GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Timothy Kim60 said:Giga's got it slightly cheaper over in the admin section.$352)

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This one really ought to be without the power connector....$367

Review

And this one's supposed to be PCIe powered too? Figures. For less. $317 Gotovina.

So, is there actually any performance difference between them? I don't know. But honestly, I’m leaning toward the first one—those dual fans seem better. Probably quieter and runs cooler, too. 😬

The second cheaper one in the description comes with a 4-pin to 6-pin adapter, so looks like that one has a power connector too. I just need my PSU to have a Molex, but I'm looking at this HP machine that doesn't have anything.

I was expecting something better down there. $333Whatever. Even if it had 2 GB and a single fan, I wouldn't care.
I've got two other rigs running HD7850s. One’s a single-fan model, the other’s a dual-fan setup. Obviously, that Sapphire dual-fan card is quieter, but honestly? Even the single-fan one isn't exactly screaming at me. Still, the 7850 pulls way more power than an RX460. Not efficient.

If you aren't in a massive rush to get things up and running—and I mean really pressing for time—you won't even need an extra power connector for the GTX 1050.

wiredotter14 said:an HD 7850 pulls significantly more power than an RX 460.

I wouldn't say that's quite accurate. Looking at the benchmarks, the 460 (especially the one requiring a 6-pin connector) draws about 80-90W, whereas these local HD 7850 models we have here sit right around 110W during heavy gaming. The Pitcairn architecture was actually a pretty impressive chip.

Personally, you might want to hold out for the GTX 1050. Even if you decide against it, the 460 will likely see a price drop soon enough.

Steven Stewart3 said:hmm 🕺 might be worth the risk after all...

Look, that graphics card is a total waste of money. It’s either weaker than or just as weak as the integrated graphics found in some processors; buying it is basically throwing cash out the window. Unless you're looking to gain maybe a handful of FPS, it's not worth it—you might see a tiny improvement, but dropping $500$200 on something like that is insane.
If I were you, I'd try to get rid of it immediately. Return it, get your money back, and figure out a realistic budget for a PC that actually makes sense. What you bought is quite literally a dead end in every possible way.
You won't be able to use it for any serious gaming, you can't upgrade to a better CPU because the platform is bottom-tier and a dead end, and you can't invest in a better GPU because the CPU will just bottleneck it.
Bottom line: you bought a massive piece of junk. I have no idea how you could just drop over $2,000😵 on something like this
without asking anyone for advice first.

Adam Moore3 said:Look, man, that graphics card is a total ripoff. It’s either weaker than or just about the same as the integrated graphics on some modern CPUs—buying it is basically lighting cash on fire. If you aren't looking to squeeze out a tiny handful of extra FPS, then no way. Sure, maybe things will be slightly better, but dropping $500-$$200 on something like that is just insane.
Honestly, if there is any way at all to get rid of it, I'd say return it, grab your money back, figure out your actual budget, and then build something that actually makes sense. Because what you've got there is a massive dead end in every single way possible.
You can't use it for any kind of serious gaming, you can't upgrade to a better CPU because the whole platform is low-end and a total dead end, and you can't even upgrade the GPU because the CPU is too weak to handle anything decent.
Bottom line? You bought a huge piece of junk. I honestly don't know how you could have dropped over 2 million pesos on something like this 😵
without asking anyone for advice first!

The only way that works is if I buy a whole new pre-built rig from them and return this one instead. But before I do that, I'm gonna need you guys on the forum to give me some solid advice on what to pick up at the store plus whatever extra cash I need to throw in.
That might actually be doable! :slap:

We aren't quite sure which store we're talking about here 😛

You probably won't land on something perfect since you'll be stuck with a pre-built setup, but I guess they might be able to find something significantly better for you.

Timothy Kim60 said:Not really. I saw in some reviews that the RX 460 (at least the one with the 6-pin) pulls about 80-90W, while our local HD 7850s hit around 110W during gaming. Pictairn was a solid chip.

