GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

That hawk gtx 760 from eDigital through two sellers? It's a solid card, but honestly, it isn't worth nearly that much. You'd be better off grabbing a gtx 770 for just a bit more money. Since you were looking at the r9 280, those Sapphire ones are still available click.

Hey, I got some killer advice on my build here about two years ago, so now I'm back looking for help picking a GPU;

CPU: AMD A6 3670K (Max TDP is 111W, though maybe less if I pop something in the PCIe slot and stop using the integrated graphics..?)
PSU: Codegen 480W (About 7-8 years old, definitely the oldest part of this rig, but it still holds up..)
MB: ASRock A55M-HVS
RAM: Transcend JM1600KLN 4GB DDR3 DRAM Frequency 800MHz (Pretty sure I bought 1600Mhz, maybe it runs x2..)
HD: 250GB WD Caviar Blue
DVD RW
Resolution: 1366x768

On top of all that, I always have my Logitech Formula Force EX wheel plugged in (it has its own power supply) along with a 300GB external HDD

As you can see, I don't have a dedicated card yet, just the integrated stuff, so my PCIe slot is wide open. My question is:
What kind of GPU—specifically, what wattage limit am I looking at—can I get away with without having to swap out my power supply? I don't have the cash to buy both at once, and I was eyeing an R7 250 1GB GDDR5... assuming it actually performs better than the integrated hd 6530 D I'm currently running with 512MB borrowed from my RAM.

I'm not some hardcore gamer or anything, but it would be nice if FIFA World ran a bit smoother, or Assetto Corsa, which I'm barely playing on low right now. Even GTA4 struggles to hit low settings, so being able to play that on low would be a win, but that's pretty much it.

Maybe grab a used $133 HD7770 and dump the rest into a decent power supply. God knows when this thing might finally kick the bucket

Zalman 600 w LX Series Retail, ZAL-ZM600-LX
VTX R7 250 x 1 1GB GDDR5
Spira Kepler cooler for 1156/775/FM1

Total: $342 $60

If you're still running a stock cooler, I'd grab this Spira instead and try to overclock the CPU a bit. You should probably be able to hit 3.2-3.3GHz just by bumping up the multiplier.

I’m not really messing around with overclocking here; I don't have the cash to drop on a new CPU if this one decides to kick the bucket, and honestly, it's doing just fine for me right now. I was running into some weird issues where it kept jumping into some energy-saving mode on its own, but I tweaked the BIOS settings and everything's smooth sailing now. I'm thinking about grabbing one of those R7 250 cards—mostly just so I can get a warranty behind me—so if my current power supply holds up, great, but if not, I might just pick up that recommended one since the price is decent, though I'd rather not swap things out unless I absolutely have to. Thanks.

I'd love to hear what you guys think about these two wild cards
Nvidia GeForce gtx 770 4 GB Gddr5 vs. the Gigabyte GV-R928XOC-3GD Rev 1.0 pci-e with 3 GB ddr3. Thanks.

They’re cheaper, and I guess the performance is pretty much identical.

Jose Martin96 said:I probably won't mess with overclocking. I can't really afford a new CPU if this one fries, and honestly, it’s doing alright for me right now. It used to keep jumping into some energy-saving mode on its own, but I fixed that in the BIOS settings so it's fine now. I think I'll just grab one of those R7 250 cards—going new just for the warranty, I guess—and if the power supply holds up, then great. If not, I might pick up that recommended unit since the price is decent, but I'd rather not swap things out unless I have to. Thanks.

Interesting thought, but I guess your processor is more likely to die from a bad power supply than from overclocking. 😁

Just watch out so they don't sell you an R7 250 with DDR3 memory, because that thing is way slower than the DDR5 version. You definitely want to look for DDR5. Might even be worth stretching the budget for a 250X if you can.

The R7 250X offers about 30-40% more performance, though it is $20 pricier, so I guess it actually makes sense to go for it.

Patrick Cooper86 said:I’d love to get some thoughts on these two wildcards:
EVGA Nvidia GeForce gtx 770 4 GB Gddr5 vs. a PCI-E Gigabyte AMD Radeon R9 280X OC 3GB DDR3. Thanks.

