Looking To Upgrade

Hey folks, I'm looking to upgrade back in 2021 I bought myself a CyberPowerPC Game Master
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08WH881NW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As you can see the specs:
AMD Ryzen 3 3100 3.6GHz 4-Core | AMD A320 Chipset | 8GB DDR4 | 240GB SSD | 2TB HDD
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 2GB Video Card | 1x HDMI

The only modification I made to it was I upped the 8GB to 32GB

I was thinking of getting a better Graphics Card, depending on the price of course. I know the market has been crazy cause everyone is claiming shortages, honestly, I too have a shortage and it's in my bank account.

I don't want to pay a whole lot since I don't play many graphically heavy games, I think most time I play
Out of The Park Baseball 24

Aside from that for graphic-heavy, I will play Sims 4 / Sim City/ Cities Skylines ... I save the heavy lifting for my console (Xbox)

I've recently read that the GT 1030 is really low end which is why I'm looking for a upgrade, not to make it difficult but I don't want to have to replace the power supply in order to get a better graphics card.
I'm hoping for less than $400 to be honest if you are looking at a price range.

Thanks in advance

 

And yet (unless I missed it) the only spec not provided by you (or through that link) is the current power supply. Hard to recommend a new card without knowing that. You need to inspect your current supply and hopefully it will be labeled.

 

Good catch, for some reason I figured it would say it on the Amazon site... Anyways I got looking around since I got the usual written material with it including a quick start guide that says this:

CPU Board - ASROCK A320M/AC AM4 MATX
Sata3 m.2 usb 3.1

Power: apevia 600watt gold 80 plus power supply

 

if it's a lemon and not worth it, just tell me.
I bought the above PC back in 2021... Ironically April 1st
In October I started to have problems with it, turned out it was just dusty.. but randomly I would get other problems that would be intermittent.

I got so frustrated that not even a year later I bought: DELL Optiplex 7020
Specs: Core i7-4770 3.4GHz 32GB 1TB + 240GB SSD DVD-RW

I have made two changes to it, the 1TB that was in it was a laptop drive and making tons of noise even though all the tests I ran still claimed it was good.. So I swapped it out for a 4TB that I had sitting around that barely has any hours on... As for the DVD-RW I began to digitize my music collection and that would spin rather loud, so I opted that out for a LG BluRay Burner

The sad thing is, if you look up the processors of the two PCs. The i7 edges out the Ryzen 3
but if you run benchmark on the two... the CyberPowerPC edges out the Dell, mainly because of it's got a dedicated graphics card since the Ryzen 3 didn't have an onboard one... The two benchmarks were less than 100 point difference too:
CyberPowerPC - 318
Dell - 228

I back up my important files every 1-3 days when on the CyberPowerPC, ever since the first issues happened cause my gut tells me to

I'll never buy another no name PC again

I've been having the feeling that I don't know as much about computers as I use to

to be honest I've even been looking at mini pcs too

 

A "lemon" would suggest a device is having regular failures. You don't specify what type of failures you've been having with this computer so unable to tell if caused by PSU.

You did mention dust (thus heat) issues and that is normal. Regular inspections and, when necessary, cleaning out heat-trapping dust is a user task that MUST done. If your case does not have removable, washable air filters, those inspections and cleaning must be done more frequently than with a filtered case (and why I will never buy a case without filters).

More frequent inspections and cleaning are needed when there are multiple occupants (2 and 4 legged) in the house shedding dander and stirring up dust.

I will say that 80 PLUS Gold is good, but 80 PLUS certifications are no indication of reliability or quality - other than efficiency. And Gold's require 90% efficiency at 50% load is excellent. If you need a new supply, I typically recommend Gold.

600W is typically more than adequate for most users - with a quality supply. That said, Apevia is not a brand with a reputation known for quality.

As far as a graphics card, I am afraid I have not kept up on what is best for the money. I suggest you search best cards for the money and see if the same card in your price range is on more than one list.

It is is important to understand that, just like graphics cards, many makers offer what is essentially (almost) the same card, but under their own brand name. They all assemble components from other makers.

For example, your "no name computer" has an AMD CPU, NVIDIA GPU, and ASRock motherboard. Those are all "name brand" makers. Same with graphics card. So if you buying a prebuilt computer, note what's inside, but also note warranties and support.

So I recommend you find a card, then plug that card and the word "review" in your search engine and see what comes up. Don't put too much weight on "user reviews" unless there are many complaining about the exact same thing.

Last, because graphics cards are often the most power hungry devices in our computers, you do need to verify your current supply (if you decide to keep it) will support it and your other components. I recommend using a good PSU calculator and the best and only one I use and recommend is the eXtreme OuterVision PSU Calculator. This will calculate your minimum needs and recommend a suitable size for those needs.

