GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

The real issue here is that your processor just isn't powerful enough—it’s essentially bottlenecking your graphics card and keeping it from hitting 100% utilization.

If you pick up this one, you should be good to go.

As for L.A. Noire, I've personally spent some time with it, and honestly? The game is just riddled with bugs—it kept freezing on me constantly. You should be able to run Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on standard settings, though.

Larry Ortiz5 said:The issue is your processor isn't powerful enough to let the graphics card run at full capacity.

Grab this one and you should be fine.

As for L. A. noir, I've played it myself. The game is riddled with bugs and kept freezing on me constantly. You should be able to run COD on standard settings, though.

Thanks for the advice. So, my next move is upgrading to a better processor.

I'm thinking about upgrading to a new processor and a new motherboard 🙂

Tyler Booth7 said:Thanks so much for all the advice. So, I guess my next move is upgrading to a more powerful processor.

If you're planning on swapping out your CPU anytime soon (which means grabbing a new motherboard too)—then go ahead and grab $233this . Or just pick up something even better if you've got the extra budget.

Otherwise, if you aren't looking to change things up that quickly, just stick with that 6670 DDR5 card.
MW3 is going to run great on a 6670, for instance. This would be a pretty fair comparison to what you're running now.
And L. A. noir will definitely run smoothly—it'll just be a bit less demanding than CoD.

Timothy Kim60 said:If you're planning on upgrading your CPU anytime soon—which means a new motherboard too—then just grab $233thishttp://www.edigital.hr/Video_kartice...GB-p31794.html. Or, if you've got a bit more cash to burn, go for something even better.

If an upgrade isn't on your immediate horizon, stick with the 6670 DDR5.
Modern Warfare 3 will run perfectly fine on a 6670, for instance. This should be comparable to your current setup.
And L. A. noir will definitely run; here, it'll just look a little less flashy than CoD.

I don't see myself upgrading that anytime soon, so I'm going with the 6670 DDR5 for now. It'll serve its purpose for a while. Thanks for the help.

Is it actually possible that I might need a beefier graphics card just to play back a 1080p Blu-ray rip?

Every once in a while, I notice the video stuttering slightly—usually during really complex scenes or when those end credits start rolling—but I'm honestly not sure if it's an issue with the encryption or if my current GPU just can't keep up. I don't play any games, so this is strictly for watching movies on a dual-monitor setup. Do you think my current hardware should be handling this fine, or would an upgrade be necessary?

CPU AMD Phenom II X4 @ 2800 MHz
4 GB DDR3
ATI Radeon HD 5450

My CPU usage never seems to climb above 15-20%, but I'm not quite sure how to check what the GPU is doing.

Dennis Lopez46 said:Is it possible that playing a 1080p Blu-ray rip requires a better graphics card?

I occasionally notice the image stuttering during complex scenes or when credits roll. I'm not sure if it's an encryption issue or if my GPU just can't handle the load. I don't play games, so this is strictly for movies on a dual monitor setup. Do I need an upgrade, or should my current setup be fine?

CPU AMD Phenom II X4 @ 2800 MHz
4 GB DDR3
ATI Radeon HD 5450

CPU usage never goes above 15-20%. No idea how to check the GPU load.

Grab this sidebar gadget to see what the actual GPU load looks like. It shouldn't be the graphics card unless you haven't messed with the player settings yet. Your GPU is more than enough for this task.

http://blog.orbmu2k.de/sidebar-gadge...sidebar-gadget

Gerald Flores63 said:Maybe try hiding that sidebar just to see what the actual GPU load looks like. Honestly, it shouldn't be hitting a graphical bottleneck before it even reaches the player, so I'd suggest messing around with the player settings a bit. Your graphics card is probably way too powerful for whatever this is you're dealing with.

http://blog.orbmu2k.de/sidebar-gadge...sidebar-gadget

Thanks. To be honest, the GPU barely even jumps up to 25% once in a while; most of the time it stays sitting right between 0 and 2%. GOM player tends to stutter quite a bit, and most other players do too. Only Windows Media Player seems to run relatively smoothly, but then again, it doesn't support subtitles... but I guess that's a whole different issue.

