Upgrade old PC with new graphics card?

[595Heaven]

Sorry about the spelling in the title!



Built my PC in 2015, and it has been perfectly good at everything I need it for up to now. I've just bought a drone, and video editing is very slow.

The motherboard has built in Intel HD Graphics 4600, which I suspect is the biggest bottleneck.

Motherbard is an Asus H81M-P Plus and has a PCI Express x16 slot - I'm not clear if this is still a current tstandard or not. Would a new graphics card be worthwhile?

Any suggestions? Don't really want to spend a fortune on it but would be nice to speed up the editing process!

[joshleb]

What's the full spec?

Can go to settings - about and should list CPU and RAM

[595Heaven]

Here you go...

Mobo: ASUS H81M-P PLUS
Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 @ 3.20GHz
RAM: 16.0GB
PSU: Cooler Master B500 v2 500W

Main drive is a Samsung SSD

The windows Experience Score is:

<SystemScore>6.4</SystemScore>
<MemoryScore>8.9</MemoryScore>
<CpuScore>8.9</CpuScore>
<CPUSubAggScore>7.9</CPUSubAggScore>
<VideoEncodeScore>9.9</VideoEncodeScore>
<GraphicsScore>6.4</GraphicsScore>
<Dx9SubScore>9.9</Dx9SubScore>
<Dx10SubScore>9.9</Dx10SubScore>
<GamingScore>9.9</GamingScore>
<DiskScore>8.2</DiskScore>

[dudleybloke]

A graphics card will definitely be an improvement on the onboard graphics.
I'm assuming it's using SSD too.

Had a further look at the spec you're running and I think a pc upgrade might be what you need for 4k editing.

I edit my 4k drone vids on my phone using Powerdirector, does it quicker than my pc which is a i5-7600 with onboard Intel 530 graphics.

Edited by dudleybloke on Saturday 5th August 14:45

[595Heaven]

Thanks - Yes, it is pretty old now, but does everything else I need it to do perfectly well - I don't game on it, so graphics haven't been an issue until now. If I could speed it up for not too much money it woudl be worth the money.

Just downloaded Powerdirector to my phone so will give it a go - cheers for mentioning it

[mmm-five]

Well, the CPU is a 4C/4T one from 2017, and almost any CPU from this decade would trounce it...including just by using the iGPU.

However, that motherboard will not support anything current, so the best CPU you'll get for that LGA1150 socket will be the same generation, but in an i7-4790K with 4C/8T...but the same iGPU...for about £100 new, or £30+ on ebay.

Depending on the software you're using (and whether newer versions are compatible with your Windows version), you could pop in a GTX1060 GPU from ebay for about £50.

I don't believe that motherboard has a m.2 slot, so assume the SSD/HDD are SATA...if it's a HDD, then an SSD upgrade would help too...again another £50 for a basic big-brand ( Crucial, Kingston, WD, Samsung, etc.) 1TB SATA SSD.

[595Heaven]

Thanks for posting - really helpful.

[Soft Top]

mmm-five said:

Well, the CPU is a 4C/4T one from 2017, and almost any CPU from this decade would trounce it...including just by using the iGPU.

However, that motherboard will not support anything current, so the best CPU you'll get for that LGA1150 socket will be the same generation, but in an i7-4790K with 4C/8T...but the same iGPU...for about £100 new, or £30+ on ebay.

Depending on the software you're using (and whether newer versions are compatible with your Windows version), you could pop in a GTX1060 GPU from ebay for about £50.

I don't believe that motherboard has a m.2 slot, so assume the SSD/HDD are SATA...if it's a HDD, then an SSD upgrade would help too...again another £50 for a basic big-brand ( Crucial, Kingston, WD, Samsung, etc.) 1TB SATA SSD.

That’s cracking information and those changes should make quite a difference to the machine.

[595Heaven]

Soft Top said:

That’s cracking information and those changes should make quite a difference to the machine.

Yep, massively helpful.

[Donbot]

Check the software you are using to find out how much it uses a GPU for doing stuff. If the software is heavy on the processor you would be best off getting a new pc.

[mmm-five]

Of course, if you do all that, you may find it simpler/cheaper to buy a 2nd hand complete small form factor PC with a 6/7/8th gen i7, an SSD and W10.

For example...

• HP Prodesk 400 G5 @ £199
• HP Elitedesk 800 G4 @ £189

[dmsims]

Cart before the horse, what software do you use for editing ?

