GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Wait, which power supply are we talking about here?

Man, I don't know off the top of my head. I probably should just crack it open and check, but I think it's a Seasonic or something similar. I picked it up because my GTX card was acting up and wouldn't run on my weaker power supplies..

I’m thinking about grabbing an SSD and a new GPU, maybe then this rig will actually stay decent for a while longer. I guess... should I really push it and go for an R9, or are the R7 cards still enough to get by? And honestly, what would be the Nvidia equivalents for those?

Your processor is way too weak to pair with an R9 card. In my opinion, you shouldn't push anything beyond a Radeon R7 260. You might be able to squeeze a little more out of it if you overclock it properly, but keep in mind this is a prehistoric platform. With DDR2 RAM, you're going to have to overhaul the entire system pretty soon if you want to run anything even remotely demanding. If you really have a thing for that card, maybe just grab a Radeon R9 270 now and save it to drop into your next build when the time comes.

Timothy Kim60 said:http://www.newegg.com/p/product_info.php?products_id=14245

It’s a solid choice for you. It fits right into your budget, the Radeon R9 270 is honestly one of those all-time best-buy cards, and it's pretty much the sweet spot for your CPU. 3/3

I asked for some GPU suggestions a little while back, and now I've found this one at a really decent price:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/msi-r9-...5#!prettyPhoto[gallery]/0/

Is there actually a big difference between the one you recommended and this one being offered to me? Thanks.

The Radeon R9 270X is basically just an overclocked Radeon R9 270 (we're looking at a 925MHz GPU on the Radeon R9 270 versus 1030MHz on the Radeon R9 270X). I guess they're using the exact same chips.

Thanks. It actually looks like it might be even smarter to just grab this Radeon R9 270

Well, I guess you could always try overclocking your NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti to hit those 270X levels yourself 😬

You might want to look into a better cooler. A "standard" graphics card with dual fans would be a much smarter move—you’ll likely get lower temperatures and a quieter experience if you check out some reviews. The one you're looking at is really designed specifically for ITX builds rather than general use.

I honestly have no clue—they're offering me something even cheaper than that. So, I was leaning towards just grabbing it. Thanks for the help.

I recently picked up an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti, and I have to say, it's fantastic. It runs incredibly quiet, and I can play everything without any issues at all.

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some solid recommendations for a decent used graphics card. Honestly, anything would be an upgrade over the absolute junk I'm currently running, this NVIDIA GeForce GT 630 1GB
My CPU is an Intel Core i3-2100 (I think that's the right model, typing this on my laptop xD)
Motherboard is an MSI GF615M P33
Power supply is an EVGA 480W
Basically, if anyone could let me know what the most powerful card would be without hitting a massive bottleneck—don't worry about whether the PSU can handle it or not
I'm genuinely curious to see just how much this processor can actually push

Thomas Wells5 said:Hey guys, looking for some solid recommendations on a used GPU. Honestly, anything would be an upgrade over the absolute junk I'm running right now, an NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 1GB.
My CPU is an Intel Core i3-2100 (I think, typing this from my laptop Windows XP style
). Motherboard is an MSI GF615M P33
Power supply is a Corsair Redwing 480W
Basically, if you could let me know which card is the absolute limit before I hit a massive bottleneck, that’d be great. Don't worry about whether the PSU can handle it or not
—I just want to know what that processor can actually push through.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/...listing-11671859

http://www.ebay.com/itm/...listing-13487947

Just so you have an idea of how much better these would be compared to what you've got.

http://www.techpowerup.com/review/...nvidia-geforce-gtx-650/

swiftfalcon89— honestly, that site doesn't really show the gaming benchmarks, which is pretty much the only thing he actually cares about.

swiftfalcon89 said:http://www.craigslist.com/vi/graphics-cards...listing-11671859

http://www.craigslist.com/vi/graphics-cards...listing-13487947

It's probably too $233, so I don't think it's worth it.

http://www.craigslist.com/vi/graphics-cards...listing-13610018

crimsonstag84 said:It’s basically $233, so it isn't worth the hassle.

http://www.craigslist.org/video-games-electronics/graphics-cards-listing-13610018

Personally, I’d happily shell out a few extra bucks for an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 that actually comes with a warranty rather than picking up some ancient AMD Radeon HD 5850 from God-knows-when that doesn't have any coverage. Performance-wise, they're pretty much neck and neck in most games.

swiftfalcon89 I can't even begin to process this... I mean, seriously? It’s just... wow.
So, what's the actual breakdown of this rig? What kind of CPU are we talking about? Motherboard? How much RAM is in there? And please tell me you aren't running on some cheap junk power supply.
Look, if you aren't using some bottom-of-the-barrel junk power supply and you actually have a decent processor, then you're looking at something like this:

GTX 560? I mean, maybe? Honestly, who knows. It’s just one of those cards that sits there. I guess if you're desperate, sure, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I saw this listing on Craigslist for an NVIDIA GeForce GT 430. Honestly, I don't know. It looks okay, I guess, if you just need something to display a picture on your monitor or play some really old games from back in the day. But for anything modern? Forget about it. Maybe it's worth a few bucks if you find someone desperate, but I wouldn't touch it if I were you. Just seems like a waste of time.