Why don't you give it a shot using VLC media player?

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Dennis Lopez46 said:Windows Media Player plays it pretty smooth, it just lacks subtitles...

It does. Check the options.

Go ahead and download "MPC-HomeCinema."

Which graphics card would be the best fit for my current setup? I’ve gone ahead and read through the guidelines to make things easier for everyone—hopefully—so I've laid out all my specs below.

Do you need an AGP or a PCI-E card?
I've figured out that I definitely need a PCI-E card.

What is your current or planned configuration, and what kind of power supply are you running?
CPU: Package: Socket AM3 (938)
Core speed: 2900 MHz
Motherboard: Manufacturer: Foxconn
Model: 2AAF
RAM: 2048 MB
My power supply says: "80W Max. 180W total power."

What resolution do you play at?
The higher the better, I guess, but my maximum is 1920x1200.

How much money are you willing to spend?
Up to $333.

Which stores are you considering?
Any computer hardware stores in Cleveland.

If you have any other specific requirements, please list them.
With this GPU, my goal is really just to get the best possible graphics at the highest resolution without everything lagging like crazy in newer, more demanding games. Though... I'm not entirely sure if I can actually see much of a performance boost in games if I just swap the card and stick with my old processor.
Right now, I'm using (at least according to GPU-Z) ATI Radeon 3000 Graphics, along with an AMD Athlon II X2 245.

Thanks in advance to anyone who actually knows their stuff and is willing to help out.

Chicony Active 400 w ATX
USD 40.00
TRANSCEND JetRAM DDR3 (2GB, 1333MHz) CL9
USD 25.00
SAPPHIRE Video Card Radeon HD 7750 GDDR5 1GB/128bit, 800MHz/1125MHz, PCI-E 3.0 x16, HDMI, DVI, dual slot fan Cooler, Retail
Retail USD 130.00

Total: USD 195.00 from Best Buy

You definitely need a fresh power supply and a bit more RAM... plus, I guess this card is a pretty perfect match for that processor (though there might be a slight bottleneck).

Thanks so much—honestly, you gave me more info than I even thought to ask for. I’m planning to order it this Monday from IBM in Washington, D.C., since I couldn't track it down in Seattle.
I’ve never actually built a PC from scratch before, though—I'm just hoping I can handle swapping in the power supply, the RAM, and the graphics card without making a mess of things.
Thanks again; I really hope this thing is worth the cash. 🙂

Don't sweat it, you'll get the hang of it—just a quick tip: when you're seating the frame, make sure that little notch in the center aligns perfectly with the hole on the motherboard (check the photo). You might need to give the frame a slightly firmer press until you hear that satisfying click.

So, I’ve been messing around with this Compaq 315 euMT configuration—I opened the case and noticed there’s actually room for an extra RAM stick, and I’m pretty sure I can swap out the power supply without much trouble. The real headache, though, is that I can't find a dedicated graphics card anywhere; I suspect it might just be integrated into the motherboard or something.
I honestly don't see any slots available where I could actually plug in a new video card.
Then there's this old machine I have lying around (model : Astro411). I cracked it open and saw it has a 400W power supply—which, interestingly, is beefier than what's in my newer rig—and it actually has more slots for RAM and a graphics card (though that card is probably ancient and useless at this point anyway). I wouldn't run into any issues with those three specific upgrades on the old one, but I assume everything else inside is weaker, so it doesn't really make sense to overhaul the whole thing. Is there any way I can actually get a new graphics card into this newer computer?

So, you've got one PCIe x16 slot on this board—the one meant for your GPU—plus two of those ancient PCI slots hanging around.

I still don't see any kind of slot for a graphics card—just this tiny little PCIe x1 slot.

Well, then you don't have that either—so there you go...

It looks like that’s how it is, after all (unfortunately).