GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

I don't actually have a motherboard yet; I just scored these components for free, so I'm building the rest of the rig around what I've got. I'm not really working with a strict budget here—I just want the absolute best setup possible based on whatever CPU can handle it.
Maybe this sounds like a dumb question, but wouldn't it be better if the motherboard had four RAM slots? Look, I’m definitely not an expert when it comes to hardware, so excuse me if I sound like an idiot 🤷

Ryan Allen32 said:I don't have a motherboard yet; I just got these components for free, so I'm building the configuration based on what I have. I don't really have a strict budget—I just want the best possible setup considering which processor can be paired with this.
Maybe this is a silly question, but isn't it better when a motherboard has four RAM slots? Look, I don't know much about hardware, so sorry if I sound a bit clueless here. 🤷

Look, it is better, but the real question is whether you'll actually need it. These boards support up to 16GB (2x8GB). You can pick up memory very cheaply right now (and it might get even cheaper down the road).
Trust me, once 16GB becomes insufficient—and honestly, once 8GB becomes a total bottleneck—it won't matter much to you anyway. 😁
You can easily add another 4GB to your current 4GB soon or later on, and you should be set for a while... Or, you can just sell those 4GB sticks later when they're outdated and grab 8GB modules instead.

By the way, regarding the 4 slots, this one is the cheapest option at Best Buy.

And that GPU is the optimal choice given the rest of your build.
this one
Best Buy

Alternatively, look at MSI products, since they offer a longer warranty than most others (3 years).

If you have the cash, go for a GTX 660 or a 7870. I wouldn't recommend anything higher than that, not because an i3 couldn't handle it, but because the price-to-performance ratio just isn't worth it.
Just don't settle for anything weaker than an ATI 7770 or a 650Ti; that's basically the baseline standard.

What kind of graphics card could actually handle that? I'm looking for something that won't break the bank, either. I don't really need it for heavy gaming; I just need it to run some software for work, though nothing too demanding.
I guess I just want it to have at least 1GB of DDR2 or DDR5 memory.

I guess I just stumbled upon a few.

Nvidia GeForce GT 630 1 GB GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 DVI Mini-HDMI Graphics card ZT-60404-10L

Nvidia GeForce GT 610 1GB DDR3 MDT

XFX ATI Radeon HD 5670 1 GB DDR5 featuring DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort via PCI-Express. Model HD567XZNF3.

The ZOTAC GeForce GT 440 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 featuring DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort—specifically model ZT-40702-10L—is a single graphics card option.

The Visiontek ATI Radeon HD 5770 features 1GB of DDR5 memory and utilizes a PCIe 4-port interface.

I was wondering what your thoughts are on these specific graphics cards, and I guess you might also have some suggestions for other models that would be good choices?
Since my motherboard only supports a single slot, I guess the idea of running a dual graphics card setup is pretty much out of the question.

If you’re aiming for a 4-monitor setup, go with an AMD Radeon HD 5770, 6850, or 6870—those will get the job done. The Nvidia cards you listed over there? They're limited to just 2 monitors. Honestly, if you want to run 3 screens, the weakest Nvidia option that actually supports it is the GT 640.

Alright everyone, I’m looking to pick up a graphics card in the $300 range—maybe stretching up to $117—that actually holds some weight when it comes to gaming...

Here’s the situation: I basically screwed myself over when I bought my case about two and a half years ago. To put it bluntly, my current graphics setup is non-existent—forgive the language—meaning I’m stuck relying on the integrated graphics on my motherboard, which only has about 750 MB to work with...

So, I’ve got this rig with the following specs, which honestly isn't a bad build by my standards, aside from the massive hole where the GPU should be: 2GB of RAM, a 2.60 GHz processor, a 300 GB hard drive, Windows 7, and that 750 MB integrated graphics chip on the motherboard...

My computer is practically screaming for a decent, relevant graphics card. If I’m being honest, I haven’t really kept up with hardware expertise—it’s been maybe 7 or 8 years since I was truly "in the loop" 🤣—though I’ve stayed somewhat current with software and the internet. As for everything else... save me, Bog, I'm out of my depth. So, if anyone can help me narrow down a choice...

It’s frankly embarrassing. When I want to play a shooter from 2007 or 2008—and occasionally even stuff from 2005 or 2006 (not to mention the 2009–2012 era)—I run into issues. I constantly have to drop the resolution down to 800x600 just to get a playable frame rate without constant stuttering. It’s pathetic, really...

Thanks in advance

It might be helpful if you let us know exactly which CPU, motherboard, and PSU you're running.

I mean, you probably won't get anything special for that kind of cash. Maybe some used gear, I guess.

Just scour eBay for an old 4850 or 4870. Honestly, if you're looking at what's available on the market right now, you won't find anything better than that.

