GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

That’s mostly something you look at when you're dealing with higher-end cards. If you drop a ton of cash on a powerhouse GPU but your rig is basically a potato, you're just throwing money away. You need enough CPU muscle to actually let that card breathe.
Since I noticed your monitor only has a VGA port, you should hunt for a card that offers both VGA and DVI outputs. If your current setup has been doing the job and you aren't looking to build a gaming beast, I’d aim for something like this. Look for DDR3 memory and a combo of VGA, HDMI, and DVI ports...

or maybe:

or if you can swing a little extra:

🙂

If you don't care about buying brand new, honestly, check out the used market. You might snag an ATI Radeon HD 5670 if you find one still under warranty, then just slide it into your build and call it a day.

briskjackal5 said:Alright, I've got a Pentium Dual-Core E6500 running at 2.93 GHz. I have 4 GB of DDR3 RAM. My power supply is an LC8400 BTX (400W).

Is that all I need to know to pick out a graphics card?
Back in my day, you mostly just needed to check which slot was on the motherboard.😁

Also, why does the CPU and RAM matter when choosing a GPU?

-Steve

If you aren't planning on upgrading your power supply, go with the ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB.

If you aren't looking for a dedicated gaming rig, maybe try this one:
(goes for $83)—you can run both VGA and DVI monitors... might be ideal if you want passive cooling—so it stays quiet, if that matters to you 😉. If gaming is actually the goal, you’ll need something slightly better , priced at $133 cash. It's nothing special, just enough for low or medium settings... though honestly, it might make more sense to shell out $33 a bit more for a new Radeon HD 5670, or just hunt for a used one on Craigslist.

boldcanyon14 said:Well, you usually have to look at that when you're dealing with higher-end cards. I mean, if you buy a really powerful graphics card but your PC is kind of weak, there's honestly no point in buying it. You really need enough CPU power so the card can actually reach its full potential, I guess.

Ah, yeah, I totally get it now.

Since I see your monitor only has a VGA input, you should definitely look for a card that has both a VGA and a DVI output. If your current card has been doing okay and you don't want anything too crazy, I'd probably aim for something like this. It’s got DDR3 memory, and it has VGA, HDMI, and DVI ports...

http://www.newegg.com/p/products/id=8540
or maybe:
http://www.newegg.com/p/products/id=9111
or, if you have a little extra cash to spare:
http://www.newegg.com/p/products/id=8926

🙂

And hey, if you don't mind it being used, I'd check out the used market. Maybe you could snag an ATI Radeon HD 5670 if you find one still under warranty, then just pop it right into your build..

Actually, maybe something a bit stronger would be good. But I'm assuming anything I pick up would be better than what I've got. The processor on the Radeon I'm using right now is basically from 2006, I think.

Thanks everyone for all the advice!
Btw, James Castillo8, Supernet won't let me link photos directly from their site.

-Steve

A friend of mine handed me an MSI 400W unit, but it’s definitely seen better days. You mentioned before that 350W is plenty for a 5770, provided the power supply is actually decent... so, what do you think? Is this MSI enough to get the job done?

ms 👎

The only decent MS unit is this one
That MS 400W, the FSP400-60APN? It's just a rebranded Fortron, which is actually decent enough if you aren't trying to build a high-end rig...

Anyway, MS is total junk. That's why the power supply costs less than a couple of burgers at Five Guys..

@Bryan Evans77/">@@Bryan Evans77, once I sit down with my budget and see what I'm actually working with, I'll get back to you regarding your offer..
just let me know which specific Radeon HD 4850 model you have and send over a photo..thanks!

