GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

fadedorca66 said:It really needs to be a beast—full DisplayPort support, all the latest bells and whistles, plenty of outputs, and multi-monitor capability. Plus, it’s gotta be able to chew through even the most demanding 4K video files.

I downloaded a 4K sample and my R9 270 can't handle it. We tried it at the office on an i7 Haswell with integrated graphics and it wouldn't play 4K there either. I need to look into this; maybe it's just a VLC issue?

Please, it should definitely work on a 270. That sounds like a software issue. Try using different players. It's not like you're trying to game on a 270 and it can't push frames, you're just watching some random video.😬

Things are looking slightly better using MPC-B, but honestly, it can still stutter and maybe even stress out a decent GPU. Here, if anyone wants to test it out:

http://4ksamples.com/elysium-2013-21...ample-footage/

fadedorca66 said:Look, you really need a powerhouse here—something with DisplayPort and all the latest bells and whistles, ideally supporting multiple monitors. It also needs enough muscle to actually swallow those incredibly demanding 4K video files without choking.

I just downloaded a 4K sample and my R9 270 can't even touch it; we tried running it at the office on an i7 Haswell with its integrated graphics, and that failed to play 4K as well. I need to investigate further, though, could it perhaps be an issue with VLC?

It’s obviously the VLC settings. Out of the box, VLC isn't capable of playing anything remotely decent. Just install Kodi and give that a shot instead. You just have to make sure you go into the settings and verify that hardware acceleration is actually enabled.

I just tested what you mentioned on my own setup; using my GPU via DisplayPort, everything runs smoothly in Kodi, both through hardware and software decoding. However, when I try using the integrated graphics with an HDMI cable, both methods stutter, so I'm starting to suspect the cable's bandwidth might be the actual culprit.

If you have the chance, why don't you try both methods through Kodi and let me know how it turns out?

It should work. Based on what I've seen so far, an i5 with Haswell and integrated graphics ought to handle it, especially since a GT 720 is pretty much in the same ballpark as an HD 4600.

fadedorca66 said:Using MPC-BE makes things a bit more manageable, though even then, you can still run into stutters if your GPU isn't up to the task. For those interested in testing their own setups, feel free to try this one out:

http://4ksamples.com/elysium-2013-21...ample-footage/

Ah, I see where you got your wires crossed. I actually tested the three samples listed below, and my i3-4330 handles them quite smoothly using just the HD 4600:

http://4ksamples.com/honey-bees-96fps-in-4k-ultra-hd/
http://4ksamples.com/4k-uhd-fireworks-sample/
http://4ksamples.com/2160p-demo-timelapse-project/

Now, that Elysium trailer you mentioned is encoded in H.265. What does that imply? It means that unless you have a graphics card capable of hardware decoding the H.265 codec, your software has to step in and do all the heavy lifting. On my i3 4330, for instance, all four threads absolutely hammer away at 100% capacity—and every single time they hit that ceiling, you're going to experience a stutter. Meanwhile, my i7 5930k keeps all twelve threads sitting comfortably between 50% and 70% without a single hiccup.🤣
Just for some perspective, when I play back 1080p video using an older codec like h264, my i7 sits at about 8% CPU load during software decoding, and drops down to a mere 3-4% when I let the hardware take over.

So, there you have it. Any 4k content that isn't utilizing H.265 should theoretically run on your machine without any trouble at all.

Ah, H.265 😬

Only the GTX 950 and GTX 960 actually have hardware decoding for H.265. I guess we'll likely see that support become the standard with the next generation 😉

So, turns out I messed up—it was just a bad codec. I guess I'll give it a shot using Kodi. As for the GPU, I’ll probably need at least a GTX 950 if I want it to actually handle H.265 without choking.

Since you're running a Haswell setup at 4400/4600, it really ought to be capable of handling 8-bit HEVC without breaking a sweat; why don't you try updating your drivers and see if that clears things up?

Quick question for you guys—I'm looking at pairing a Sapphire R9 285 2GB DDR5 with a Seasonic SS430GB... my setup is running an AMD A10-6700K with 8GB of RAM, two hard drives, and just one case fan... do you think that'll actually work?

The CPU pulls about 100W under full load, and the graphics card says it's

Roger Gray8 said:Quick question—Sapphire R9 285 2GB DDR5 paired with a Seasonic 430W power supply... running an A10 processor, 8GB RAM, two drives, and just one case fan. Will this work?

Yeah, it'll work.👍

Robert Rodriguez2 said:is it 👍

Won't it be a little overloaded? I mean, I’m kind of thinking the same thing where it seems fine, but honestly, isn't it better to just double-check everything first?

Roger Gray8 said:Won't it be underpowered? I think it's fine too, but better safe than sorry.

Nah, don't sweat it. That 285 isn't some power hog, and neither is that APU. 😁
The whole rig might pull 300W max. 😁

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Nah, don't even sweat it, the 285 isn't exactly a power hog, and that APU isn't doing much either 😁
you'll probably pull maybe 300W for the whole rig 😁

That sounds awesome, and honestly, my RAM was such a steal
$400 😁 plus shipping... since the guy just pulled it straight out of his PC, I know for a fact it actually works
The CPU shouldn't really be a bottleneck, though I guess it might be in a few specific games? Honestly, I'm thinking about eventually selling off this motherboard and processor combo to pick up an i5 down the road

It’s not exactly cheap unless it comes with a nearly full warranty... the CPU will probably be a bit of a bottleneck, but it should be fine.

http://www.amazon.com/s?k=MSI+R9+380

With 3 years of warranty left, $483 it's the same card, just slightly overclocked.

Roger Gray8 said:Nice. Plus, our local shop is super cheap $400 😁 plus shipping... the guy just finished working on a rig, so I know it works.
The CPU won't be a bottleneck, maybe in a few specific games. Thinking about selling the board and processor soon to grab an i5.

I wouldn't say it's exactly cheap when you could get a brand new R9 380 for $67 more. Best Buy

EDIT: My bad, I spoke too soon🙂

crimsonstag84 said:It's just $67 cheaper, much weaker, and basically just a rebranded HD 7850/R7 265.

I think you mixed things up; there's no way an R9 285 is even remotely close to a 7850/R7 265😁 Did you mean the 7950 maybe?

The post got deleted in the meantime. OP 🤣

Aha. I see something isn't quite right here 😁

Man, he was asking for $1,100? And Doro is just... what, even? A brand new card is actually cheaper than one that’s already a year old!

Roger Gray8 said:it was $1100... man, that's just... it's a new card, less than a year old

In my opinion, if it’s for $200, sure, but nowadays $100 you can get a better, brand-new card in the box with a full warranty. I’d always take that route. If you think those extra $100 bucks are worth the gamble, go ahead—more power to you. 🙂 Does that used one even come with a warranty?