The EVGA card apparently comes with a 5-year warranty, while the Gigabyte only has 3... though I wouldn't bet the house on my memory there.

No biggie—if you've got the budget, you might as well grab the gtx 750. It pulls less power than the 250X, so your current PSU will handle it easily, and honestly, it's just more punchy.

David Sanders4 said:EVGA offers a 5-year warranty while Gigabyte gives you 3... though don't quote me on that. ...

Nobody offers a warranty that long for a GPU here in the States; EVGA usually sticks to 2 years.

I am currently on the hunt for an Nvidia graphics card, with a budget capped at around $1,100$400 to handle some serious gaming on my 24" 1080p monitor. Right now, I’m running a GTS 250, which has actually held its own surprisingly well; I’ve been able to crank through titles like the latest Hitman or Far Cry 3 on high settings without much trouble, though since those aren't DX11 compliant, it is definitely time for an upgrade. What would you all recommend?
I also have a pretty weak power supply, so I plan on swapping that out along with my motherboard and CPU once I figure out where to allocate the rest of my funds.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X26S6P6

Honestly, AMD offers more bang for your buck here... I think it's maybe 15-20% faster than the gtx 750 Ti.

https://www.newegg.com/p/nvidiageforcegtx750ti

Timothy Kim60 said:Nobody offers such an extensive GPU warranty here (at least not in the States); EVGA gives you two years.

Well, two years is pretty much the standard, plus an extra three if you bother with the registration...

Hey there—after two years, my graphics card finally gave up the ghost (an ATI 4800 HD, if that matters...) and now I’m stuck looking for a replacement. What would you all suggest for somewhere in the ballpark of $800 $333 if I want something that actually lasts a decent amount of time? Thanks 🙂

A good friend of mine has finally scraped together some extra cash and decided it's time to pick up a new graphics card.
He's willing to shell out up to $633.
His current setup looks like this:
Intel Core i3 2100 Sandy Bridge 4 GB RAM Foxconn 2 ABF
4 GB RAM
Foxconn 2 ABF motherboard
I figured that should give you enough context to figure out what would be a good fit...

Andrew Garcia89 said:Hey, my graphics card just died after two years (it was an ATI 4800 HD, if that matters), so I need a replacement. What would you recommend for around $800 $333 to make sure it lasts me a while? Thanks! 🙂

What kind of CPU and power supply are you running? Also:

http://www.amazon.com/s?k=GTX+750
http://www.amazon.com/s?k=R7+260X

The GTX 750 pulls almost half the power, though it is slightly weaker.

ironridge352 said:A buddy of mine saved up some cash and decided to pick up a new GPU.
He's willing to spend up to $633.
The current setup is:
Intel Core i3 2100 Sandy Bridge
4 GB RAM
Foxconn 2 ABF motherboard
I figured that should be enough info for you guys to know what to suggest.

The power supply is also something to consider...

Otherwise, you could go for an R9 280. There might be a bit of a bottleneck, but maybe an i5 could be picked up down the road.😉

http://www.newegg.com/p/ati/0901943/

I've been browsing through some graphics cards lately, specifically looking at things like the Club 3D Radeon R9 280 X with 3GB DDR5, and since there are a bunch of different versions floating around, I can't help but wonder if they all actually perform pretty much the same or if there are some massive gaps in power between them?

P.S. Is it even possible that they’re selling for around $215 in Italy—and yeah, I mean brand new, just so we're clear—because that's a massive price jump compared to what we see in American stores.

In practice, there isn't really a noticeable difference—maybe a slightly better or worse cooler, or a tiny 10-20MHz factory overclock here or there...

For $199, you'd probably be looking at an R9 280...

Club 3D Radeon R9 280 X Royal Queen at $290

versus

MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming 3G for $300

versus

ASUS R9 280x- dc2-3GD5, PCI-E A at $315

Anyone got an opinion on this mess? Which one should I actually grab before I regret it?