Plug in all your current components. Be sure to plan ahead and include all the hardware you think you might add in 2 or 3 years (extra drives, bigger or second video card, more RAM, etc.).

I recommend setting CPU utilization to 100% and Computer Utilization Time to 16 hours per day. These settings will help compensate for component aging, and add a little extra padding to the results. This will also result in a little cooler and quieter operation.

Note you may need to get a new PSU if the new graphics card's auxiliary power connector is not supported by your current Apevia. If that happens, don't toss the Apevia. It is always nice to have a spare PSU for testing purposes.

 

Thanks for the information, see I got looking up the other day "failing power supply" since one of the things I've noticed. Especially when watching youtube but it happens more and more often when not is the screen would flash with black boxes.. just empty black boxes on the "no name computer" and I read that could be a sign of failing power supply. So over the last day or so I hooked up the dell (mentioned above) I don't have that problem, even though I can't do much on the dell cause it's onboard graphics but the processor is a bit faster than the no name one that I'm looking for a graphics card for.

As for user reviews, yeah I have a hard time trusting user reviews. For a number of reasons, most reviews are written in the first month of it's purchase so if everything works like it should the review and new and shiny and speaks highly of the product when the product hasn't been fully tested, I know I'm guilty of that too.

Right now from what I see most things in my price range are rather old. As for replacing the power supply, I don't know how to do it myself so I'd have to take it to a local computer shop and seeing the prices of some of these supplies at $400+ it makes me wonder if the money wouldn't be better spent on a new computer since I've read that a power supply would depend on the motherboard and since everything that I've read about the motherboard installed says it's rather low end I may be better to just shop for a new device all together.

 

The problem with troubleshooting potential power supply problems is that power supply problems are not simple binary issues. That is, it is not like a PSU either works perfectly or doesn't work at all. That would be simple to troubleshoot.

Instead, there are 3 voltages a PSU must output (+3.3VDC, +5VDC and +12VDC), each is essential and each must not deviate more than ±5% from the requirement. There must not be excessive ripple.

A problem PSU and cause a wide variety of symptoms that may or may not "appear" to be a power supply problem at all. This is why swapping in a known good PSU just to see if problems persist or go away is a tried and true method of troubleshooting and should be one of the very first steps in computer troubleshooting.

Yeah, I wish sites that solicit user reviews would come back in a year to see if the user is still happy or not. But most reviewers don't come back after they have used the product for a while to write reviews, so we don’t learn how the product holds up over time. Also, users typically don't have comparable products to compare with for proper side-by-side (A-B) comparisons, nor do they have properly equipped testing facilities or the necessary technical training for a proper evaluation.

Often times you will see products down-rated because it was a different color than shown on Newegg or Amazon, the Post Office delivered it to the house next door, UPS delivered it a day late, or the box looked like it fell off the FedEx truck.

 

Yeah I'm guilty of the quick good review too, but I'll admit I was money hungry. That no name computer I got, it came with a shiny new cardboard slip that said "get money back" so they had 3 sites that it listed one being amazon and I don't remember the other two, but for each good review that you posted you can get up to $90 back ($30 per review) so I seen the dollar signs since the no name cost me over a grand to get I thought a bit money back would be nice. So I quickly dropped the 3 good reviews and got $90 back in amazon gift cards and they were legit too.
That was all within the first week.

But of course when I started to have problems with it I logged back into amazon and updated it, dumping all over the product. After buying a duster and dusting it and finding that fixed the problem (or so it seems) I changed the review again.

Computers can be very expensive, I also don't understand that I got shopping around and they have these gaming computers with a 250gb ssd and that's it... 250gb is nothing for space. both my computers have two drives and if I calculated what I used in one it's over 250gb.

But while shopping I would often compare right now the processor between what was on screen and what was in the machine I was looking at, sadly the one sitting infront of me appears to be the better processor than what I was shopping for.

I've also often thought about upgrading the graphics card in the dell (mentioned above) instead of the no name since the processor is a bit quicker, but it's power supply is much lower, after a google search it appears to be: max 290W 80+Bronze Stock

but in many ways I see me just leaving it. things have changed so much that I don't understand it since I've read on some tests that some i3's are better than i7's which is enough to make me scratch my head

 

Each "good" review? What if you posted a bad review? No $30? If so, that definitely would not be a company I would trust, or buy from.

 

Good review = $30
Bad review = $0

Company = CyberPowerPC

I thought about scanning that slip and posting it here at first, but it was that shiny cardboard so you couldn't scan it

 

Glad I build my own.

 

my brother took the same route, the last time I had it hooked up the graphics card was so out of date and to replace it was equal to a new PC so I thought why buy a graphics card when I can start fresh with a new PC.

