GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

http://www.cnn.com/index.php?page=...d=999000097224

There isn't much of a gap between the GTX 750 Ti and the HD 5870, I guess. 😉

Look, I already told you, I don't do Photoshop 😁

Look, that CPU is still a total beast. If you give it a decent overclock, you won't have any trouble running an R9 280/280 x or even a GTX 770; it’ll handle those cards without breaking a sweat.

By the way, what kind of power supply are you running? (give me the specific model)

Brian Clark4 said:I already mentioned I don't touch Photoshop😁

My bad, totally misread that.

If you're looking to upgrade your GPU, you should probably aim for an R9 280/280 x or maybe an Nvidia GTX 770.

But before you go doing that, you really need to let us know the brand, model, and wattage of your power supply.

Also, if you're eyeing those specific cards, you're definitely gonna need to overclock your CPU—so if you're running a basic stock cooler, you'll need to budget for a new one too.

I've got a Seagate power supply, pretty sure it's 600W

Why would I even need to overclock my CPU if I just want one of those cards?

My Seagate power supply isn't working... 😉

I guess overclocking would be pretty much mandatory if you're trying to get any real performance out of those recommended cards, since the i7 920 is a total bottleneck—it’s just probably too weak for them.

http://www.cnn.com/details_product...-2gb-ddr5.aspx

MSI GeForce GTX760 OC TF graphics card, 2GB DDR5
- $627 CNN - Honestly, if you ask me, this card just isn't worth that kind of cash right now—prices are getting totally inflated since all the new models are hitting the shelves—but realistically, I’d say its true value is closer to about $500

If I could just scrape together another $300 or so $133 then jump up to the GTX 770

http://www.cnn.com/details_product...-2gb-ddr5.aspx

MSI GeForce GTX770 OC TF graphics card, 2GB DDR5
- $781 CNN - Now, this card? It has a much, much better price-to-performance ratio—it might actually be the best deal out there right now—and it's worth every single cent. (Back when the older GTX 670 models were moving for around $270-$$1000)

Timothy Fisher79, why stretch the budget for nothing?
There's plenty of room in a decent budget setup to fit two solid GPUs.

It's on sale at Best Buy

And this too

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Timothy Fisher79, why would you even bother stretching the budget for no reason?
There’s actually a pretty decent budget option here that can handle two solid graphics cards just fine.

It's on sale over at Micro Center

And check this out too:

Pff, I hadn't even bothered looking at what Micro Center had in stock—then suddenly this Best Buy Sapphire R9 280 becomes a "must-buy"...

Please... 😬

http://diskont24.com/product.php?pro...cat=390&page=5

http://diskont24.com/product.php?pro...cat=390&page=5

Wait, what kind of joke is this? 😁

So, I’ve got this integrated graphics setup on my PC, and I was wondering—can I actually just buy a dedicated card and slap it in? I found a few used ones on eBay, but honestly, I have no clue if they’ll even work with what I'm running. Here’s the breakdown of my current rig:

Intel Celeron CPU 420 1.60GHz
2 GB RAM
P5G-MX motherboard
Windows XP SP3
Intel(R)82945G Express Chipset Family

Here are some cards I spotted online:

ATI Radeon x1650agp—will this fit this specific build?
Nvidia 7600 GS—same question?
Gigabyte GV-NX86T256D 256 MB GDDR3 PCI-E
Sapphire ATI Radeon x1950 Pro 256MB GDDR3 AGP Dual DVI

Also, once I get a new card, does it somehow merge with the integrated one? Like, do they work together, or do they run separately? Can I physically pull the integrated one out, or should I just go ahead and wipe the drivers for it?

Thanks! Cheers.

Your motherboard takes PCI-E cards, so an AGP one won't work. That rules out the first option. I'm not sure about the second since there's no model listed, the third might work, but the fourth is AGP, so no luck there either. Also, it kind of depends on how much cash you're looking to drop and what you actually want to get out of a new card. Don't expect to run any modern games, though—your processor is pretty slow and weak.

Once you grab the card, just pop it in, wipe the old drivers (sometimes you don't even have to), and install the new ones. You can't pull out integrated graphics since that's built right into the motherboard chipset.

So, would this one work?http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing-example

Also, I'm wondering how much of an actual upgrade I'd be getting by picking up this card. Does the GPU actually make a difference when it comes to YouTube video quality or just watching movies and stuff? And could I run some older titles like PES 11, FM 2013, 2014, NFS, and things like that?

Thanks!

Even those games would probably struggle on your setup. You’d likely need at least a Pentium 4 running at a similar clock speed just to get them to run smoothly on low settings.

I guess you should set aside about $500, assuming you have a hard drive with a SATA connector, if you actually want a decent gaming experience.

If you have a decent motherboard that supports dual-core processors, you can find one of these Core 2 Duo models on eBay:
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5GMX/HelpDesk_CPU/ for $33, and paired with a card like an 8600gt, you should be able to run older, less demanding games smoothly.

Look, for about 200-$83, you could pick up these specific components from this seller:

or
They will bundle everything together and ship it right to you.
Since you likely have a lower-end power supply, this little kit would be an excellent investment for your PC.🙂

Dennis Cruz62 said:So, would this one work?http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing-example

Also, how much of a boost am I actually getting by buying this card? Does it affect YouTube video quality or watching movies at all? And could I run some older games like PES 11, FM 2013, 14, NFS, and stuff like that?

Thanks!

It might work, but it’s not exactly a great choice. It's super old and since it's passively cooled, you might run into some overheating issues. Honestly, even those older games would probably stutter because of your CPU.

I guess you should listen to Joseph Barrett; for very little money, you can find a CPU that'll get by, but I'd probably aim for a newer card instead—maybe an HD 4670 if you can find one for a similar price. Either go with that, or just save up and grab a whole new PC.

Those prices are getting a bit out of hand, don't you think? 😁

P.S. A few months back, I stumbled upon this seemingly ridiculous deal over at Best Buy—an i7 3770 for just $400—but it only stayed listed for a couple of days before it completely vanished into thin air 😢

Yeah, thanks everyone for the input. To get things moving, I went ahead and installed Windows 7 and picked up an Intel Core 2 Duo E4400. Now I'm just grinding to save up for a decent graphics card, then we'll see what else this rig needs to stay relevant. 🙂

Best,

Seems like a decent deal:

http://www.craigslist.org/vi/graphics-cards/11346213