GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

I get what you're saying, but how much damage are we really doing if the card doesn't drop below 60 degrees consistently? 🤷

I believe the real issue here is that the temperatures are pushing past the acceptable threshold—we're looking at around 90°C. In my book, most people want to see things staying under 80°C. Beyond that point, whether it's 75°C under a heavy load, 60°C, or just sitting at 35°C while idling, I don't think the difference matters much for the card's health. It’s all about how you tune the fan curves to suit your own needs.

I'm currently running a Radeon HD 5670, and I've been thinking about upgrading. I'm looking at something more substantial, like this: Radeon R7 370 4G. Based on the performance benchmarks, we're talking about a theoretical jump of roughly 200% to 300%.
http://www.hwcompare.com/19668/radeo...eon-r7-370-4g/

My current setup features an i3 processor and an SSD (running on SATA II).
However, I have a few lingering doubts:
- I'm using a 400 W MSI power supply. The new card has a max power draw of nearly 110W, which is almost double my old 65W unit.
- My motherboard uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot, while the new one calls for PCIe 3.0 ×16.
Given these specs, will I actually see that expected boost in performance?
I just want to make sure nothing bottlenecks the system, leaving me with the realization that the new card performs no better than my old one.

ruggedpanther2 said:I'm running a Radeon HD 5670 right now. I want an upgrade. Looking at something like this: Radeon R7 370 4G. On paper, the performance jump looks like it's around 200 - 300 %.
http://www.hwcompare.com/19668/radeo...eon-r7-370-4g/

CPU is an i3, got an SSD (SATA II).
A few things are bugging me:
- My power supply is a 400W MSI unit. This new card pulls almost 110W, which is nearly double my old 65W card.
- The motherboard slot is PCIe 2.0 x16, but the new card wants PCIe 3.0 ×16.
Based on those specs, am I actually going to see that expected performance boost?
I don't want to end up thinking the new card is just as slow as the old one because something isn't clicking.

PCIe 2.0 vs 3.0 won't matter, it'll work fine. But that power supply? You definitely need to swap it out.

What do you think is a fair price for that 370?

Honestly, just grab an NVIDIA GTX 1650 instead. It’s right there in the same ballpark, slightly better performance, and it won't suck up all your power.

You wouldn't even need a new PSU since the current one might hold up, though you'd want to swap it out eventually regardless of the GPU—that thing is total junk.

https://www.newegg.com/artikl.aspx?lid=213802

Or maybe the 4GB version for a bit $67 more.

Either this dual fan model.

The power supply is from Microsoft (as far as I know, MSI doesn't actually make PSUs) and it's pretty low-end (unless they're using EVGA components). In theory, it should be able to handle the NVIDIA GTX 1650, but if you have the chance, it wouldn't be a bad idea to swap it out for something better.

Timothy Kim60 said:Or just grab this one with the dual fans.

The power supply is from Microsoft (as far as I know, MSI doesn't actually make PSUs) and it’s pretty cheap stuff (unless they're using EVGA parts). On paper, it should handle an NVIDIA GTX 1650, but honestly, swapping it out is probably a smart move if you can manage it.

That confusion between MS and MSI likely comes from the official name, "Microsoft Industrial".😉

Prices just keep on dropping...

RX 470 Nitro 4GB - barely $567

Inno3D (single-fan) GTX 1060 6GB - $757

wiredotter14 said:How much do you think it’s worth to drop on that Radeon?

Timothy Kim60 said:It seems like you might have cut off there! Was there something specific you wanted to discuss? I'm all ears. Is this thing on? Just testing the waters here. Dual fans? Is that really enough to get the job done?

So, what’s the going rate for an NVIDIA Radeon equivalent these days? $533.

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice. I’ve finally made my decision on this one:
Looking at this listing on Newegg... anyone else curious about this one? It's an NVIDIA GTX 1650, right? A solid little card for a budget build. Does it actually hold up for modern titles if you aren't pushing max settings? I'm thinking it might be just the thing for a quick upgrade to an older system. What do you all think? Is it worth grabbing while it's available?.
I'm also looking to pick up a new power supply. Honestly, there are so many different options out there now—does it even make sense to bother with those basic 500W units? $200.
I'm weighing my options on these:
Is there anything more critical to a build than the power supply? I've been looking closely at the Akira AK-B1-700 Basic, a 700W unit. Can we really trust a budget-friendly component to anchor an entire system? It’s a question worth pondering. Is anyone else looking at this listing on Newegg? I was browsing through their current stock and stumbled upon this specific component. It’s an interesting find, isn't it? Does it seem like a solid value to you, or am I just overthinking the specs? I'd love to hear what the rest of you think about this one.
Thinking about upgrading your power supply? Take a look at the XILENCE RedWing R7 Edition, pushing out 500W. Is it worth the switch? Is anyone else looking at this listing on Newegg? I was browsing through some components earlier today and stumbled upon this specific item. It caught my eye, but I wanted to get a second opinion from the community first. Does this look like a solid deal to you? Or am I missing something crucial about the specs? I’d love to hear what you all think before I pull the trigger.
Is there anything more fundamental than a solid power supply? I've been looking at the SPIRE Pearl 550W lately. It’s one of those components you just can't afford to overlook, right? Reliable juice is the heartbeat of any build. Is anyone else eyeing this deal over on Newegg? I was just browsing through their latest listings and stumbled upon this specific item. It caught my eye immediately. Could it be the right fit for a budget build? I’m still weighing my options, but the specs look pretty interesting at first glance. What do you all think? Is it worth pulling the trigger on?