Might be worth waiting for the GTX 1050—even if you don't grab that, the RX 460 might drop in price.

Yeah, I know it’s not a massive difference, but my 7850 2GB—overclocked to 1GHz from the stock 910MHz—isn't noisy even with just a single fan. I think an RX 460 with a single fan would be fine too, especially since my PC is in an office where street noise is already a thing anyway.

I'm in no rush. It probably makes more sense to go with Pascal over Polaris if power draw is the main constraint.
The GTX 1050 will likely be way over budget. I was hoping to snag something for around $9, but honestly, I'd rather go with AMD.

Hold on, you're moving from a 7850 to an RX 460? I guess that’s not exactly a massive leap forward, especially if you're sticking with 2GB...

I’m not switching machines. This is a completely different PC on the other side of town that doesn't even have a GPU right now. I'm hunting for an RX 460 without a power connector because it's an HP build with zero PCIe or Molex cables available. It's running an i5-2400, so with an RX 460 tucked inside, it’d actually make a decent little gaming rig for 1680x1050 resolution.

edit:

I already have two setups at home with 7850 2GB cards. If I decide to upgrade soon, I'll be looking at something like an RX 480 and a 1440p monitor.

P.S.
It’s not like I’d be looking for a card without a power connector for the same PC that already has an HD7850...

Guys, a friend is asking me through a third party, and I’m honestly not sure how to answer him. Maybe you all have some insight. He's planning on picking up an RX 480 within the next week and wants to know what kind of bottleneck he's looking at, or if there will even be one at all.

His setup is older, but it’s quite a beast

He's running an Intel QX9770@4.0 GHz, which has been stable at that frequency for years now 🙂. It can actually handle 4.3 GHz without much trouble, but he keeps it at 4.0 for safety reasons. The cooler is some Shunt Katana model, though I'm not entirely certain which specific one
. Memory is 4x2GB Ocz 1066MHz DDR2
. Motherboard is an Asus Maximus Formula II.

So, the build is definitely dated, but in my opinion, it remains fairly impressive. Right now, he’s using a Radeon 7770
.
Also, the power supply is a Seasonic 450W unit, though I don't know the exact model
.

mellowtiger83 said:A buddy's asking me through a friend—I don't have the answer, maybe you guys do. He's planning to drop an RX 480 in his rig within the week. How bad is the bottleneck going to be? Is there even a point?

The build is old, but it's a beast.

He's running an Intel QX9770@4.0. It's been at that clock speed for years 🙂—he could push it to 4.3 easily, but he stays at 4.0 just to be safe. GPU is some Shunt Katana or whatever model it is.
Memory is 4x2GB Ocz 1066MHz DDR2.
Motherboard is an Asus Maximus Formula II.

It's an older setup, but honestly, looks pretty impressive to me. Right now, he's using a Radeon 7770.

And yeah, the PSU is some 450W Seasonic, not sure which one.

There's probably going to be a massive bottleneck.

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/9841963

That processor is alright. Even though it's an old relic... let him grab whatever he wants.

Steven Stewart3 said:So I just called the local Store and they said I could trade in my graphics card. I have an ASRock AM1 motherboard, an AMD Athlon x4 5150,1.6 GHz processor, and 8 GB of DDR3.
They mentioned they have an XFX Radeon R7 240 2 which costs about $167. Can anyone give me some advice? Is this a good card to take in exchange, or if not, can someone suggest something else I could order for around 500-$200 that would actually work with this setup?

The Radeon R7 240 2GB DDR3 isn't great. However, the Radeon R7 240 1GB GDDR5 is decent. Believe me, the performance difference is significant because of that GDDR5 memory. Don't expect anything beyond medium settings, but the card works. It runs things, and frankly, in your specific case, there is no point in trying to go much higher. That AM1 platform simply doesn't make sense paired with anything more powerful. For context, that card will run Battlefield 3 at roughly 35-50 FPS on open maps using Medium presets, which is quite solid. I tested it myself; Sniper Elite V2 stays consistently above 25 FPS on High/Ultra, averaging about 30-35. You'll certainly be able to play some newer titles on Low to Medium, though you'll be heavily bottlenecked by your CPU. I measured these numbers using Fraps, but in practice, you might see slightly higher frame rates—especially when using a Core 2 Quad Q6600, which is considerably stronger than your AMD chip despite being 5 or 6 years older.🙂

So, as the guys say, you either made a mistake or you didn't; you aren't getting anything better or more powerful, nor could you really buy much better for that price.

