are made, one can enjoy their faster system afterwards.
However, there are also cases where the existing computer becomes a dead end when one wants to swap or upgrade certain hardware components.
A gamer failed to install a new graphics card in their gaming PC because the manufacturer did not intend for such an upgrade for the system at all.
Failed PC Upgrade Causes Frustration
What upgrade failed? A gamer wanted to upgrade their PC with a new graphics card. They chose the Arc A750 Limited Edition model from Intel. This budget graphics card currently costs 260 Euros and is intended for gaming at Full HD resolution.
This pixel accelerator is what Reddit user Clockwork_crowwww wanted to install in their computer to achieve better performance in games.
I just want to play newer games than Left 4 Dead with more than two frames per second. But apparently, some things like Unreal Editor and Cities Skylines require such a large and powerful graphics card.
Clockwork_crowwww on Reddit
But even the size of the pixel accelerator caused him problems. The graphics card does not fit in his small PC case, which did not stop another gamer from finding a solution for a similar space issue.
The HP computer is a system in SFF form factor (Small Form Factor). This is mainly used for office computers that do not require much space.
What other problems were there? If the player had not already failed at the size of their new graphics card, the proprietary hardware of their PC would have thwarted them at the latest.
Due to the form factor, the manufacturer-specific hardware components can only be exchanged or upgraded to a limited extent. HP has installed a special power supply that differs significantly from regular power supplies, especially regarding the available connections.
Replacing it with a suitable power supply upgrade that offers much more connection options is simply not possible.
Additionally, there is likely the much too low power output of the power supply itself. Depending on the configuration, power supplies in SFF PCs range between 180 and 240 watts. The recommended power supply output is at least 550 watts, according to techpowerup.com.
I searched online for help, and in every video, it showed that I need to connect the graphics card to the power supply. But there were no cables included at all, and all cables that the computer has are integrated into the power supply.
Clockwork_crowwww on Reddit
Moreover, the computer is almost hopelessly outdated. An Intel i5-3570 processor from 2012 along with 16 GB of DDR3 RAM powers the system. Even if the player could use the graphics card, players would be held back by the aging CPU.
Otus511 says in his comment:
- “Cities Skylines is a pretty intensive game for a CPU, probably even more intensive than the graphics card. Once you start with medium-sized cities, the computing power required to run the game engine becomes clear, and the slow speed becomes unbearable.
Even at the absolute lowest settings at 1080p, you’ll achieve under 30 FPS with this CPU.”
Sympathetic Community
What do others say about his case? Many comments under his Reddit post are full of sympathy and tell him not to be discouraged by this failed upgrade. They also advise him against spending more time and money on the existing PC.
Unlikely-Answer tries to comfort the player with his comment:
- “Don’t feel bad, we all go through this.”
MasterBaiter0004 wants to encourage him and says:
- “This can sometimes be a very frustrating hobby, but don’t let it discourage you. We’ve all gone through many frustrating situations and annoyances. Most of the time it’s a love-hate relationship. However, when everything works properly, it will pay off.”
Again and again, gamers on Reddit experience many helpful community members who are not out to make fun of others. Even with the simplest problems, they stand ready to help: Player builds €1,800 gaming PC, only gets a meager 6 FPS in games – Yet the solution is unimaginably simple
