GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Google is your best friend here 😁

But honestly, you don't need to overthink it. That power supply is pretty low-end junk, so just grab a GTX 750 instead.

Timothy Kim60 said:What kind of power supply are you running—do you have a specific model number?

In any case, I'd suggest looking into an HD 5670, HD 6670, HD 7730, HD 5750, 6750, 5770, or maybe even a GTX 650 or HD 7750 if you can snag one within your budget. Just make sure they have GDDR5 memory, since those are significantly faster. Honestly, given the CPU you're working with, those are probably about as high as you should realistically aim.

Check out this guy who has a very similar CPU setup to yours—he has a few videos posted:

Well, you caught me off guard there. I know it's rated at 350 watts, but I honestly don't have a clue what the actual model name is.

Swap the power supply, grab a new GPU, and call it a day. For now, 4 GB of RAM should cut it enough.

That's the easiest upgrade to pull off.

And get a better CPU cooler.🙂

Here’s how I’d do it:
1 x Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm
1 x XFX Core Edition 80+ 450W PSU - EasyRail technology
1 x ZALMAN CNPS 5X, socket 775/1155/1156/AM2/AM2/AM3

$448

Basically, overclocking just means pushing the clock speeds higher than what the factory set.

Depending on your motherboard, you'll either see a boost or a bust.🙂

What kind of motherboard are you running?

My motherboard is:
Gigabyte MA78LMT-S2
From what I've gathered through my own research—and I do like to be thorough when looking into hardware specs—it seems to have some overclocking potential built right in.

It's a pretty weak motherboard, but you might still be able to push it to 3.5-3.6GHz. Just maybe don't go too crazy with the voltage—just one or two small increments at most.

I think Kevin Ward3 was talking to Robert Rodriguez2. Since rustyranger6 is running an R7 250, you probably don't need to swap out the power supply (assuming it isn't complete junk), and you could run one of these:

HD5670, HD6670, HD7730, HD5750, 6750, 5770, or even a GTX 650 or HD 7750 if you can track one down.

To figure out what power supply you have,

just pull the side panel off the case and write down the model name listed on the power supply.

Timothy Kim60 said:I think he was talking to Kevin Ward3. rustyranger6 is running an R7 250—probably doesn't need a new power supply (plus that card is junk)—and is using what's in bold here.

To figure out the power supply

I was talking to Kevin Ward3 myself 👍

Oh, my apologies—I completely misunderstood you there.
I’ll take a look later this evening to check exactly which power supply I'm running and what its actual wattage rating is.
I was actually browsing a website yesterday that helps you calculate the required wattage for a build.
Essentially, you just plug in your specific hardware configuration, and it runs the math for you.
I went ahead and plugged in an R7 250. If I remember correctly, it suggested that an ideal setup would need to be right around 267 W or something along those lines.

Those pages aren't worth much (they just add noise). With an R7 250, your entire setup would barely pull more than 100-120W even under a full load. That’s why you can pretty much get away with almost any power supply, even a basic Shroteks one.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Swap out the power supply, grab a new GPU, and you're golden. For now, 4GB of RAM should cut it.

Here's how I'd play it:
1 x Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm
1 x XFX Core Edition 80+ 450W PSU - EasyRail technology
1 x ZALMAN CNPS 5X, socket 775/1155/1156/AM2/AM2/AM3

$448

Basically, overclocking just means cranking the clock speeds higher than what they set at the factory.

Depending on your motherboard, results will vary—some handle it better than others.🙂

You know which motherboard you're running?

Thanks!

It's an ASRock P43DE3.

Kevin Ward3 said:Thanks!

It's an ASRock P43DE3 motherboard.

Try bumping the CPU up to 2.8GHz or even 3GHz.
Take it slow. Don't just jump straight to the max setting.
See how it handles it. Try to push it as far as you can without cranking the voltage—that way you might minimize any potential GPU bottleneck 🙂 though I doubt there'll be one.
Like everyone else said, that's still a solid chip.

I have:
AMD Phenom II 965
Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3
4GB 1600 DDR3
Fortron 550W
HD 4870 (this is where the issue lies)
It lacks DirectX 11 support, which is the sole reason for an upgrade, given that everything else performs perfectly fine.
I am looking for a replacement that isn't a downgrade but does offer DirectX 11 support.
My budget is roughly $10-$15,$333 though cheaper options would be preferred if possible.
Thanks.

Check out the R7 260X, maybe something like

Incredible card. It’s easily 2.5 times more powerful than my old reliable one.

One question: are there actually games out there now that require DX11 just to run?

John Turner34 said:I wanted to ask, are there already games out there that strictly require DX11?

There certainly are, and it’s been happening on a massive scale since last year (which inherently means they won't run on Windows XP).
Man, you can still find some solid DX10 cards like the 4870 if you're looking at raw power, but software requirements have just completely left them in the dust.

I'm looking for some advice on picking up a new graphics card. Here's what I'm currently running:

Corsair CX 430 ATX 12V Power Supply
ASRock P43DE3 Motherboard
Intel Core i5-760 2.8 (overclocked to 3.6)
Raidtek EreBoss Heatpipe Cooler
8 GB DDR3 1333 (two 2 GB sticks and one 4 GB stick)
1 TB WD Hard Drive
LG DVD-RW
Zalman Z11 Case
Current GPU - Sapphire HD 5670 1GB DDR5

I'm really interested in finding a better card—something that'll give me a decent FPS boost in newer games—while keeping the cost as low as possible, of course :-). Right now, my budget is capped at $0.33 for the new card.

http://diskont24.com/product.php?pro...cat=390&page=3

I think this would actually fit pretty well in your build 😉

The Radeon RX 570 is definitely the way to go in this price range; the others listed here (GTX 750, GTX 750 Ti, R7 260X 2GB) seem a bit underwhelming by comparison.

Is it actually worth throwing an extra 5770 and $367 toward a GTX 760—assuming it’s the Windforce model with the 3-year warranty?

Hey, what's up everyone? I generally think it's a solid move; you can pick up a 5770 for about $133
.

It’s basically brand new—used, sure, but still carries over two years of warranty left...