The prices look pretty much the same to me. If anyone has a solid recommendation for a different power supply—honestly, price isn't even my main concern here—I'd love to hear it. What else should I be looking at?

ruggedpanther2 said:I'm looking at picking up a new PSU too. There are tons of options out there, and I don't see the point in dropping $500 or $200.
Thinking about these:
Akira AK-B1-700 Basic, 700W https://www.newegg.com/artikl.aspx?pid=33865
Xilence RedWing R7 Edition, 500 W https://www.newegg.com/artikl.aspx?pid=34557
SPIRE Pearl, 550 W https://www.newegg.com/artikl.aspx?pid=37666

Prices are pretty much the same. If anyone has a recommendation for something else—price doesn't matter—I might consider it.

You don't need to spend $500-$600, but the ones you picked are total junk... does it really have to be from Newegg?

EDIT: if it has to be from Newegg, then at least go with an EVGA 400W with a 3-year warranty, or this EVGA 430W with a 5-year warranty.

analogtiger19 said:You don't strictly need a 500-600W unit, but the ones you're looking at are pretty low-end... do you really have to get the power supply from Newegg?

EDIT: if you absolutely have to grab it from Newegg, then go with at least an EVGA 400W hexa with a 3-year warranty, or maybe this EVGA 430W model which comes with a 5-year warranty.

Right now, I'm running an EVGA Platinum 400. Honestly, the quality is top-tier—you really can't find anything better than this for that price point.
Now, I'm planning to upgrade to something more powerful, at least 500W, so I can handle the graphics card I'm eyeing on the Newegg website. To save on shipping costs by not paying twice, I figured I'd just pick up the power supply there too. It seems your recommendations for wattage are actually quite similar to what I'm already using.

ruggedpanther2, honestly, for that GPU and whatever i3 you're running, a 200-250W unit would probably handle the load just fine.
It’s all about quality. Those cheap 500-700W units you see everywhere? Total junk. Listen to the consensus—if you're buying a new PSU, get something reliable, not some bottom-tier scrap that delivers garbage voltage.
You're better off just sticking with that Microsoft unit until you actually have the cash for an upgrade. It won't be breaking a sweat with the new card anyway.

Either of those two options analogtiger19 linked are solid. They're miles ahead of anything from Akira or similar brands.

ruggedpanther2, an EVGA Platinum 400 and a Fortron Hexa 400 aren't even in the same league. You should at least read the conclusion here if you want to get a real sense of what we're actually dealing with.

wiredotter14 said:Honestly, either of those two options that analogtiger19 suggested should work just fine. They're miles ahead of anything from Akira or similar brands.

Thanks to everyone for the solid advice! After thinking it over, I’ve decided to pull the trigger on this combo in a few days:
EVGA Hyper, 600W+ NVIDIA GTX 1650

So now you've got room for literally any GPU 😉

ruggedpanther2 said:Thanks for the input, everyone. I've chewed on it for a bit and decided to pull the trigger on this combo in a few days:
FORTRON Hyper, 600W+ XFX NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

👍

Picked up a new card, an EVGA GeForce GTX 1060, and I’ve got a few thoughts if you don't mind 😁

Honestly, the price-to-performance ratio caught me off guard. I didn't expect this much punch from a card at this $0.83 level. It's my first NVIDIA in ages; my last one was a GTX 275.

I'm running everything at 1080p, and this thing just eats through titles. The only two games where I actually hit 99% utilization were Rise of the Tomb Raider—after I cranked every setting to max—and even then, the VRAM was pinned. It's using all 6 gigs, actually looks more like 6100 MB if you check the stats.
FPS is locked at 60 with Adaptive Sync.

Even Metro 2033 Redux on Very High settings with 2x SMAA stays a rock-solid 60 fps... my old 280x would have turned that into a slideshow.

With most other games, the fans barely even spin up.

Regarding GPU Boost: I haven't overclocked it yet because I don't really see the point, but I did play around with some settings. Most people here probably know this, but just in case someone is new to it, here's a quick tip.
The rated boost clock is 1848 MHz, but it actually climbs up to 2024 MHz. Even once it starts heating up or hits 99% load, the frequency doesn't dip below 1930 MHz. Pretty impressive.

I maxed out the power and temperature limits and tweaked the fan curve—just set it to a flat 70% 😁—but that was just for testing. I'll need to fine-tune it later.

It held a steady 2000 MHz through several consecutive Firestrike runs without any throttling.

Haven't touched the actual clocks yet... no real reason to right now... but soon.

That's about it. Highly recommend this card; it surprised me. For the money and compared to previous generations, it's a great value.

It’s a solid card for light 1440p gaming, but at 1080p? It absolutely shreds previous generations of mid-range hardware.

How are you even measuring FPS if you have Adaptive Sync turned on?

Hey everyone,
I'm thinking about picking up a new GPU—budget is sitting around $667.

Here’s what I'm running right now:
monitor : HP Z23n
PSU: Fortron Hex
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33
CPU: i5 3350p
GPU: MSI Radeon HD 7850 OC
RAM: 8GB DDR3

I'm torn between an RX 470/480 4GB or maybe an EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB... honestly, I just can't make up my mind.

wiredotter14 said:How are you even measuring FPS if Adaptive Sync is on?

Pretty simple, I use MSI Afterburner 😁. But you're asking how I see max FPS—I don't really need to know that. What's the point?

I turn on Adaptive Sync for every game I play because I can't stand screen tearing. Plus, it keeps me at a steady 60 fps.