I saw this listing online for a graphics card. Honestly, I don't know if it's even worth looking at. It's just one of those random posts you stumble across when you're browsing through used tech listings. Might be a decent deal, might be a total waste of time—I guess we'll see.

I'm looking at this listing for a graphics card on a local marketplace site. Just checking to see if anyone has thoughts on it.

Wait, did someone say HD6870? I mean, I guess if you're really digging for old tech, sure. But honestly, why even bother? It’s pretty much ancient history at this point. Just feels like a waste of time to me.

I found this listing on Craigslist for a graphics card. It looks like an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti. I don't know, maybe it's worth it? Hard to say. Seems okay, I guess.

I saw this listing online for a graphics card. Looks like someone's trying to offload an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti. I don't know, maybe it's a decent deal if you're on a tight budget, but I guess you have to look closely at the condition first. Hard to tell from just one photo, honestly. Just seems like another random person selling old tech on a marketplace.

I mean, maybe this is Best Buy or something, I guess. $133 Honestly, it's a seriously solid card.

I saw this listing for a graphics card online. It’s an NVIDIA GeForce GT 430. I don't know, maybe it's worth looking at if you're on a super tight budget, but honestly? I guess it's pretty old news. Just thought I'd drop the link here in case anyone actually needs a low-end card like this.

I don't even know where to start with this mess. Honestly, I guess it’s just one of those things where everything feels like a total disaster. It’s frustrating, really. I mean, maybe I'm being too harsh, but I can't help it. Everything is just... off. It’s annoying. Just incredibly annoying. kaže:
That CPU is way too weak to handle even a single R9 card. Honestly, if you're pushing it, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti is probably the absolute limit before you hit a massive bottleneck. And even then, you'd basically be redlining the thing just to get any decent performance out of it. Just keep in mind that you're working with a prehistoric platform here—DDR2 RAM and all that. You’re going to have to swap the whole setup out pretty damn fast if you actually want to run anything serious or demanding. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to just grab an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 now? That way, if you really love that card, you can just toss it into your next build whenever you finally upgrade.

Thanks for all the comments and advice!

Greetings, everyone. I am looking to purchase a new graphics card. For the most part, my computer is used for general web browsing, but I have been interested in playing some more recent titles lately. My reasoning for this upgrade is that I suspect my current GPU is the primary bottleneck in my system.
If anyone would be willing to offer some guidance and suggest a few suitable cards within the $400-$$233 price range, I would certainly appreciate it. To assist with your recommendations, here are my current system specifications:
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 @2.60GHz - Socket 1155 LGA, Core speed: 1596.19 MHz
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-VS (PCI-Express)
RAM: DDR3 / 8 GB
Current Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 - size: 1024MB

Jerry Collins7 said:Hey everyone, I’m looking to pick up a new graphics card. Most of my PC time is spent just browsing the web, but when I actually sit down to play games... well, I'd like to tackle some newer titles without everything stuttering. My gut feeling is that my current GPU is the main bottleneck holding me back from anything decent.
So, if anyone’s feeling generous enough to lend a hand with some recommendations—I'm looking for a decent graphics card, ideally sitting somewhere in that $400 range—I'd really appreciate the input.$233 Here’s what I’m running under the hood:
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 @2.60GHz - Socket AM3, Core speed: 1596.19 MHz
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-VS (PCI-Express)
RAM: 8GB of DDR3
Right now, I'm running an NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 with 1GB of VRAM.

I was browsing through some local tech listings earlier today and stumbled upon this specific hardware setup. It looks like a pretty standard entry-level build, nothing too flashy, but definitely functional for someone just getting back into PC gaming or needing something reliable for home office work. It’s one of those builds that reminds me of when I first started putting rigs together back in the day—nothing fancy, just solid components doing their job without any unnecessary bells and whistles. If you're looking to pick up something budget-friendly that won't break the bank, this might be worth keeping an eye on.