GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Bryan Evans77 said:Which 400W power supply are we talking about?
I mean, what brand is it?

Actually, I’ve got a Samsung one lying around too—it’s an external 400W unit, not inside the PC.

William Robinson2 said:man, I've even got some random Samsung stuff sitting there, external, around 400 bucks

That power supply might work for you, I guess... personally, I wouldn't trust cheap junk like that, but I'll admit one of my old 300W units lasted me 4 or 5 years, and honestly, another one is still kicking after 5 years just running these tiny little builds...

Once you figure out which GPU you're grabbing—and if it isn't some powerhouse (remember, power isn't about VRAM, it's about wattage consumption)—plus whatever your CPU pulls, you might not even need to swap the PSU...

But if you go for something beefier? I’d strongly suggest picking up a decent, newer unit. Doesn't have to be top-of-the-line, just something you can actually trust.👍

Bryan Evans77 said:That micro-ATX unit might actually work for you, let's be real. Personally, I wouldn't go relying on cheap junk like that, but I have to admit one of my old 300W units lasted me about four or five years, and another one is still kicking even after five years, powering small builds just fine...

Once you figure out which graphics card you're going to pick—and if it isn't some high-end beast (remember, power isn't measured by VRAM, but by how many watts that card pulls)—if it's hovering around 50W and you factor in the processor, you probably won't need to swap out the power supply...

If you decide to go with something more aggressive, though, I’d strongly suggest picking up a slightly better, newer power supply. It doesn't need to be top-of-the-line, but you want something you can actually trust. 👍

Thanks, man, I appreciate it. Honestly, I'm not looking to get anything more powerful than this right now; this setup is pretty much my limit. If I eventually decide to upgrade to something beefier, I'll just grab a brand new power supply and do everything at once from a shop like Best Buy...

So, here’s my plan: I’m looking for a graphics card with at least 256 MB of VRAM. It absolutely has to be PCI-Express. My first choice was the geforce 7600, and I actually found a decent deal on one, but things got a little heated with the seller (who happens to be a fellow member here), so now I'm back on the hunt. , I stumbled upon these two listings. Is this geforce card also an NVIDIA product, or am I mistaken? What’s your take on them—which one would be the smarter buy, and how do they stack up against the 7600 in terms of performance?

Upgrading from a 7600GT to a 7300GT? That’s just madness...
Especially if you're looking at cards with DDR2 memory. Seriously, don't even touch DDR2—stick to DDR3.
Just hang in there for a bit. Keep hunting, keep digging, you'll find something decent eventually.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing

Bryan Evans77 said:upgrading from a 7600gt to a 7300gt would be a total mistake...
especially if you're looking at a card with DDR2 memory... honestly, don't even bother with DDR2, look for DDR3 instead.
It’s better to just hang in there for a bit... keep searching, keep looking around, you'll eventually find something good.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-cards-listing-example

Alright... thanks. I'm not entirely sure how much value that specific one actually holds. Could you tell me if it's possible to grease the bearings or swap out that fan? Also, would a standard CPU cooler work on it... like, is it an Express design or what?

Quick question for you guys. Should I go with the Point of View gtx 460 for $140 or grab that MSI Hawk version for $516?
Is it actually worth paying extra for that fancy MSI overclocked model, or should I just stick with the POV? Like, would a regular user even notice a difference?
I’m debating this because I have no clue if I’d ever mess around with overclocking my own card, and I don't want to screw anything up. Maybe it’s smarter to just get one that's factory overclocked so I can have some peace of mind? Does the performance jump really feel that significant? Man, I've got a new dilemma every single day. 🙂 Thanks for the help..

Personally, I’d go with the overclocked version. It’s got superior cooling, which means you actually have some headroom left if you want to push it even further. 🙂

I spent some time digging through a mountain of reviews to see how current cards stack up against previous generations. My takeaway? It looks something like this:

5970>480>5870>470=4870x2=295>6870>5850>285>460 1Gb>6850>275=4890=460 768 Mb>260=4870>5770>5750=450>4850=250

Honestly, I'm not even sure where the 280 or a double 4850 would fit into that mess.

William Robinson2 said:Alright... thanks... I'm not entirely sure how that part actually fits together. Could you tell me if it's even possible to grease that component? Also, can that fan be replaced? I'm wondering if a standard CPU cooler would work as a substitute... like an Express-style setup or something similar?

😕

Jason Bailey58...
Did you even bother clicking the link in the ad??
If not, just click it and see for yourself...
For crying out loud, you're the one buying this, not me. You need to do your homework and know what you're getting into. We can point you in the right direction, sure, but we aren't going to call the seller ourselves to ask about the GPU...

The fan can probably be swapped out depending on the model, and you could always try lubing it up...

