GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Thanks so much! My wife is actually picking this up for my birthday!!

If you're saying upgrading to the HD 7770 isn't even worth the money, then I'm out.

I'm stuck in a bit of a dilemma here. NVIDIA RTX 4090 versus EVGA GeForce RTX 4090. I'd appreciate some suggestions or any thoughts you might have.

The GTX 450 uses DDR5, from what I can tell. 🙂

EDIT: That was a solid link you shared there. 😁

I know they both run on DDR5, but I guess Nvidia is just faster either way...

Both are DDR5.

I messed up the name and the link for Nvidia earlier; this is actually what I meant:

Asus ENGTS450 DirectCU TOP/DI/1GD5

crimsonstag84: EDIT: Good link you posted there.

I messed up the card name and the link in my first post. It's actually this Asus ENGTS450 DirectCU top/DI/1GD5 model. I guess its "Engine Clock", "Shader Clock", and "Memory Clock" are all a bit higher than the one I mentioned before.

FSP HEXA 400w
http://www.fsplifestyle.com/product.php?LID=1&PSN=61
Technical Specifications: Max. power at +12 V/DC (1): 17 A · Max. power at +12V DC (2): 17 A · Max. power at +3.3V / DC: 24 A · Max. power at +5V / DC (SB): 2.5 A · Max. power at +5V DC: 15 A · Max. power at -12V / DC: 0.3 A

so I've got this PSU and I'm wondering if it can actually handle cards like the 9800GTX, 8800GTS, or even a GTS250... thinking about picking one up

crimsonstag84 said:It should run just fine... 😉

So what's the verdict? You think I'd actually feel a difference in games if I swapped out one of these: 9800GTX, 8800GTS, or a GTS250... for a GT 240 512MB GDDR5? (That's what I'm rocking right now).

ambernomad4 said:Do you think I'd actually feel a difference in games if I swapped one of these out: 9800GTX, 8800GTS, or GTS250... for a GT 240 512MB GDDR5 (which I'm running right now)?

You’d definitely notice a difference... though maybe there are better options out there if you're looking at used gear, since all three are pretty ancient by now.

What kind of budget are we looking at? Also, what else is in the rig—specifically the power supply (brand, model, and wattage)?

Joshua Garcia3 said:I'm stuck between two options: Asus EAH6670/DIS/1GD5 or Asus ENGTS450 DirectCU/DI/1GD5. I'd appreciate any suggestions or thoughts.

Joshua Garcia3 said:Both use DDR5.

I guess I put the wrong name and the wrong Nvidia link earlier; this is actually what I meant:

Asus ENGTS450 DirectCU TOP/DI/1GD5

Now there's a third option on the table. What do you guys think about the Gainward GeForce ® gt 640 1024mb?

Joshua Garcia3 said:I just found a third one. What’s the verdict on this Gainward GeForce ® gt 640 1024 mb?

Honestly, everything from the GT 610 up to the GTX 650 seems pretty much a waste of money. I guess the GT 640 is actually even weaker than an HD 6670...

Alright, so we’re sticking with the "Asus ENGTS450 DirectCU top/DI/1GD5".

crimsonstag84 said:You’d definitely feel the difference... but honestly, there might be better picks if you're looking at used gear. All three of those cards are ancient by now.

What's your budget look like? And what else is in the rig, specifically the PSU (brand, model, and wattage)?

FSP HEXA 400w
http://www.fsplifestyle.com/product.php?LID=1&PSN=61
Technical Specifications: Max. power at +12 V/DC (1): 17 A · Max. power at +12V DC (2): 17 A · Max. power at +3.3V / DC: 24 A · Max. power at +5V / DC (SB): 2.5 A · Max. power at +5V DC: 15 A · Max. power at -12V / DC: 0.3 A
Intel core i3 2100 3.1 GHz, 4GB DDR3 1333Mhz, MSI H61-P22 B3
Probably around $65 (I'm in the US, so just rounding up from what I'd spend here)

crimsonstag84 said:http://www.craigslist.com/video-cards-listing-6950150

So what’s the deal with this XFX GTX260 Black edition http://hothardware.com/Reviews/XFX-G...Black-Edition/? I don't really wanna drop a ton of cash compared to a GTS250....just worried if my power supply can actually handle it

http://www.fsp-europe.com/hexa400.php found a slightly better link for my PSU info here

That’s not gonna fly—you should probably budget for about 40 Amps on the 12V rail for a card like that, especially since it's overclocked. At this rate, the power draw is likely pushing close to what you'd see from a GTX 280.

Benjamin King2 said:It's not gonna work. Expect around 40A on the 12V rail for that card. Since it's overclocked, power draw is probably sitting close to a GTX 280.

So you're saying I shouldn't even bother trying?

Nah, you're looking at a total of just 28A combined on that power supply.

If I grab a Radeon 7850, what’s the cheapest CPU option that won't totally bottleneck the card?
Do you think I can stay under $250 for the whole
7850
CPU
motherboard
and 4 GB of RAM

I'm not really looking at future upgrades or overclocking anything—just want a setup where the GPU and CPU are balanced enough so the card can actually breathe.

One more thing though...

Could an E8400 even hold its own against a card like that? Say, if I pushed it a little bit to 3.6 GHz?

It’s a tough call—at the end of the day, we're still talking about a dual-core setup.
Two thousand for that whole package? No way in hell.

It's some kind of Athlon X4 740/750 K. 740/Athlon X4 740/750 K That would be the bare minimum.