GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

I'm looking for some advice—specifically regarding overclocking my gigabyte gtx 750 using OC Guru. Does anyone know which settings I should actually plug in, and more importantly, what kind of performance boost can I expect in games? Right now, I've been spending my time playing Shadow of Mordor. My current setup is an i3 4330 at 3.5 GHz, 8GB of 1600 MHz RAM, an Asrock B85M motherboard, a gigabyte gtx 750, a High Power 500W 80+ Bronze PSU, and a 21-inch Samsung monitor running at 1920x1080 60Hz. Thanks!

Harold Alvarez49 said:I need some help—I'm wondering how to overclock my gigabyte gtx 750 using OC Guru, specifically which settings I should use and what kind of performance boost I can expect in games. Right now, I'm playing Shadow of Mordor. My setup is an i3 4330 3.5 GHz, 8GB RAM at 1600 MHz, an AsRock B85M motherboard, a gigabyte gtx 750 (obviously), a High Power 500W 80+ Bronze PSU, and a Samsung 21-inch monitor running at 1920x1080 60Hz. Thanks!!!

There are plenty of different software options for overclocking, but THIS ONE is probably the most beginner-friendly. Just download it, run it, and adjust the clocks using the sliders. You have to be careful, though; overclocking isn't just about moving sliders around. You really ought to run a stress test after every single adjustment to see if the GPU stays stable—basically checking if it crashes or starts showing artifacts. Every time you fail a stress test, dial the clock back down until you find that sweet spot where the card remains stable. Also, what specific version of the card do you have? There are several variations out there, and yours might already be factory overclocked. If that's the case, you won't be able to push it further since it's already hit its limit from the factory. One more thing: don't go expecting miracles. Overclocking might give you a marginal bump in performance—maybe a few FPS here or there—but that’s about it. You aren't going to see any massive gains, just so you know what to expect.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750—I'm assuming that "OC" means it comes factory overclocked—so I probably won't have much room to play around with settings there.

Really appreciate the guidance and the quick response here—thanks so much!

In theory, you might still be able to overclock your card. A lot of those factory overclocks are really just bumping the clock speed up by maybe 25 MHz just so they can slap an "OC" sticker on the box and sell it $33 for a premium. So, in your case, it might actually be possible to push the clock even higher—IN THEORY. The whole point of overclocking is the experimentation; it's about testing the limits and seeing how far you can go. If you aren't the adventurous type, there's no real reason to bother, because like I said, you won't see any significant gains. 🙂

I’m looking to pick up a GPU—just a stopgap measure to keep my games running at 1080p. Settings don't matter. I just need this to hold me over for the next year until I can afford a full new build. Assuming my current specs can even handle it. Budget isn't a huge factor since I won't be putting anything high-end in here anyway.

Intel Core i5-2500K, 3000 MHz
ASUS M5A76T-M MAINBOARD (4 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM)
4GB DDR2
Corsair VX550W

ATI Radeon R9 270 OC version 2GB GDDR5 $300

Jason Newman said:I'm looking for a temporary GPU fix—just something to get my games running at 1080p, regardless of settings. I just need this to hold me over for about a year until I can afford a completely new build. Is that even doable given my current specs? Budget isn't a huge deal since I won't be putting anything high-end in here anyway.

Intel Core i5-2500K, 3000 MHz
ASUS M5A76T-M MAINBOARD (4 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM)
4GB DDR2
Corsair VX550W

Your power supply is solid, so stick with it. My advice? Pick a card that fits whatever budget you have left over after saving for the new rig. That way, when you eventually swap out the core platform (CPU, motherboard, and RAM), you already have a decent GPU ready to go.

If you don't want to play the long game, the best value right now is an NVIDIA GeForce GT 730

Nah, I’ll probably just build a whole new rig with a modern GPU later on. This one is going to my sister; she doesn't do anything intense besides playing the latest Sims, which runs just fine on the old NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 anyway. 😁

Look, even by today's standards, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 isn't exactly a harmless little card—it’s just that nowadays, its lack of DX11 support and massive power draw make it a total nightmare to deal with.

Did it finally kick the bucket?

It didn't die on me, but I have a feeling we're heading toward a DX11-only world soon. That’s going to be a massive headache for everyone.

The connector on my NVIDIA RTX 4090 just snapped. Can I solder this back together? If it's a lost cause, what's a decent replacement? View on imgur

And which connector are we talking about?

This connector (can't remember what it's called) View on imgur, View on imgur AGP junction

That's from the floppy. You could probably solder it if you find someone who actually knows what they're doing with a soldering iron. Honestly, finding a decent GPU is going to be a nightmare since you're stuck on an AGP slot, so I guess what you have right now is pretty much your best bet anyway.

Soldering the power connector is easy enough if you actually know what you're doing. Is it really such a big deal?

Anyone got a recommendation for a decent repair shop in Los Angeles where I can get this soldered without getting ripped off?

mistyhawk29 said:Do you guys have any recommendations for a repair shop in Chicago where I could get this soldered for a decent price?

Honestly, it’d probably be easier to just grab a used card on eBay for $50$33 than to deal with the headache of hauling a decade-old GPU to a repair shop just to get it soldered. 🙂

Adam Moore3 said:I think it's easier for you at 50-.$33 Better to just grab a used GPU on eBay than deal with the headache of lugging some ten-year-old card to a repair shop just to get the solder redone. 🙂

Couldn't find anything decent at a good price on Craigslist. :/

So how did it actually blow, and what were you even doing with it?