I think you can find those little replacement fans online; just ask the guy how the fan is connected—is it soldered on or does it have a plug? Anyway...
Just ask around, give them a call, and get the facts. 👍

Bryan Evans77 said:Jason Bailey58...
Did you actually take a second to put in any effort and click the link in the listing?
If you aren't sure, just click through and see what's there.
Look, you’re the one making the purchase here, not me. You really need to do your own homework and make sure you actually know what you're buying. We’re more than happy to point you in the right direction or show you which parts are worth your money, but we aren't going to call up some random guy just to ask him how a graphics card performs. It's on you to check the specs.

You can probably swap out that vent depending on which specific model you're working with, and if you really need to, you could always try lubricating it with some oil.

I believe you can find those mini fans for sale online; you just need to ask the seller exactly how they’re wired—specifically whether the leads are soldered directly onto the unit or if they use a standard connector.
You can go ahead and ask around, make some calls, and get the information you need. 👍

I've already sorted out the price and everything else is good to go. Now, we just need to figure out where we're going to host this.

Alright folks, let me lay out my current situation. I'm running a Thermaltake Maxout Power 420W unit, paired with an Intel Core i3 530 processor on an ASUS Ga-H55M-S2H motherboard, along with 4GB of DDR3 RAM.
I’ve decided it’s finally time to swap out my graphics card. My budget is sitting right around a thousand bucks—give or take a hundred in either direction. So, what am I looking at here? Please, give me some solid recommendations.
Just to be clear, I’m playing everything at 1920x1080 resolution—standard Full HD.

NVIDIA GTX 460 768mb (since you're short on cash for the 1gb version), if you can manage it,
otherwise just grab an HD5770

Check out some local shops🙂 prices are sitting around $15-$383

Picking up where I left off with the GPU talk. I pulled the TechPowerUp performance summaries for current cards at 1920x1200 resolution, cross-referenced them with the lowest prices currently sitting on Best Buy and Newegg, and put together this little roundup. It covers price, performance relative to the top dog—the 5970—and the "bang for buck" ratio:

Card Model / Price / Performance / Bang for buck

HD5970 /100%/4100/24.3
GTX 480 /87%/3000/29
HD5870 /75%/1850/40.5
NVIDIA GTX 470 /71%/1850/38.4
HD6870 /71%/1700/41.8
HD5850 /64%/1600/40
HD6850 /61%/1330/45.9
NVIDIA GTX 460 1Gb /59%/1250/47.2
NVIDIA GTX 460 768 Mb/55%/1150/47.8
HD5830 /50%/1400/35.7
HD4870 /45%/950/47.3
HD5770 /44%/1000/44
GTX450 /37%/830/44.8
HD4850 /36%/800/45

Last column, obviously, higher is better. Of course, there are other variables—power draw, noise, heat, DX10/DX11 support—but this is a snapshot of the market showing what actually makes sense. The 5870 and 6870 are better buys than the GTX 470. The 6850 and GTX 460 1GB are neck and neck; you get better raw performance from the 6850, but the solid overclocking potential on the 460 keeps things interesting. Even with its low price, the 5850 isn't worth it; the price would need to drop even further before it becomes a logical purchase. Down in the lower tier, the HD4870 still shows surprisingly high value, even if it’s pushing the bottom limit of what you'd want for decent performance at this resolution.

Killer job, seriously. Nice one.
Yeah, I’m right there with you regarding the tension between the GTX 460 and the HD 6850. Especially now with that MSI card rocking the Twin Frozr cooler. I read somewhere that the non-overclocked versions are actually getting pretty close to the GTX 470 performance—especially when you factor in the price and power draw—which seems totally fine to me for $517. Plus, you can push the clocks way higher because that cooler is solid.

Honestly, we finally have some decent cards at decent prices. Not to mention you can snag a dual GTX 460 768MB setup for just a little more than $667, giving you great graphics for peanuts. It'd probably cost something close to $450, but this is way cheaper. And honestly, I don't think you'd even notice much difference between those two setups, except for the hit to your wallet 🙂

Looking for some advice on which graphics card to plug in. Here is what I'm running

ASUS GA-P35-DS3 Intel E8400 4 GB DDR2 667 Mz Corsair
Intel E8400
4GB DDR2 667Mz Corsair
22" monitor

Currently using an ATI Radeon HD3870

stormywolf39 laid it all out perfectly in those two posts above, complete with the latest charts. At this point, it really just boils down to your budget and where you're shopping. If you've got a decent motherboard and a solid CPU—which you can always overclock a bit if you feel like it—you're in good shape. If you can swing an NVIDIA GTX 460 with 1GB of VRAM, you'll be totally fine.

Also, what kind of power supply are we talking about here? Brand, wattage, how old is it?

Do you guys think picking up a 5850 is actually worth it? Right now, it's sitting at about $523

Yeah, absolutely. It’s incredibly cost-effective...

Hey everyone! I was wondering if someone could give me their honest opinion on this graphics card???http://xfxforce.com/en-gb/products/g....aspx. My plan is to pick up a new one primarily to play the latest FIFA 🙂. I'm still pretty new to the forum, so I wasn't entirely sure if I was posting in the right section. Cheers!