 

Philipp thanks for the suggestion, I like the price you guys have in the USA cause up here in Canada that card is $700 or more

 

@Philipp will my power supply be enough for it? doing research it says it needs a minimum of 550watts mine is only 50 watts more than that

 

thanks for the quick response, found it for $400 on amazon up here.

 

Sorry if this is seen as inappropriate, but either computer seems destined to be unsupported by the end of Win 10 in 2025. Rather than trying to make slight "upgrades" NOW, I'd save a little longer, and get at least a newer computer with an i5-10th Generation, (or better, 12th Gen is normal now.) or similar Ryzen with similar capabilities and Win 11 compatibility to that. Even an i7 4th Generation is already "old," (So is my i7-7700, so don't feel too bad) You MIGHT be better off to upgrade the power supply to (a quality name brand) something you CAN use in the future; a GOOD quality can easily last far more than "three to five years." I'd try to wait on upgrading the video card; in a few months (or maybe a year or two) the prices should come DOWN, and performance will be even better than what is now available, at a premium price. I wouldn't necessarily "consider" the "Cyber Power PC" as bad, it IS constructed from (apparently) reputable parts and good quality components for the most part, although some parts might have been used to cut "corners," and just because a computer is "marketed" as a "GAMING" computer, doesn't mean it's the best choice for that purpose. (Some "gaming" computers are good for nothing but "PONG" or "PacMan," but still marketed as "gaming" computers.)

In MY personal opinion, I'd save more for a new computer in a couple of years, rather than spending much for any "upgrades" on the current computer(s) NOW, that will be obsolete in a couple of years. A new power supply, even if NOT immediately needed, if of sufficient power (AT least 800 Watts?) may be the one "upgrade' I'd recommend, if needed, or wanted to use as a "spare" in the future. Obviously, YMMV.

 

@LJR thanks for the suggestion but I think at this time doing the smaller upgrades is my best bet the Cyber Power PC one that I mostly talk about cost me just shy of a grand when I bought it and that was just at the start of the pandemic, I've seen how high prices have gone for some things. In fact that graphics card that was recommended to me, I've seen it on some sites for a grand if not higher and my jaw just dropped when I saw that.

I did buy the graphics card that was suggested by @Philipp it was supposed to be here today but due to some bad weather, it got delayed a day or two.

I honestly don't see my computer being dropped out of support anytime soon, the CyberPowerPC got the free upgrade to win11 and the Dell that was mentioned above didn't get it, but I managed to bump it up anyway and it runs better on win11 than 10.

Three to five years while it may not seem far away, lots can happen. I'll see what life has tossed my way between now and then, before I look at buying a new PC and take it from that point.

Thanks for your suggestions, I appreciate them.

 

NOW, you have made me VERY curious. I don't know about the Windows 11 requirements for RYZEN (AMD) processors, but Microsoft says Win 11 requires at LEAST an 8th Generation processor, and yours seems to be 4th generation processor. It also requires TPM 2.x, which MAY or may not be in/on your Dell computer, but also requires "Secure Boot," AND UEFI BIOS. Please, instruct me (and others) how that was accomplished, or did you have to use a"clean install" to bypass those requirements? Really, I AM curious, and you can help others, as well.
Either way, I wish you GOOD luck and hope your systems will function well into the future.

 

BTW< I was suggesting saving for a new computer in about 2025, (when MS support for Win 10 ends) NOT suggesting an immediate purchase. If the new video card IS still good then it can probably be transferred to a new machine. )

 

I honestly don't know, I tried to get the upgrade and I ran the microsoft update process to see if my CPU qualified and the first time I ran it, it said no cause it failed the secure boot. Once I learned how to enable that option it gave me that green checkmark saying I can get the win11 upgrade so I got it... Even when I run WhyNotWin11 everything comes up green. I had to do a clean install for my dell computer (listed above)

 

Yes, I was aware of what you meant.

 

Now, I'm even more confused. I HAVE "UEFI," and"Secure Boot" with an i7-7700. (The Best Dell had at the time.) But even though "TPM" is "Firmware" activated in BIOS, it is not present nor is the MoBo capable, despite Dell's insistence that anything they sold after 12017 HAD TPM; even my (older) Lenovo laptop has TPM active. Without TPM2, I know I would have to do a "clean install" to bypass the TPM requirement, but does YOUR experience mean I would be able to use Win 11 (when the inevitable occurs in 2025?) (Dell certainly hasn't been totally honest about my machine, it took two "in-house" service calls and a trip back the factory in Texas [under warrantee] to get it working properly, or so I thought. and the factory had to "modify" the MoBo before it was returned. )

 

To upgrade my dell I did a clean install and I also used RUFUS when you create the ISO through it, it gives you an option to bypass the secure boot

https://rufus.ie/pics/screenshot4_en.png

 

I certainly understand that with the RYZEN (AMD) processors, upgrades ARE possible, as long as the MoBo BIOS and PIN socket are compatible. (That's not often the case with Intel i3-5-7- processors between generations.)

