Upgrading 8th Gen HP Pavilion Gaming PC

[Stan_Laurel]

I bought this PC (HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop 790-0068) in late 2018. The CPU is Intel Core i5-8400 @ 2.80GHz. I did buy a new Pc last year, but I still use this one, but my nephew uses it more. I want to start upgrading it. Mainly the storage and the GPU.

It has a 1TB HDD, 16GB RAM, 300W Power Supply, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 3GB Graphics Card. It appears to have a NVMe SSD as well, but only around 120GB. I need to upgrade to at least a 500GB NVMe SSD. I assume I could easily do that. Inside the case, it has a second tray for HDD2. I assume I could put any SATA HHD or SATA SSD there. Now the GPU I'm not sure about. I want to upgrade to something like a GTX 1660 Super or an RTX 3050 or 3050 Ti as they're in my price range. I would prefer a 4050 because it's newer, and in my price range as well, but they're never in stock unless preinstalled in Laptops or PCs. I just want to know if I would be able to upgrade to a GPU like that? I think I saw a video on YouTube about my PC model that said you can't upgrade to a normal GPU, only mini Graphics Cards or something like that.

Also, although it has a GTX 1060, it only has a 300W PSU. On the site "gpucheck", it says the recommended power supply is 470W. I haven't had any problems yet, but of course I haven't played many games. 

[NonSequitur777]

@Stan_Laurel,

Welcome to our HP User Forum!

Your HP Pavilion 790-0068 Gaming Desktop PC (3LC00AA), as fitted with a Berks motherboard (SSID: 844C), according to: HP Pavilion 790-0068 Gaming Desktop PC Product Specifications | HP® Customer Support and: HP PartSurfer, is supposed to be fitted with a 400-watt power supply, with p/n: L04618-800 "Power Supply - GNRC PSU 400W SFF Entl FR".

That means I have to ask you to verify your existing power supply, as I can only see compatible 310-watt power supplies, namely with p/n: L03980-800 or L64961-800, please verify.

Regardless, you can purchase the aforementioned 400-watt power supply through eBay, such as this purchase option from a trusted Seller: New Genuine HP Pavilion Gaming 790-0020 GNRC 400W Power Supply L04618-800 OEM | eBay.

Please notice, that the proprietary "P2" power connector should have this color coding: red/white, white, black, green, grey, empty, black as seen here:

And NOT: empty, empty, empty, green, grey, empty, black.

The aforementioned eBay purchase example should have the correct P2 color coding, but if interested in upgrading your power supply, you may want to reach out to the Seller to make sure it is.

With a 400-watt power supply (which is equipped with one 6+2-pin PCIe power cable), you can upgrade your desktop to an HP (or Dell-) branded RTX 3060 12GB, which only requires one 8-pin PCIe power cable -like I did with one of my HP desktop legacy upgrade projects: Solved: Upgrading to an HP ProDesk 600 G4 MT - HP Support Community - 8610054.

Link: HP RTX 3060 OEM Specs | TechPowerUp GPU Database.

You can purchase an HP-branded RTX 3060 via eBay, such as through this trusted Seller: HP Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 12GB DDR6 TPC-M011G Graphics Card [GJ18] | eBay.

The difference between the graphics performance of a GTX 1060 3GB and an RTX 3060 12GB: UserBenchmark: Nvidia GTX 1060-3GB vs RTX 3060.  Gaming in ultra 1080P or high 1440P settings works well with this card, btw.

Hope this was helpful.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[Stan_Laurel]

Yeah, I wasn't looking in the right spot when trying to find what the PSU wattage was. I saw on the cord itself 300v, thinking it was a W instead of a V. I still can't find where it says 400w, but I'll just take your word for it that it is. 

And you're saying I can only upgrade to an HP or Dell branded GPU? So was the 3060 the only one that has an HP version? What about the 1660, the 3050, the 4050 (when it's available), or the AMD cards? HP or Dell doesn't have those? I already have a new PC with an RTX 3070 so I don't really need a Graphics Card that advanced, just one that's more advanced than the 1060. Of course I wouldn't mind having the 3060 if I could find one for the right price. 

Thanks.

[NonSequitur777 · Accepted solution]

@Stan_Laurel,

Yes, a GTX 1660 or an RTX 3050 would also be A-OK on your 400-watt power supply, as long as any of them don't require more than one 6+2-pin PCIe power cable.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777