GPU upgrage HP Envy 860-019

[jashazzard]

Hi. I have an HP Envy 860-019. It is the first gaming PC I have ever had. It has a GTX 960 graphics card that was factory installed. I would love to upgrade my graphics card. But I dont know what parts are compatible and what is required. I was wondering if anyone has this PC and has had success doing this and which parts I Should use. Someone told me it's very hit or miss upgrading the card in this model. I am on a budget of about $500 but the less expensive the better. I dont require 4k or VR anything like that but my gtx 960 isn't cutting it any more. Any information would be greatly appreciated

[wb2001]

@jashazzard,

In the hopes that others will read this, and learn from it, lets get some issues and facts.

You said the GTX 960 is not cutting it anymore...what you did not say was why?  What game(s) are you into?  The "legwork" is yours, OK? 

Go here and enter a game name.

Enter a game name, eg: Assassin Creed requirements" into your browser> ,

find the page for game debate, eg:

https://www.game-debate.com/games/index.php?g_id=35624&game=Assassins%20Creed:%20Odyssey

punch in the parameters of your system, and gain some insights.  Then change the graphic card.

[jashazzard]

The reason It's not cutting it is because I would like to play the more graphics intense games at higher settings. For example Apex Legends, Farcry 5, and Final Fantasy XV are all games i own but the optimal graphics settings for them with the 960 are very low. I play at 1920 1080 resolution. I appreciate the hardware recommendation very much.

[Grizzlys2k]

For gaming at 1080p....you can use a Geforce GTX 1060 or 1070....no need to go higher than that...if you can find one in your budget also take a look at Nvidia RTX 2060...which is much newer and has a lot of potential foryour use!

[jashazzard]

Ok. That sounds good. I will look into doing this. My only reservation is because of this:

A guy where I was working at the time bought the exact same model PC at the same time I did.

He upgraded his GPU shortly after buying it and told me that he tried several different GPUs and PSUs because some of the ones he bought did not function properly or at all in the PC. I am worried about this and trying to avoid buying one that the PC doesn't like because they are expensive and I don't want to have to try and return things if it can be avoided. I was hoping for a hardware recommendation for the GPU and/or PSU that someone has tested in this PC model. Sorry for all the questions. I really appreciate all the help. Please bear with me.

[jashazzard]

If I were to get a gtx 1060 would I still need to upgrade the PSU? I like the idea of going with a gtx 1060. I read on a different forum when I was googling info about all this and someone mentioned this: They said for the person with the same computer model as me that the GPU they upgrade to must be a blower style GPU. I've looked at the Blower style GPUs on amazon and they are quite a bit more expensive. I am just wondering if this is actually  necessary or what your thoughts on it are?

[jashazzard]

My main games are MMOs I play a lot of World of Warcraft. and yes the 960 runs this game pretty good still but when I first bought the PC it could run WOW at max settings.  I would like to get back to a situation where I was doing that. But I have about 200 games on steam many of the newer games as well. I was disappointed with my GPUs optimal settings for Apex Legends when I got that game. Very low settings. Far cry 5 has the graphics settings slider all the way to the left at the very lowest for the optimization.

I have my PC connected to a 42' 1080p TV and use that as my only display, I don't know if that factors in to what solution would be best to go with?

Related to the blower style GPU thing I mentioned, he said he recommended this because this PC model has a small case. and the fans on non blower style GPUs just blow hot air into the case. Is this actually a problem I am likely to run into?

I hadn't really thought the case was small but I have nothing to compare it to.

Again I really appreciate you taking the time to help with my questions

[jashazzard]

These are the exact spec of my PC. I have not made any adjustments/upgrades to any of the hardware other than using a different keyboard and mouse.

HP ENVY 860 Phoenix Key Specs (as Tested)

• Quad-core Intel Core i7-6700 CPU @ 3.4GHz with 8GB shared cache
• 16 GB DDR4-2133 DIMM RAM (2x 8GB with 2 slots free)
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 graphics card with 2GB RAM
• 2 TB Seagate Barracuda HD, 7200rpm
• 128 GB SSD
• High Definition Audio by Bang & Olufsen with 5.1 Surround capability
• 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth M.2 NIC
• 600W power adapter, liquid cooling
• DVI, HDMI video output
• 1 mini PCIe slot, 2 PCIe x16 slots
• LED lighting with HP Lighting Control customization
• 2 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0 (plus 2x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 7-in-1 media card reader and audio port on top)
• 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet
• SuperMulti DVD burner
• Windows 10 Home 64-bit preinstalled
•  

[jashazzard]

regarding the very first reply: Yes I know how to check the system requirements of games. I usually take a look at them before purchasing a game. The newer games that have been coming out and I've been wanting to get have recommended specs with GPUs that are more powerful than the gtx 960

Sorry for the multiple posts but I am just trying to be specific and thorough with my inquiries

My PC is connected via HDMI to the TV i mentioned. Also my computer is connected to the internet via Ethernet cable.

I am pretty careful about keeping it clean of malware, ect and keeping software/drivers ect up to date

[jashazzard]

I have friend who work in tech that would likely help with the actual installation of the hardware. I am just very uncertain of what to buy and anxious about doing it. $500 is a big deal for me to spend and I want to make sure if i spend the money I will get something that actually ends up working properly. I game enough that it is worth the investment for me to do this.

I would prefer to go with the gtx 1060 but I don't know what exact 1060 model of GPU to get that will be compatible with my PC or if I need to buy/do anything in addition to this