New gaming machine spec help

Ciaran219

Hi, i bought a gaming machine recently and was told that it was really powerful, but i noticed i am having trouble playing skyrim on even low graphics settings, could someone look at my spec and let me know if this is a good machine or did i get stung? thanks

Processor Speed: 3.1 GHz
Core Qty: 2
Memory Capacity: 4 GB
Form Factor: ATX
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
Networking: Wired: 100 MBps
Processor Manufacturer: Intel

Processor: Intel Core i3 3.1 GHz Dual Core i3-2100
Memory: 4 GB DDR3 1333 (Up to 8GB Supported)
Hard Drive: 1 TB
Optical Drive: 22x DVD+/-RW
Power Supply: 500W
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-S
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency
Sound: 5.1 CH HD Audio
Networking: wired - 10/100Mbps
Operating System: Windows 7 / Vista / XP - Whatever
Rear Panel I/O:
1 x PS/2 Mouse Port
1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port
1 x VGA/D-Sub Port
1 x VGA/DVI-D Port
6 x Ready-to-Use USB 2.0 Ports
1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
HD Audio Jack: Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone
Front I/O: USB 2.0 x 2, Front HD Audio Connector, Front Microphone Connector
Warranty: 1 Year RTB on parts only

Graphics Card : VTX 3D 2GB PCIeX Radeon HD5450 Card - DDR3 DX11 VGA/DVI/HDMI

vicadd

I think the graphics card is your problem. It is very low end and not a gaming card by any stretch of the imagination.

System requirements are;
Supported Graphics Cards:
Minimum – nVidia GeForce 8800 / ATI Radeon HD 3850
Recommended -Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher; ATI Radeon 4890 or higher

See here for where your card 5450 compares with the minimum requirements 3850 and recommended 4890.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fastest-graphics-card-radeon-geforce,3085-7.html

Ciaran219

Cheers was checking it out, i was told that it was a brilliant card. i can play skyrim now after messing with the graphics on it. no where near as good as it should be. anyone got any sites for decent cards for sale? in ireland preferably

beno619

The prices at komplett.ie are quite good, Whats your budget ? HD 6850 / 6870 are good bang for buck GPU's at about €150.

deconduo

Ciaran219 wrote: »

Cheers was checking it out, i was told that it was a brilliant card. i can play skyrim now after messing with the graphics on it. no where near as good as it should be. anyone got any sites for decent cards for sale? in ireland preferably

Yeah you got totally ripped off, that card is pretty much the worst graphics card you buy. Its worth about €25 whereas a 'good' card for skyrim would be a 6950 or so which would cost €200-€250.

Ciaran219

deconduo wrote: »

Yeah you got totally ripped off, that card is pretty much the worst graphics card you buy. Its worth about €25 whereas a 'good' card for skyrim would be a 6950 or so which would cost €200-€250.

Thought so, i paid 550 for the whole machine? seemed like a good price? worth it besides the graphics cards? im gonna buy a new card in march, this one ill have to do till then. might try get one sooner though if i can

yoyo

Ciaran219 wrote: »

Thought so, i paid 550 for the whole machine? seemed like a good price? worth it besides the graphics cards? im gonna buy a new card in march, this one ill have to do till then. might try get one sooner though if i can

That sounds quite expensive, especially if no software (Windows etc.) licenses were included or a monitor! Asrock are cheap motherboards, possibly a cheap PSU, poor video card but decent CPU.

Nick

Ciaran219

no monitor on it, has windows 7. also wanted to know if i have a right to get my money back on this, as the wifi which was meant to be built into it on the motherboard, was not built in, so a new one has to be ordered for me. and also i had to set up the drivers myself when i received the machine. i was given the internet dongle to do me in the mean time

deconduo

Ciaran219 wrote: »

Thought so, i paid 550 for the whole machine? seemed like a good price? worth it besides the graphics cards? im gonna buy a new card in march, this one ill have to do till then. might try get one sooner though if i can

Its not a terrible price but it could have been better. For skyrim this is what you would want:

Item|Price
Total build cost: €605.94 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i3-2120 Box, LGA1155|€108.46
ASRock H61M-HVS (B3), Sockel 1155, mATX|€41.81
Xigmatek Asgard, ATX, ohne Netzteil, schwarz|€31.61
4GB Kingston ValueRAM PC3-10667U CL9|€16.31
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ)|€114.90
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€40.95
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€16.01
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (SB-Version)|€80.72
TP-Link TL-WN781N, 150Mbps, PCIe x1|€10.98
Sapphire HD6870 1G GDDR5 PCI-E DL-DVI-I+SL-DVI-D / HDMI / DP|€144.19

yoyo

Ciaran219 wrote: »

no monitor on it, has windows 7. also wanted to know if i have a right to get my money back on this, as the wifi which was meant to be built into it on the motherboard, was not built in, so a new one has to be ordered for me. and also i had to set up the drivers myself when i received the machine. i was given the internet dongle to do me in the mean time