By the way, that Radeon R7 240 with GDDR5 is comparable to an AMD APU like the A8 or A10. It's slightly faster, but it has massive overclocking potential.

My opinion is that you haven't made a huge error, though it might have been wiser to go the APU route, or perhaps opt for a dedicated, full-fledged processor instead.

And I should mention, the Radeon R7 240 1GB GDDR5 eats Intel onboard graphics for breakfast. It’s essentially from the Radeon 6670 series. It's faster than an AMD A8 or A10 unit because its memory runs at 4600 MHz—reaching 5000 MHz with an overclock—whereas the APU operates at 2100 MHz at best.

Don't believe everything you read online. That little AM1 quad-core will perform adequately enough without any major worries. Besides, I highly doubt you were expecting a high-end gaming rig for $667. 🙂

I hope that brightens your mood a bit.

Since you already had $667 and your goal was gaming, you really should have looked for a used PC—something vetted with quality components—and you wouldn't be worrying about this now.

To give you an idea, you can find setups on eBay with a Quadro K2000 graphics card for $333 alongside a LGA 775 generation Quad core. Do a quick search to see what that card goes for; you'll find some very decent deals.

mellowtiger83 said:If you already had $667 and were actually thinking about gaming, you should've just grabbed a used rig—something reliable with decent components—and been done with it. No headaches.

To give you an idea, I saw a setup on eBay with a Quadro K2000 card going for $333 paired with a Quad 775 generation system. Google how much that card alone goes for; you'll find some pretty solid deals.

That applies to buying used. Everything else here is just shaky.

For $2500-$867, he could have picked up a legit gaming build (like an Athlon 845 + RX 460 or something similar), which would be leagues better than this junk he ended up with.

As it stands, he's got a processor that can't handle modern titles and a graphics card that costs over $133 but performs like garbage.
Not to mention, the resale value on this thing is basically whatever someone would pay for a cheap cash register PC (so, maybe $267).

The price of some Quadro card doesn't really matter, but yeah, he'd have been better off grabbing a cheap used LGA 775 build, or just getting an older desktop without a GPU and throwing in a used card or a new RX 460.

But hey, it is what it is.

IMO, since he doesn't want to return it—even though he’s totally within his rights to—his best bet is to take some office paperwork, list it on eBay, and just accept that he won't be gaming for a while.

Jeffrey Allen92 said:http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/9841963

The CPU is okay, even if it's an old relic... someone should just grab a cheap one...

Look, the processor isn't bad, but saying there won't be a bottleneck? Not gonna happen. An RX 460 would be about right, maybe something slightly better.

wiredotter14 said:this applies to used gear, everything else is shaky

For $2500, $867 he could have picked up a decent gaming rig (something like an Athlon 845 + RX 460), which would be leagues ahead of this relic he ended up with.

As it stands, he’s stuck with a processor incapable of running modern titles and a graphics card that costs over $133 yet performs terribly.
Not to mention, the resale value on this machine is basically whatever someone might pay for a desktop sitting at a checkout counter—meaning roughly $267.

The price of a Quadro card is irrelevant here. It would have been far more logical to grab a cheap, used LGA 775 system, or perhaps a budget build from a few years ago and drop in a used GPU or a new RX 460.

But that’s just wishful thinking.

In my opinion, since he doesn't want to return it—even though he's clearly entitled to—his best bet is to take some office paperwork, list it on eBay, and just wait until he can afford a real gaming setup.