Not sure what other models you're eyeing...
But hey, here's some stuff to look through 😁

http://www.craigslist.org/search/images?query=hd4850

stormywolf39 said:Honestly, that CPU is still plenty capable for most things you'll want to do, though you could probably squeeze out a little more by overclocking it just a touch... As for new graphics cards, looking at the price-to-performance ratio, sticking with something like the 6850, 5850, 6870, or even an NVIDIA GTX 660 or 560 makes total sense—anything higher than that feels like overkill right now. If you're looking for a real "best buy" at the moment, check this one out:

Or, if you're looking for something a bit easier on the wallet:

http://217.14.221.177/StartEU.ashx?p...i-r5850-twinfr

NVIDIA isn't really competing on price at this exact moment, but I'm expecting those prices to dip a little soon.

Also, none of these will require a new power supply since they all actually pull less power than that old 4870.

Thanks so much for all the advice and the quick answers!👍

Roger Phillips82 said:Look, once I see how much cash I actually have sitting around, I'll let you know about that offer...
Just give me the specific model for that 4850 and a photo... thanks.

http://www.craigslist.org/forsale-graphics-card-listing I had one just like it—honestly, too good for a 17" monitor. You could probably still run modern games on high settings at 1280x1024 without any real issues... 👍

Don't try to pull anything with those purchases, but here's an example $150 pretty sure I saw the same one for $117 on Craigslist, though it might be gone by now. Either way, don't overthink it too much—it's got a decent cooler on it.

Yeah 😁 http://www.craigslist.org/forsale-graphics-card-listing if he offered this, I'd bet money I saw it for $350 before they jacked it up to $500 🤷

wiredmarlin5 said:Not $117 a damn thing, honestly. You're looking at used gear only—maybe an old 7800GS or a 7600GT if you're lucky... those usually hover around $300-$117. 😉

...actually, you might even find something beefier for that kind of cash: check this out: http://www.newegg.com/Graphics-Cards/c/233 ...there's plenty more where that came from... 😂

Jeffrey Peterson said:...you can definitely find better graphics for that price point: check this out: http://www.newegg.com/graphics-cards...lp)-54091.aspx ...there are plenty more where that came from... 😂

Huh. Why not just go with an 8800xx?... 😲

Finally pulled the trigger on this card

Just one thing bugging me—can I actually run this on a Cooler Master 460W Extreme Plus power supply?

She could probably pull it off... but the real question is how long it would last before dying on me.
The power supply has enough juice for something like that...
It’s just not exactly high-end gear, if you know what I mean.

"More than 70% efficiency at typical load operation"—yeah, okay. Not exactly a groundbreaking achievement... maybe for a budget office PC, but definitely not for a serious gaming rig.

Should I just go ahead and grab this power supply

Nah, why waste cash on extra wattage you aren't even using? You need 400W, but make sure it's actually decent... what you listed is high-end, but overkill for you. If I were you, I'd just grab the budget-friendly choice here KLIK

And if you want something mid-range—but still super reliable—go with this KLIK.

I’d stick to Best Buy or Micro Center... definitely grabbing the PSU at Micro Center

Is this any good?

If you aren't sweating the cash, just grab it. It's a solid deal. 👍

Also, check this out from Newegg

http://www.newegg.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=4592
http://www.newegg.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=8575

p.s. Why on earth would you pick up a card from $473 with only 768MB of RAM when you can get something similar for $1100, plus you have this one right here for that price http://www.newegg.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=8826

Or, if you're dead set on 768MB, this would be my top pick http://www.newegg.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=9112 because the cooling is way better and the stock clock is slightly higher...

If my power supply is too weak... and I decide to swap in an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, could I actually fry the card? Or would it just kill the PSU and maybe some other components? If it’s just the power supply at risk, I really don't care—I was planning on buying a new one anyway...

Roger Phillips82 said:If the power supply is too weak... if I slap an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 in there, could it fry the card? Or just the PSU and maybe something else? Because if it's just the PSU, I don't care—I was planning on buying a new one anyway...

Who actually knows...
You might get lucky and just have the whole PC pop and die. Or you might see smoke and hear a death rattle. Then, when you try to fix it with a new PSU, you find out the surge took out your GPU, your hard drive, your RAM, or who knows what else... 👍

Go ahead and gamble with it...
Or go for it if you're really feeling desperate. 🤷