GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

A GTX 750 Ti would be a perfect fit for that build. Honestly, I think upgrading to the Ti model is just overkill for this setup.
Eventually, you can always pick up a high-quality power supply from a brand like Corsair for about $67.

My current setup consists of
- Intel Core i5-2500K at 3.00 GHz
- Gigabyte EP45-DS3 motherboard
- 2X 2GB AENEON PC-6400 RAM
- CORSAIR VX 450W power supply
- 2 Hard Drives
- 1 DVD-RW drive
- Dell UltraSharp Monitor
Since my graphics card just kicked the bucket (it was an EVGA GTX 260), I’m looking for a replacement that won't blow my system apart—mostly because my power supply is what it is. I’m not necessarily demanding everything runs on ultra-high settings, but I’d love to be able to play some of the titles that have hit the market over the last year or so without it being a total slideshow.
If anyone has any suggestions, I’d appreciate them—maybe list them from highest price down to lowest? I haven't quite nailed down my budget for this card yet.
Thanks!

http://www.amazon.com/details/product-link-placeholder

Your power supply is actually solid, I'm not really sure what you're worried about there. 😁

That CPU might end up bottlenecking your GPU, but it looks like it clocks pretty well. Since you've got a decent motherboard, I'd probably suggest grabbing a better cooler so you can push it closer to 4 GHz.

http://www.amazon.com/details/product-link-placeholder

Scott Diaz7 said:My current setup consists of
- Intel Core i5-2500K 3.00 GHz LGA 775
- Gigabyte EP45-DS3 motherboard
- 2X 2GB AENEON PC-6400
- CORSAIR VX 450W
- 2 Hard Drives
- 1 DVD-RW
- Dell UltraSharp Monitor
Since my graphics card just died (it was an EVGA GTX 260), I am looking for a replacement that won't overload my power supply. I'm not demanding ultra-high settings for everything, but I want to be able to run some titles released in the last year or eighteen months reasonably well.
Any suggestions would be appreciated, ranging from the most expensive options down to the budget ones, since I haven't decided on a specific budget yet.
Thanks

Your power supply isn't actually the issue here. At the very least, give me a rough idea of what you want to spend. To get something better than the EVGA GTX 260, the bare minimum worth buying is a GTX 750 Ti with DDR5, then you could step up to an HD7770, and maybe even a 260X (though you might hit a bottleneck). If you're willing to drop another $200 or so, you could look at an R9 270/X or a GTX 760—especially if you plan on upgrading your CPU and motherboard soon anyway. Check prices on Newegg or Amazon.

Timothy Kim60 said:It’s probably not even your power supply causing the headache—but look, give me at least a ballpark figure of what you're looking to spend. If you want something that actually performs better than an EVGA GTX 260 without breaking the bank, you should look at a GTX 750 Ti with DDR5, then maybe step up to an HD7770 (the R7 250X variant), or even a 260X if you don't mind a potential bottleneck. Of course, if you're willing to shell out another $20-$30, you could grab something like an R9 270/X or a GTX 760—especially if you're planning on swapping out your CPU (well, the whole motherboard/CPU/RAM combo) anytime soon. Check prices on Newegg or eBay.

around $1000—$667 though I'd probably also toss in a new CPU cooler while I'm at it.

EVGA GTX 750 Ti, 1GB DDR5, DualDVI, HDMI, DP
What do you guys think about this card?

Scott Diaz7 said:maybe an extra 1000 bucks $667 just to throw a new CPU cooler in there too.

EVGA GTX 750 Ti, 1GB DDR5, DualDVI, HDMI, DP
what's your take on this card?

1 x Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm
1 x ZALMAN CNPS 5X, socket 775/1155/1156/AM2/AM2/AM3

$326
yahoo.com

Scott Diaz7 said:What do you think about this card?

I’d say it’s a great deal for the price. It’s pretty much the ceiling for your CPU if you aren't planning an upgrade anytime soon. Your processor might act as a bit of a bottleneck in certain games, but overall, it's a solid, balanced setup.

Hey everyone, do you guys think there's any chance the Nvidia GTX 780 could drop down to the $833 range within the next year? Right now, I think the cheapest one I can find is sitting around $1233... if not that soon, when do you think that might actually happen? (Just looking at how the pricing trended for the cards released before the 780)... thanks

Hey, just a heads-up—Nvidia is about to drop their 8xx series desktop cards, so you might want to hold off for a bit. You can probably expect prices on the "older" models to dip once the new stuff hits the shelves...

It’s possible prices will drop that much; I guess the GTX 680 is sitting at around $867
now.

In my opinion, the GTX 770 is actually a superior choice compared to the GTX 680, especially since it's more budget-friendly. I truly believe it's smarter to hold out until the new cards hit the market later this year. By December, you should be able to pick up a GTX 860 or a GTX 870 for roughly $833, depending on what the pricing and performance look like at that time.

It’s entirely possible we’ll see a new card hitting similar performance levels that actually offers better value than the GTX 780 itself. As for AMD, they'll definitely have something in the next generation sitting in that $250 range—maybe even cheaper—especially since you can already snag an R9 290 for around $300 that actually edges it out slightly in raw power.

A buddy of mine is raving about his Zotac GTX 580, claiming he doesn't drop below 35 FPS in Crysis 3. Meanwhile, when he tries running it on a GTX 770, it tanks down to at least 22 FPS. It makes zero sense. I actually went looking for a Zotac 680 to see if I could find one, but I couldn't track anything down here in the States. Even if I did find one tucked away somewhere, I have a feeling it would be way more expensive than a standard GTX 770 anyway, right?

Lol 😬

The GTX 770 is slightly more powerful than the GTX 680 (you aren't thinking of the GTX 580, I assume), it’s just an issue with the drivers...

Nah, a buddy of mine is running a Zotac GTX 580. I'm actually hunting for a newer GTX 680 right now, specifically looking for a comparison between a Zotac 680 and a standard GTX 770... my gut tells me that Zotac 680 probably comes with a better factory overclock.

I mean, if all you have is a GTX 680 to choose from, it's actually weaker and more expensive than the GTX 770... so I don't really see the point.

And this idea that the GTX 580 is stronger than the GTX 770? Something is definitely off there, because the GTX 580 is more in line with a GTX 660.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/829?vs=772

You could also try overclocking your GTX 970 yourself.

Yeah, I get what you mean. Thanks for the link.

Is this some kind of mistake... did they swap out a standard 280 for an R9 380 by accident?

That link isn't working... but based on the ID, I think this is what you're looking for:

R9 380:

It has 1792 Stream processors and a memory clock of about 5000 MHz.

R9 380X:

Then you've got 2048 Stream processors and a memory clock around 6000 MHz.

I guess you can see the difference from there...