There is zero logic in suggesting you can build an x4 840 and an RX 460 for $2400. $833 I don't know which Store you're shopping at, but you're off by at least $400. $167 Unless you intended to pair it with the cheapest possible power supply and case, along with a tiny 500GB drive and 4GB of RAM, even then it wouldn't work. By the way, the GPU alone is at least $317. If you actually want 8GB of RAM and decent components, you're looking at $3000+. Everything else remains the same.

P.S. I'm the only one who can put together a new build with those specs for around $2700, $933 as you'll see soon enough on the Hardware market 🙂. And even then, it's rare. Of course, it would come with a full US warranty and a bundle.

mellowtiger83 said:Look, the Radeon R7 240 2GB DDR3 isn't anything special, but the Radeon R7 240 1GB GDDR5? Now we're talking! Believe me, that GDDR5 memory makes a massive difference. Don't expect to crank everything up to Ultra, but hey, the card works, it spins, and honestly, in your specific situation, there's really no point in trying to go much higher. That ASRock AM1 platform just doesn't make sense with anything beefier. Just to give you an idea, running this card at 720p, you can pull about 35-50 FPS in Battlefield 3 on Medium settings in open maps—pretty solid actually! I tested Sniper Elite V2 myself, and it stays consistently above 25 FPS, averaging maybe 30-35 FPS on High/Ultra. You’ll definitely be able to play some newer titles on Low to Medium, though you'll hit a bit of a wall because of your CPU. By the way, I measured these using Fraps, so in real-world usage, you might even see slightly higher FPS. I was testing with a Core 2 Quad Q6600, which is quite a bit stronger than your AMD chip, even if it is 5 or 6 years older. 🙂

So, like the guys are saying, you either overshot it or you didn't—either way, you couldn't grab anything better for that price point.

By the way, that Radeon R7 240 with GDDR5 is comparable to an AMD APU like the A8 or A10. It's a little faster, but it has huge overclocking potential!

My take? You didn't mess up too badly, but it probably would have been smarter to go the APU route, or if you were going for something else, just aim for a proper, full-fledged processor.

And let's not forget: the Radeon R7 240 1GB GDDR5 absolutely eats Intel's onboard graphics for breakfast. It’s basically from the Radeon 6670 series. It's faster than those AMD A8 or A10 APUs because its memory runs at 4600 MHz—and if you overclock it, you can hit 5000 MHz! Meanwhile, those APUs are lucky if they hit 2100 MHz at best.

So, don't believe every single thing you read online. That little AMD quad-core is going to run just fine without any stress, and besides, I highly doubt you were expecting a top-tier high-end gaming rig anyway! $667 🙂

Hopefully, that cheers you up a little bit!

Since you already had $667 and were thinking about gaming, you really should have looked for a used PC—something tried and true with decent components—and you wouldn't be worrying about this now.

To give you an idea, I saw setups on eBay selling with a Quadro K2000 graphics card for $333 alongside a quad-core on the LGA 775 socket. Just Google what that card goes for; you'll find some really great deals.

Hey, I just got back from the electronics store and I have to brag a little! I didn't end up grabbing that XFX Radeon R7 240 2GB DDR3 for $500-ish. Instead, I snagged a Radeon R7 360 2GB GDDR5 with DirectX 12 support for $333. On top of that, I figured out I could grab a better processor for about $150 and still pick up a used SSD... man, money flies!
I'm stoked! We just tried playing Assassin's Creed Syndicate from November 2015 and it actually runs...
Now I'm recording some Call of Duty: Black Ops II; I'm curious to see how the opening handles. :slap:

See? Things aren't looking nearly as bleak as they did at first.

You can grab an RX 460 for about a hundred bucks now.

Once again, you could have simply asked which GPU is the best choice for $333 😁

Timothy Kim60 said:You could've definitely asked again about which GPU is the best pick for $333 😁

Listen guys, I seriously had to pivot on what I was planning to grab compared to what I’m actually picking up now. There was maybe a 5% difference, but honestly, Sl Broid doesn't have 100 cards sitting in stock right now, and man, I just don't have the patience to sit around waiting.