But first, they should probably check the brand and model of their power supply. It wouldn't be great to toss a 4850 into some random 300W unit.

fadedorca66 said:But they really ought to check the brand and model of that power supply first. It wouldn't be smart to try and slap a 4850 onto some random 300W unit.

👍

Exactly. They definitely need to double-check that power supply before doing anything else.

I was browsing through some random sales online and stumbled upon this Gigabyte 7770 OC, and at first glance, I thought, "Man, that's a steal." But then I actually sat down to read the product description and realized—there's no way this is a real 7770. What do you guys think? Is this just a typo or am I looking at a blatant scam?

boldgull8 said:I was browsing some local sales and stumbled upon this Gigabyte 7770 OC and thought, man, what a steal. Then I actually read the product description and realized—there's no way that's a 7770. What do you guys think? A typo or a scam?

Why would it be a scam?

Best Buy is a legit retailer, I doubt they'd risk it on a scam
It's just a discount on the $33

I get what you're saying, but if you look at the specs, it says 7750, not 7770. I'm talking about the technical details listed right under the product. So, the question is: did they mess up the actual title where it says Gigabyte 7770 OC, or did they just screw up the specifications by listing a 7750 graphics card instead?

boldgull8 said:I hear you, I really do—but if you look at the specs listed under the product, it actually says it's a 7750, not a 7770. So, I guess the question is: did they just mess up the product title by calling it a 7770 OC, or did they get the actual technical specs wrong when they listed it as a 7750?

Just grab your phone and settle it right then and there.😁

I honestly don't feel like messing around with this; they should just put whatever they want. But I have a feeling they might be violating some kind of regulation, so I'm going to go quickly skim through the NKZ, haha.

fadedorca66 said:It would be helpful if you could tell us exactly which processor, motherboard, and power supply you have.

Even so, you aren't going to buy anything special for that kind of money. Maybe something used.

Alright everyone, I just downloaded PC Wizard so I can give you guys precise answers to your questions—though I’m a bit stuck on this "what power supply do you have" part (don't laugh)—I know I can see stuff in PC Wizard, but what specifically are we talking about here? Give me the English terminology, haha...

Anyway, here are the rest of my system specs; hopefully, I've been thorough enough 😁:






Now, let me show you the two potential graphics cards I've been eyeing online. I'm thinking about ordering one of them, so let me know what you think—links for both are below and the prices should be visible:

The second one caught my eye specifically, but look, please just give me a few smart sentences based on these specs to tell me what to do... thanks in advance.

That software won't tell you anything about your power supply; you're gonna have to actually pop the case open and check the sticker on the unit itself.

Honestly, those graphics cards are pretty weak—they might even be just a tiny bit better than whatever integrated chip you're running right now. I guess if you actually want to game, you should probably look for something used, maybe an AMD Radeon HD 5670 or something along those lines.

I’m looking for some advice on picking up a new GPU with a budget of around $300... I’ll be honest, I don't really know my way around all the advanced Nvidia and AMD features, but I really want something that can handle massive gaming textures and heavy ENB mods as smoothly as possible. I definitely need a card with at least 3GB of VRAM, so I'm torn between grabbing a 7970 (maybe the GHz edition?) or just ordering a 670 or 680 with 4GB from Newegg, since they're pretty hard to find locally here in the States...

If a Radeon card can actually pull all those heavy visuals off, especially considering it usually has a wider memory bus, I’d much rather just pick one up here at a local shop... but if Nvidia offers some specific advantages that I'm totally unaware of, then I guess I won't mind waiting a bit longer for my Newegg package to arrive...
Thanks

It's a total no-brainer 😁

crimsonstag84 said:It's a total no brainer 😁

I was wondering how much overclocking headroom this thing actually has...
I've been hearing that a lot of the stuff the Green company offers is pretty much negligible anyway (like PhysX, Adaptive Vsync, GeForce Experience, Ambient Occlusion—which I think belongs to AMD, they just don't advertise it as much—plus Turbo Boost, FXAA, and TXAA), so I'm leaning towards picking up the 7970 instead, especially since an i5 3570k should be able to handle it just fine. The 7970 has more VRAM, and from what I can tell, it performs better at resolutions higher than 1080p thanks to that 384-bit bus...

I assume the Vapor X was designed specifically to allow for better overclocking, right?...

ironhawk3 said:How much overclocking headroom does this actually have?
I’ve heard the stuff the Green Party offers is mostly fluff anyway (PhysX, Adaptive Vsync, GeForce Experience, Ambient Occlusion, Turbo Boost, FXAA, TXAA—though I think AMD has some of that, just without the ads). So I'm leaning toward the 7970. My i5 3570k can handle it, and the 7970 has more VRAM. Plus, looking at the 384-bit bus, it seems beefier at resolutions higher than 1080p.

The Vapor X was built specifically to be overclocked, right??

Exactly.

And why would you think NVIDIA's features are useless?
Not even close... not even close... especially when it comes to Adaptive Vsync and PhysX... they're actually super useful.🙂