I am saving up for a gaming PC. For right now we have a HP Envy 700-414 desktop computer. It is the family computer. We got it because our other family computer was a ASUS Q500
laptop that was being repaired by geek squad and they thrashed it. So we were able to get this one at a good price. Now, while I am saving up for a gaming PC I still want to play my
games that I just have sitting in steam. Since we all are gamers to some degree in my family I was figuring on purchasing a GPU for this PC so we all can enjoy it until I can build a dedicated
gaming PC.

The specs for this PC are:
I5-4570 3.2ghz
12 GB of RAM
2TB hard drive
460W PSU

I was thinking of picking up a Sapphire Dual-X R9 280 as it is not to expensive but gets descent performance. But I want to know if the stock PSU can handle the power usage of the r9 280
(I actually don't even know if power usage of the 280. I was told it is 200w, is this true)? If not, what do you think the strongest GPU the stock PSU can handle? Could it handle a GPU with
a 145w power usage? I would upgrade the PSU f needed, but I would prefer not to if I don't need to.

Also, what kind of performance would I get in battlefield 4, Far cry 4, GTA V and stuff like that with the R9 280?

According to specs, the R9 280 wants about 250W under load... That doesnt leave you a lot of overhead with a 460W PSU. If you're concerned about power, the GTX 960 is available at the same price point with 1/3 to 1/2 the power requirements. A comparison is here though Im not sure what the hell is going on with the benchmark numbers. An in-game comparison can be found here. Additionally, power consumption info for the R9 280 and the GTX 960.

You're gonna need a bigger PSU.

Thank you for the help. I never even considered the GTX 960 because I heard from everyone that is was a bad performing card. Which version of the GTX 960
do you think I should get, the 2GB or the 4GB version? Also which brand do you think I should look at for the GTX 960? I assume the MSI GTX 960 4GB gaming edition
or the EVGA GTX 960 4GB SC ACX 2.0+.

Always, ALWAYS go with the most VRAM you can afford on the card. No one ever said "Gee, I wish I had bought less!"

I've had good luck with EVGA. Can't really go wrong with MSI either if their video cards are as good as their main boards.

Everything else has been covered, but I would recommend against the 280x in general. I have one and I hate it, had driver issues since day one. Some drivers are really bad and cause flickering/artifacts. I actually hate it so much I will never buy a refresh card again.

Thank you guys for all of the help. I guess I will research the gtx 960 some more.
I have a couple of questions though.

What kind of performance gain does the gtx 960 get from a good overclocking?
Or is the gain not worth it, because I haven't seen really anyone do it online.

How well does the EVGA gtx 960 sc acx 2.0+ stay cool? I the few reviews I saw online
they showed it ran pretty hot.

I am sorry you had so many problems with your r9 280x VBK180. But I was originally
going with just a plain r9 280. Not the x version.  It really seems like every computer
part that is sold now are 50/50, hallf sold will work and the other half wont.

Again, I thank you guys for your help. But I have one more question for now. The HP envy 700-414 that I have has a top mounted PSU. If I wanted
to upgrade it to a more powerful unit so I could get a more powerful graphics card then the GTX 960, what PSU would I get? I have been
googling this, but I don't have the greatest google-fu so I cant find a answer. I would love to at least get a GTX 970 if I could.

I actually did come across several Mini-ITX builds were people used 450W PSU with GTX 970 graphic cards.

Could you snag a photo of the PSU? Theyre more or less standardized so if we know what were looking for, we can point you in the right direction easily. A good PSU is one of those buy once (for $100) and keep it for a decade.

Which version of the GTX 960 you should get?


The answer is (at least) GTX 970


 


And you're going to need a new PSU either way. Hopefully your PSU isn't proprietary to HP

FWIW an approximation of your build with a GTX 960 comes out to ~340W. With a GTX 970, you're looking at more like ~380W... Both will be slightly higher if they're factory overclocked. Unless you're running several hard disks, overclocking, or charging 10 iPhones simultaneously, 460W will be fine for the 960 and, probably, the 970. The days of requiring 600W+ PSUs for your average machine are gone.

It will be a little bit before I can snap a picture of the inside of the computer.  And when I can it wont be
very good because all I have is the tablet to be able to take the picture with. But, here is a picture of the
HP Envy 700-030qe that uses the same PSU. HP says its an internal ATX form factor.

I would love to be able to get a GTX 970. Just I didnt think the PSU could handle it. But I also didnt want to spend to much on this computer because this is still the family computer and I am saving up for a dedicated gaming pc.
Here is what I want to build. I dont know if I want to use this motherboard or an Asus z97-a. I only picked that one Originally because there was a combo discount with it and the MSI GTX 980 TI gaming graphics card.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rjhDdC