GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

I’m finally getting around to upgrading this PC because it’s painfully slow, and honestly, I can barely stand to even turn it on anymore—it's driving me absolutely insane. Here is the current breakdown of what I'm working with:

OS: Licensed Windows 10 Enterprise, 64-bit

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-M56S-S3 ---->I'd rather not swap this out

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 485 ---->leaving this as is

RAM: 4 GB DDR2 --------> I actually already pulled the trigger on some 16 GB DDR2 (4x4 GB) via eBay, so it should be arriving soon --->definitely replacing this

PSU: Codegon 400 w ----> I have no clue if I need to upgrade this or what wattage I should aim for. ------> If it isn't strictly necessary, I'll stick with what I've got

Storage: Old 80GB HDD ------>upgrading to a 500GB Samsung SSD, SATA3

Now, here is the real headache that’s actually bothering me. I am a huge fan of playing Minecraft, but whenever I try to move forward in the game, the graphics just fail to render the upcoming landscape, leaving these massive blue voids where the world should be. It’s obvious my current GPU just doesn't have the muscle to handle it.

What I really want to know is: what would be the absolute best value graphics card that stays compatible with my motherboard while staying under $167?

My current GPU is a: Gigabyte Nvidia Geforce 210, type: DDR3; PCI Express

And please, don't start giving me all that advice about just buying a whole new rig, because sticking with this setup is much cheaper for me.

Something like this—you gotta drop the price, $200 is way too much for that card.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing

Look for a card that doesn't need a PCIe power connector.

You could also just grab a used GT 1030 GDDR5 since it pulls even less power.

You don't necessarily need a new CPU, but if I were in your shoes, I'd probably go this route:

https://www.craigslist.org/vi/graphics-cards-for-sale-27572318

https://www.craigslist.org/vi/computer-cases-for-sale-27463856

https://www.craigslist.org/vi/processors-for-sale-27541716

That move by crimsonstag84 is a solid upgrade...

No matter how much you think you don't need a better CPU, passing up a Phenom for $50 is just a mistake

Plus, finally ditching that old generic power supply is a huge win

The GTX 750 is still an excellent card

Hey,

Is there actually any real difference between these two cards, besides the price tag? I spent some time digging through the specs on http://sapphirenitro.sapphiretech.co...specifications and honestly, I didn't see a damn thing. But then I check https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-spec...olaris-20.g807, and it claims the RX 580 4G uses the Polaris 20xl, which is totally different from what sapphiretech.com
says.

thanks.

The difference is that second link from Future IT won't even open. 😁

But in the URL, both links say it's an RX 580 Nitro+ 4GB, so it’s the exact same card. It’s pretty common for shops to have two different links for the same item—maybe because of different suppliers or whatever.

Either way, this one is the better pick.

So, I’m looking at these AMD cards, and I'm genuinely confused—what's actually the deal here? One is priced higher and boasts a chip clock of 1340MHz, while the cheaper one sits at 1257MHz. To be clear, they're both the Sapphire Nitro + RX 580 4. Why would anyone pay more for that tiny bump? Also, after spending way too much time digging through forums, I've convinced myself that 4GB of VRAM is plenty for 1080p, whereas you'd need 6GB if you're pushing 4K. Anyone here actually have hands-on experience with this, or am I just talking to myself? Is that even true...

wiredotter14 said:It’s pretty common for online retailers to list the same item twice, maybe because of a different supplier or something similar.

Exactly. It's likely just an older price or a different distributor.

It's the same clock speed. What you found is just the base clock, whereas the other one is the boost clock.

It’s the exact same chip and cooler, so you can handle the overclocking yourself. Just grab the cheapest option (the one wiredotter14 linked for you). Honestly, prices fluctuate for the same item all the time just because a retailer might be sourcing from different suppliers at different rates.

There are certain games that can allocate 8GB at 1080p—though you don't necessarily need that much—which naturally means even more headroom at 4K. But yeah, at this price point, that RX 580 4GB is hands down the best-buy GPU on the market right now.

