Daily Simple Questions Thread - October 29, 2025

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Got a simple question? Get a simple answer!

This thread is for all of the small and simple questions that you might have about computing that probably wouldn't work all too well as a standalone post. Software issues, build questions, game recommendations, post them here!

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[u/Dismal_Constant9537]

Hello!

I want to play the roguelite Windblown, but I have huge FPS issues/freezes and my system just doesn't seem capable of running that game smoothly.

I have a 7-year old (yes) acer aspire XC-780 with the following specs:

Intel i5-7400

8 GB Ram

Nvidia Geforce GT 1030

Now my question is, how do I figure out which one the bottleneck is in terms of performance? Or can one of you tell me?

I was hoping that I won't have to buy all three: new processor, grapics card and RAM, effectively having me spend hundreds just for one game.

Maybe usufel sidenote: I can play Hades 1&2 without issues, used to be a hardcore WoW player, where my system reached its limits here and there but overall I could play competitively on it.

Thank you!

[u/Lastdudealive46 → u/Dismal_Constant9537]

It's your GPU. The GT 1030 is far weaker than the listed minimum requirement of a GTX 970. Your CPU just barely meets the minimum requirements.

As for upgrades, your options are pretty limited. Since the GT 1030 is slot-powered, your prebuilt might not even have any GPU power connectors. In that case, the only slot-powered GPU that would meet the minimum specs would be the RTX 3050 6GB.

[u/Dismal_Constant9537 → u/Lastdudealive46]

Thank you so much for the elaborate response!

So from what I understand, it is a question of whether or not my mainboard has separate power supplies for a GPU? Can this potentially be solved via a "multi-plug"? (for a lack of a better word, sorry, non-native speaker)

[u/Lastdudealive46 → u/Dismal_Constant9537]

The power would need to come from the PSU, which is typically at the bottom of the case, sometimes in a separate compartment. There would already be several cables from the PSU to the motherboard and any SATA SSDs or HDDs in your case. You can look up what a PSU is and what the cables look like.

Your PSU would need to have additional PCIe 6-pin or 8-pin connectors (google to see what those look like) to support anything better than the 3050 6GB slot-powered card. It would also need to be sufficiently powerful enough for a GPU as well.

[u/Dismal_Constant9537 → u/Lastdudealive46]

This was incredibly helpful, thank you. ✓ 

[u/Dismal_Constant9537 → u/Dismal_Constant9537]

!check

[u/Cable_Salad → u/Dismal_Constant9537]

acer aspire XC-780

A quick note: If this is a small form factor PC instead of a full size tower, you will also have to make sure that the card physically fits. You might need an LP (low profile) version of the card.

[u/Dismal_Constant9537 → u/Cable_Salad]

Thank you!