GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Matthew Wood16 said:Looking to pick up a GPU for under $1,200. Hit me up via DM if you have anything available..

Just a heads-up, we actually have a hardware marketplace specifically for requests like this.

Hey everyone,

I could use some help picking out a new graphics card.

My motherboard is an ASUS P7P55D Le.

Running an Intel Core i5-750 on this setup.

Right now, I'm stuck with an Nvidia GeForce GTS 250, but I really need something more powerful, ideally up to $333

Just hang in there and save up a little longer. For just a few bucks more, you could snag a significantly better graphics card, and it’d be a total waste to drop over a thousand bucks on some R7 when you can grab an AMD Radeon R9 for around $150-$160. Plus, prices should hopefully dip pretty soon...

Btw, what power supply are you running? Got a specific model number?

Money isn't even the issue here—it’s just a matter of whether the motherboard can actually handle the GPU. I'm not asking for myself, I'm asking for my buddy Bratić. He wants to play GTA 5 on medium settings without the constant stuttering. With his current card, it's basically unplayable.

Here's a shot of the power supply http://prntscr.com/7u8o1g so you can tell me what we need to swap out from there. 😁

http://www.amazon.com/graphics-card-placeholder

It seems like a solid match for your CPU and power supply. You're actually pretty lucky—that’s basically the only line from MS Industrial that's worth anything, since they're using FSP Group components. 😬

Just tell me which store in Chicago you're looking at, or honestly, it doesn't matter. We can go from there. I’m no expert when it comes to graphics cards or high-end gaming, so you might want to wait for the younger crowd to show up—they'll know exactly what the best value is right now and if you actually need to drop more cash. As for me, based on my limited gaming knowledge 😬 I'd suggest something like this:

crimsonstag84 made a decent call on the power supply, but if that thing is more than two or three years old, I'd swap it out too if you've got the cash. Personally, I think this unit would be perfectly fine without breaking the bank:

crimsonstag84 said:http://www.bestbuy.com/graphics-cards-example

It’s a solid match for your CPU and power supply. You're actually lucky that this is the only line from MS Industrial that isn't total junk (since they use FSP Group components) 😬

Will that R9 fit on that Motherboard? I don't want Bratić to pick it up only to realize later it doesn't work—that's a lot of money to waste, haha.

As for where to buy it, it doesn't matter—Best Buy or Micro Center are both fine. He could even go to Micro Center (those guys built my rig and I was more than happy with the result). 🙂

Well, you could just grab it at Best Buy then.

Then you're probably living in the future. Just tell me one thing: will an AMD Radeon R9 290 work 100% on that Motherboard? I’m a little shaky when it comes to processors and sockets, but when it comes to graphics cards, I haven't got a clue how it all works.

There aren't really any strict rules when it comes to graphics cards; it's all just a universal slot. I guess Bratić would only be wrong if he was buying parts for a PC that’s over 10 years old.😛

I'm putting together a theoretical build—I'll probably start a dedicated thread once I have everything tallied up, I think 😁—centered around $2333, but I'm currently stuck on the GPU choice. For about $2,000-$733, it looks like I could go with either an Nvidia 960 with 4GB or an ATI R9 380 with 4GB. I’m leaning toward the 960, though I noticed that for around $2,500-$867, I could pick up an AMD Radeon R9 290 at Best Buy.

I'd love to get your thoughts—is it worth blowing the budget to grab the AMD Radeon R9 290, or should I just stick to the original plan and go with the 960 or the 380?

With or without a monitor? I guess an R9 390 would fit in there just fine without any issues...

I don't have a monitor yet—I'll start a new thread once I finally finish putting together what I had in mind.

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences with this new R9 3xx series from AMD? I'm currently putting together a new rig and I'm just about finished, but this graphics card is the one thing keeping me up at night. I’ve set aside a budget of roughly $1033 for it, and right now, the Sapphire Technology R9 390 Nitro Tri-X OC 8GB has really caught my eye—it seems to be sitting right around $1000. If anyone has some hands-on experience with it or maybe a better suggestion, I’d love to hear it.🙏

Absolute beast of a card, though I haven't really put it through its paces yet... 😛

Since I won't be playing at Ultra High Definition or 4K anytime soon, I'd probably grab the $1000 MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming. I have a bit of an obsession with keeping noise levels down. 😬

Honestly, the noise doesn't bother me one bit—I actually kind of love hearing a machine sound like it’s truly alive, haha 😵. I just need to find a decent power supply that can actually handle this beast without breaking the bank too much

You’re looking at a negligible difference of maybe 1-2 dB between the 970 and the 390.

Alexander Alvarez73 said:Honestly, the noise doesn't bother me—I actually kind of like hearing the machine come to life, haha 😵. I just need a decent power supply that can handle this beast without breaking the bank much too much.

I think I already listed everything in your thread... The Antec TPC-550 should be plenty, unless you're really itching for an XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold.

Timothy Kim60 said:There’ll probably only be a 1-2 dB difference (970 vs 390)

That's a pretty bold generalization coming from you, especially since different GeForce GTX 970 cards can vary by 5-10 dB under load🙂

EDIT: That claim might fly if both cards were from the same manufacturer using identical coolers😉