Alexander Richardson said:I’m looking to upgrade my rig because it’s painfully slow, and honestly, it frustrates me so much I barely even want to turn it on. Here is the current situation:

OS: Licensed Windows 10 Enterprise, 64-bit

Monitor resolution: 1920x1080

Current specs: Motherboard: ASUS Prime Motherboard ---->not looking to change this

Current specs: Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (Package: Socket AM2 (940); Core speed: 2511,05 MHz) ---->not looking to change this

Current specs: 4 GB DDR2 --------> ordered 16 GB DDR2 (4x4 GB) via eBay, just waiting for delivery --->definitely changing this

Current specs: Power Supply: Corsair 400 W ----> not sure if I need one or how many watts I should get. ------> If it isn't strictly necessary, I'd rather skip it

Current specs: Old 80GB HDD ------>upgrading to a Western Digital SSD, SATA3, 500GB

Now for the part that really gets under my skin. I love playing Minecraft, but whenever I try to move forward, the graphics fail to render the landscape ahead, leaving these massive blue voids instead. It’s obvious my GPU just can't handle the load.

What I really need to know is: what would be the best value GPU that actually works with my motherboard within a budget of $167?

My current GPU is: ASUS Nvidia Geforce 210, type: DDR 3; PC Express

And please, don't just tell me to go out and buy an entirely new tower, because sticking with what I have is much cheaper.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I finally picked up the 16 GB of DDR2. Now I'm starting to think I should actually listen to your advice. However, I just realized that the Western Digital SSD I was planning to grab will run at half speed since my motherboard only supports SATA2. Can anyone recommend a budget-friendly motherboard that supports SATA3 and DDR2, so I can actually use everything that Smartic suggested for my upgrade on the previous page?

I don't necessarily need to swap the CPU, but here's what I was thinking:

https://www.craigslist.com/search/cp/gpu-listing

https://www.craigslist.com/search/cp/case-listing

https://www.craigslist.com/search/cp/cpu-listing

1) I can't find a motherboard anywhere that actually has both SATA III and DDR2 support.

2) Having two lanes just means double the theoretical bandwidth; it doesn't mean your SSD is suddenly going to hit the absolute limit of SATA III.

In the real world, you might see maybe a 20% bump in performance during peak transfer speeds, but honestly, most of the time it won't matter because drives rarely run at max speed anyway.

If you’re swapping out your motherboard, you might as well upgrade the RAM too. Just toss the old stuff on eBay and grab something newer.

wiredotter14 said:1) You aren't going to find a motherboard out there that pairs SATA III with DDR2.

2) That "2x" figure is purely theoretical, so don't go thinking your SSD is actually going to hit the maximum SATA III speeds.

In the real world, you might see a performance bump of maybe 20% during peak transfer speeds, but honestly, it'll be even less since drives rarely run at their absolute limit anyway.

What really drives me up the wall is the Windows boot time. Right now, it takes me a solid 10 minutes just to get my Windows 64-bit system up and running. By the time everything finally loads and stabilizes, I'm ready to chuck the whole machine out the window. And that's after I've already disabled every single unnecessary startup item.
That’s exactly why I want to do a clean install of Windows 64-bit onto an SSD. Based on this upgrade path, how much faster do you guys think my boot times will actually get?

Alexander Richardson said:What drives me absolutely insane is waiting for Windows to boot up. It’s taking nearly ten minutes just to get my Windows 64-bit system fully loaded and ready to go. Honestly, I’ve been half a second away from chucking the whole tower out the window, and that’s even after I went through the hassle of disabling every single unnecessary startup program.
That's why I'm planning to do a clean install of Windows 64-bit onto an SSD. How much faster do you guys think the boot time will actually be with that upgrade?

Well, I finally installed the Western Digital SSD. I don't actually need an answer anymore because the computer boots up incredibly fast now. 🙂
I also swapped out the power supply, and based on your advice, I've updated the graphics card and the processor too. Thanks for the help.

By the way, the guy who sold me the power supply was acting all skeptical about whether that specific graphics card would even work with my motherboard. 🙄

Did he actually give you a reason? Because from where I’m sitting, that graphics card (looks like a GTX 750ti to me) is going to run perfectly fine on that motherboard. Some genius clearly thinks they know better than they do

That’s just a bunch of people making stuff up based on "gut feelings."

who's actually pulling a fast one here 😁

Jonathan Barrett said:Did he actually give a reason why? Because that GPU (looks like a GTX 750 to me) should run perfectly fine on that motherboard. Some genius clearly

Maybe the guy was trying to offload a motherboard too.

Is it actually worth dropping an extra 600-$233 on a GTX 1070 instead of sticking with an RX 580 when I'm running a Ryzen 5 2600?
I've been digging through some YouTube benchmarks, and it looks like there's a gap of up to 20 FPS at 1080p. Is it really possible for one card to be that much better than the other?