If it came with a licensed copy of Windows its not a bad price, you couldn't just go and ask for your money back as you agreed to the spec at the time, they should have provided you with a wifi adaptor if that was included in the original spec which they did, very few motherboards have inbuilt wifi and most system builders would use a PCI card

Nick

Ciaran219

Well he told me that this motherboard has it built in, first i heard of it too. i dont really want my money back unless he isnt willing to do something with the cheap graphics card that he put into it. only then will i want my money back, i am able to ask for it back considering the problems i had and the spec not being what i asked for ament i?

yoyo

Ciaran219 wrote: »

Well he told me that this motherboard has it built in, first i heard of it too. i dont really want my money back unless he isnt willing to do something with the cheap graphics card that he put into it. only then will i want my money back, i am able to ask for it back considering the problems i had and the spec not being what i asked for ament i?

Unless you have in writing its a machine to play Skyrim I don't think you can do much, some high end mobos do have built in wifi, some specialist ones like HTPC ones also, but its not common.

Nick

Ciaran219

well i have it on facebook me send him the requirments and telling him this is what i need and he replied saying that it will be better than that.

duffman85

Ciaran219 wrote: »

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Graphics: Intel HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency
Sound: 5.1 CH HD Audio
Networking: wired - 10/100Mbps
Operating System: Windows 7 / Vista / XP - Whatever
Rear Panel I/O:
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Graphics Card : VTX 3D 2GB PCIeX Radeon HD5450 Card - DDR3 DX11 VGA/DVI/HDMI

Hmm, which graphics card is it using though? The second graphics card listed meet the minimum requirements so you should be able to play on low settings.

If you go to the 'Start Menu' and type device manager in the search box. look for display adapters - is there "!" sign beside the radeon? a screenshot would help:)

yoyo

duffman85 wrote: »

Hmm, which graphics card is it using though? The second graphics card listed meet the minimum requirements so you should be able to play on low settings.

If you go to the 'Start Menu' and type device manager in the search box. look for display adapters - is there "!" sign beside the radeon? a screenshot would help:)

My guess is the specs of the CPU were given, not all Core i3/i5/i7 etc support Intel Gfx anymore, so if you try using an unsupported one in a motherboard with integrated VGA port it will not work. The higher end tend to not support integrated video, why would they

Nick

Ciaran219

AMD Radeon 6450 hd is the graphics card in it apologies, the one stated above is not it. this is the correct one

Ciaran219

It's okay lads, was speaking to the owner that i bought the machine off of, card if being changed for something a little higher spec, thanks for the advice

yoyo

Ciaran219 wrote: »

It's okay lads, was speaking to the owner that i bought the machine off of, card if being changed for something a little higher spec, thanks for the advice

Good to hear, not a bad outcome in fairness

Nick

Ciaran219

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjZcWltLuFg&feature=relmfu

AMD Radeon HD 6950 this is being put in instead free of charge, Cant ask for much more than this

anto543

Ciaran219 wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjZcWltLuFg&feature=relmfu

AMD Radeon HD 6950 this is being put in instead free of charge, Cant ask for much more than this

Your going to need a 550w power supply to run a 6950.

It will run with a 500w power supply, but your pushing it, 500w is the absolute MINIMUM, just bear that in mind.

yoyo

anto543 wrote: »

Your going to need a 550w power supply to run a 6950.

It will run with a 500w power supply, but your pushing it.

A decent 500W PSU would likely be stable, its not OPs problem anyways

Nick

anto543

yoyo wrote: »

A decent 500W PSU would likely be stable, its not OPs problem anyways

Nick

True.

Ciaran, as long as you don't over clock anything, you'll be fine. Nice machine.

Ciaran219

yeah he said he was upgrading the psu aswell to cope with the new graphics card. seen as i seen this thing in action on youtube about 6 screens or 3 running off of now, is it possible without draining the **** out of the house haha

anto543

Ciaran219 wrote: »

yeah he said he was upgrading the psu aswell to cope with the new graphics card. seen as i seen this thing in action on youtube about 6 screens or 3 running off of now, is it possible without draining the **** out of the house haha

PC's are actually incredible efficient at saving power, don't worry.

Kettles use more power/hr assuming someone uses it on the regular.

Ciaran219

yeah i like my coffee smoke and gaming. i just need a second tv or monitor and im assuming a connector cable and thats it is it?

anto543

Ciaran219 wrote: »

yeah i like my coffee smoke and gaming. i just need a second tv or monitor and im assuming a connector cable and thats it is it?

Never used a duel monitor setup, so I got no clue

yoyo

Ciaran219 wrote: »

yeah i like my coffee smoke and gaming. i just need a second tv or monitor and im assuming a connector cable and thats it is it?

Most video cards will have two DVI outputs so its as simple as hooking up another screen (if VGA use a DVI->VGA adaptor-comes with most video cards) and Windows should do the rest .

Nick