GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Yeah, that’s pretty much the game plan—swap out the power supply and the GPU for now, then eventually just overhaul the whole thing with something newer later on. This rig is actually for my younger brother, and honestly, he mostly just sticks to stuff like Call of Duty, FIFA, PES, and the occasional racing game.

What do you guys think about picking up a used NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 1GB for $167?
Or is there something better out there for that kind of money?

Jamie Kern7 said:That’s basically the plan. I’m looking to swap out the power supply and the graphics card first, then eventually upgrade to something more modern down the road. This rig is actually for my younger brother—he mostly just plays Call of Duty, FIFA, and various racing games.

What do you guys think about picking up a used NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 1GB for... $167?
Can we do any better than this?

I used to have that processor, or at least a build pretty similar to it... man, the nostalgia hits hard. 😬 Trust me when I say it’s just not worth throwing your money away on something like this. The platform is ancient, and honestly, someone with a 4400+ isn't even going to tap into a third of that GTX 560's potential. Not to mention, you'd be pairing such a power-hungry card with a bottom-tier power supply... it's a recipe for disaster.
I should probably drop about $30 into... Used. Power supply and maybe 500...$200 u used Man, what are you thinking? You're about to drop 700 bucks on an upgrade that’s basically a gamble on reliability...$267.
Take that cash and start saving up for a new rig if you actually want to get some gaming done. I mean, for that $700...$267 You've already got the new CPU, motherboard, and RAM ready to go. Honestly, that Intel Pentium you're looking at would eat an AMD Ryzen for breakfast. I spent way too much time trying to patch up my own old junk, just duct-taping things together and hoping for the best, but eventually, I realized there was just no point... 🙂

If I were in your shoes, I’d definitely prioritize upgrading the core platform first—CPU, motherboard, and RAM. That processor was an absolute beast back in its day, but unfortunately, it just can't keep up with modern demands anymore.

Picking up a VX 450W PSU and a solid graphics card like an HD7850 for around $600--$233 might seem like a decent move, but it’s honestly a waste of money if you aren't planning to overhaul the entire platform soon enough.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/case-listing-example
http://www.ebay.com/itm/gpu-listing-example

Intel Celeron G1820
Patriot Sig. DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB PSD34G160081
ASUS H81M-K

Total: $225 Dell

Sorted by importance 😛

I honestly figured time had just rendered it obsolete—but since I’ve been living out of my laptop for years, I haven't really had any reason to bother with upgrades or hunting down a newer 🙂... though, well, my younger brother just discovered the absolute joy of gaming 🙂
So, my immediate thought is to just slap some kind of decent graphics card in there so he can actually play stuff (Call of Duty is the main priority here)—then maybe later on, we can sit down and figure out building something more modern from scratch.

Which Call of Duty are we talking about?
With those specs, you aren't playing anything past CoD4 or CoD5. Even then, finding a GPU that won't blow out that power supply is going to be a headache.

crimsonstag84 actually laid out a solid upgrade path above if you're looking to grab a card. You could probably pick up the whole lot in that order.

Call of Duty 4, and honestly, even Call of Duty 5 would run smoothly on a basic Celeron processor

Honestly, he’s totally fine with Call of Duty 4 or 5 for now—I’ll probably look into an upgrade once summer wraps up.
Let me rephrase that—is there a GPU out there for roughly $67 that can handle his current power supply and still run those Call of Duty games smoothly for the next 5 or 6 months?
@Smartic
Thanks for the suggestion—I saved that link, so I'll definitely keep it in my back pocket for when the upgrade actually happens. 🙂

You need something low-power. This might cut it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing

For that kind of cash, you can find beefier cards around $67, but they're all old relics that pull way too much power (like an old Radeon 3850 or whatever)

Honestly, if I were you, this would be my first choice for a starter rig.
It should definitely handle Call of Duty: Black Ops 🙂

I'm telling you, he'd be lucky if he could even run it on an Intel Core series integrated chip

Listen, guys... I'm in urgent need of a new graphics card because my R9 270x Toxic is on its last legs. I currently have $667... I was considering picking up an MSI R9 380 Gaming 4GB, but I’d honestly value your input first.

Intel Core series 6350
Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P
FSP 600W

I am also planning to pick up a monitor for roughly $667, so if you could suggest one, I’d appreciate it. There are just so many options out there that I'm having trouble deciding, though I definitely wouldn't go smaller than 24 inches. Thanks.

http://www.newegg.com/graphics-cards/p/

Which power supply are you running exactly? If it’s a decent model, why not? If you've got four sticks of RAM and an R9 390 nitro ($966 check Newegg), you could just grab a cheaper monitor instead—provided you absolutely need it to be 24" clickhere

Is it even worth trying to overclock these cards (380 up to 390)?

Check out the Nitro 380X review over at Linus Tech Tips; they put together a solid comparison table showing the overclocked and stock performance for the 380, 380X, and 390.
The 390 is in a league of its own. As for the 380 and 380X, it’s a classic case of that unwritten rule: if you take a lower-tier chip with fewer stream processors and crank up the clock speeds, you can actually catch up to—or even overtake—the higher-end model running at stock settings.

The 380, 380X, and 390X aren't exactly anything special when it comes to overclocking. I guess the 390 is pretty solid, though.

They aren't even Fury cards. That's exactly why everyone ended up having to fucking undervolt them.

But am I just imagining things, or is this 380X actually turning out to be the absolute best buy card on the market right now?
It arrived quietly, without much fanfare, but that’s how it feels to me.

The R9 380 2GB probably has better price-to-performance, and if it had been priced lower $500 a few weeks back, it would have absolutely crushed everything else on the charts. But you have to consider that 2GB is becoming pretty mediocre, and the 4GB versions cost almost as much as the 380X—which, by the way, is a bit stronger out of the box... In a handful of games (especially DX12 titles) and at resolutions higher than 1080p, I've even seen it breathing down the neck of, matching, or even slightly edging out the GTX 970.

Maybe not when it comes to $633, but I’d say it is. 🙂

Timothy Kim60 said:I am looking at this specific graphics card listing, and I have to say, I’m somewhat skeptical about the details provided here. It seems like a fairly standard entry, but without more concrete technical specifications, it's hard to be certain about its actual performance ceiling. I guess one could argue that the basic info is sufficient for a casual user, but if you're looking for anything substantial, this might fall short. Maybe it's worth a look if you just need something to get by, but I wouldn't go out on a limb expecting top-tier results.

Which power supply are you actually running? If it’s decent enough, I suppose there shouldn't be an issue, but if you're trying to pull power for four R9 390 nitro cards, I guess we have a problem.$966 If you absolutely have to go with a 24-inch screen, I suppose you could look into some cheaper monitor options. Click.

I suspect it might be Hyper... I’ve only had it for about six months, and since I bought it brand new from Micro Center, I assume it’s doing alright. I noticed the Gigabyte model is priced lower than the MSI card—I guess there has to be some kind of difference there?
Or, if I were to opt for this more expensive configuration, would it make sense to go with the GTX 970? After all, the GTX 970 and the R9 390 are priced identically at the moment.

The 380X offers better performance and much more bang for your buck, though the cooling solution isn't quite as robust. Both come with a 3-year warranty.

In my opinion, go with the Sapphire R9 390, but first, tell me what kind of case you're running. Length is a huge factor here, and you need to make sure you have enough airflow.