[the-photographer]

mmm-five said:

Of course, if you do all that, you may find it simpler/cheaper to buy a 2nd hand complete small form factor PC with a 6/7/8th gen i7, an SSD and W10.

For example...

• HP Prodesk 400 G5 @ £199
• HP Elitedesk 800 G4 @ £189

Or any small Dell, check https://www.dellrefurbished.co.uk/ for deals.

Or a DIY Intel NUC from the past 2-3 years

[595Heaven]

dmsims said:

Cart before the horse, what software do you use for editing ?

I was just using the Movie Maker app bundled with Windows, which restricts output to 1080p, and it is very slow. I'll probably get Adobe Premiere Elements or something similar

the-photographer said:

Or any small Dell, check https://www.dellrefurbished.co.uk/ for deals.

Or a DIY Intel NUC from the past 2-3 years

Yes, seems like a good place to get a deal. The desktops / towers all seem to have integrated graphics, but maybe they are quicker than mine.

They also have Intel Xeon Workstations with NVidia Quattro graphics - Any good?

[the-photographer]

595Heaven said:

dmsims said:

Cart before the horse, what software do you use for editing ?

I was just using the Movie Maker app bundled with Windows, which restricts output to 1080p, and it is very slow. I'll probably get Adobe Premiere Elements or something similar

the-photographer said:

Or any small Dell, check https://www.dellrefurbished.co.uk/ for deals.

Or a DIY Intel NUC from the past 2-3 years

Yes, seems like a good place to get a deal. The desktops / towers all seem to have integrated graphics, but maybe they are quicker than mine.

They also have Intel Xeon Workstations with NVidia Quattro graphics - Any good?

Its a complicated subject, do some reading around it

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-elements/using/gp...
https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-elements-d...

The xeon machines might be beneficial at the cost of electricity compared to the small form factor alternatives (depends how long use use that machine, just for rendering or eight hours a day, five days a week).

[595Heaven]

Just to update this...

Lived with the PC for a little while longer, but now getting nag messages about Windows 10 support ending next year, and this PC isn't able to be upgraded to Windows 11, so I ended up ordering a new PC this week.

Went from a home built PC:

Mobo: ASUS H81M-P PLUS
Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 @ 3.20GHz
RAM: 16.0GB
PSU: Cooler Master B500 v2 500W
Main drive: Samsung SSD

Wanted to build another, but the prices mean it is just not economic. Didn't want a laptop, and most of the tower systems are gaming spec (or wannabe specs) with glass side panels and gaudy RGB lights and fans which I can't stand. Just give me a quiet black box please!

Settled on a Dell Inspiron, and waited for their regular offers to improve.

New PC specs:

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 14700F
OS: Windows 11 Home
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050
Memory: 16 GB DDR5
Storage: 1 TB SSD

Was on offer with 3 years on-site support, £100 discount and I got a further 7% discount through my employer's scheme, so paid just over £880 - seems like a pretty good deal

Their delivery times are ultra impressive. Ordered just before 4pm on Monday, and it arrived just before 9am on Tuesday!

Not had time to move everything across yet, although Windows 11 does a really good job of transferring stuff over the netowrk from my old PC.

Ordered a second 16GB of ram which arrived tonight. Also bought an external DVD drive (there is a blanked off slot in the case but they don't sell an internal one with a bezel to match the case so they look ugly) but Windows 11 doesn't seem to like it so it is going back.

Should fly in comparison to the old one. It's done me well for the last nine years though!

[wyson]

The right choice. I was about to say ditch the lot, not worth upgrading a 4th gen platform, when it’s become unsuitable for your needs. Total false economy.

[595Heaven]

wyson said:

The right choice. I was about to say ditch the lot, not worth upgrading a 4th gen platform, when it’s become unsuitable for your needs. Pennywise, pounds foolish.

Yes, that was the advice I got last year. Just been slow getting round to upgrading. The old one is plenty fast enough day to day, but struggles with video editing

[the-photographer]

595Heaven said:

Yes, that was the advice I got last year. Just been slow getting round to upgrading. The old one is plenty fast enough day to day, but struggles with video editing

Did it last year from 4th gen to 13th gen, it just makes everything faster.

[Soft Top]

I was reading your latest upgrade post and thinking that’s great but for a really small cost you could put more RAM in it and make a big difference for video editing and then BAM - the second last para says you’ve done exactly that - perfect!

This new PC should be a complete game changer for you.