 

AHA! THAT explains a lot!!! The MS "Media Creation" route (normally?) does not even offer a way to bypass at least some of those options, but are present in (I always knew I would have to use a "clean boot" version of Win 11, not an "upgrade route," if I had ANY chance of running Win 11 (when the time comes.) a RUFUS Boot version of Win 11. THANK YOU for that info!
If/when I NEED to upgrade my Win 10 i7-7700, I'll certainly keep that in mind; the "clean install" will be of no major concern, (other than worrying about support for my two printers and flat bed scanner.)
Now I may be paranoid, but at some point, could/would not Microsoft simply say computer without one of the key requirements(such as processor level, or TPM) simply shut them off from further updates, citing "security" issues? That's the only "problem" I have with such ways of bypassing the actual "requirements" of Windoze 11.
But thank you, never the less.

 

I have not had microsoft come up and do that, I don't know if they will but to take things one step further I have even did beta testing of future windows with my dell pc and while it comes up and says "your pc doesn't mean requirements and may have issues" that's the only warning I've ever gotten.

 

Okay, folks, I'm sure you are hoping for some sort of update so here we go and I apologize right now for any bad language that may come out...

January 1st I ordered the graphics card, it was supposed to be in on the 4th but now showed (amazon claimed bad weather) it showed up on the 5th I let it get to room temperature which it kinda already was at the time so I put it in, it's a simple plug-n-play concept so it took nothing to install... or did it? I got it installed and I turned on the PC and it wouldn't find the monitor it kept claiming no monitor was hooked up or anything like that, I tried HDMI and I tried DisplayPort same answer.. I used my iPad to look up how to install things just to make sure I didn't overlook anything and everything was right.

On top of that, I then plugged in the Nvidia graphics card things booted up without issues I then removed those drivers thinking that maybe the problem, and I had the same stupid problem with the Ati one as it couldn't find the monitor... I removed things plugged the Nvidia one back in and I made a backup of a few files I recently used and I'm sending the ATI one back.

From here on out I'm using the Dell (mentioned above) because quite frankly I'm tired of that stupid f'n CyberPowerPC POS. Over the last week, I was playing a game called Out Of The Park Baseball and it created an HTML almanac from time to time I output it, and now I have quite the history in that game cause I'll rapidly run it from times so I outputted things and the output was about 10GB and when I went to delete things while I was listening to music on the same secondary HDD (2 TB) it maxed out its usage, but the music played with no flaws in it what so ever it was mainly the deletion of files it had issues with...

I've had it with that computer it's sitting behind me and I'm in the process of getting the ATI graphics card ready to send back to Amazon... I'm tired of that stupid other PC and I don't want anything to do with it anymore, it's been stressing me out since after the warranty has gone out on it the next PC I buy will be a name brand one but I have no idea if/when that will be

Thanks for your help in helping me try to upgrade but sadly I think the problem is the power supply I think they lied to me about it. I don't think the one I saw the sticker of I don't think it's right but for me to access it I have to strip my computer right down to nothing because of how they have it set up, I have no interest in doing it cause I'm not one of those guys. To me, it's easier to just buy something else when/if I get the money to do so.

I also recently updated my Amazon review giving it 1 star and telling people not to believe the hyper nor the reviews about computers from that company (CyberPowerPC) because they pay it's users for good reviews.

 

Nope, because according to the site its a plug/play no additional power. But it doesn't matter anymore, it's in the box to go back to amazon.

If possible feel free to close the thread

 

@Philipp - the power supply is so hidden in this computer it's unreal for example, you see in the image below, at the very very bottom just below the white you see two spots with two screws sticking up, the two screws mean nothing because those two spots aren't actually covering holes but the power supply is underneath that and all the wires are jammed underneath that, so the cord would have be crazy long to stretch from that to the graphics card... but as I said the graphics card is back in the amazon box and will be shipped back to amazon on Monday
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71SLPZuJ-EL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

 

that's nice and all, but it's all back in the box ready to go back to amazon. I have no intention of opening the box.
I thought it was simple plug/play no additional stuff involved.

Which is why I started a new thread called MiniPC's cause I keep looking at them. I just want a simple device.

I have given up on that machine 100%

 

After mistakenly buying a (first, and only) "name brand" i7-7700, my next computer will be one I build for myself. After building more than 15 computers for myself or others (with no complaints) I refuse to bow to a "name brand's" thinking they know what I want...or how I want to do that.

 

Doubt I'll comment further; YMMV.