GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Andrew Fox74 said:I truly believe that even if you're running a processor in the 3650 range, you’re going to feel a massive difference once you upgrade or even just overclock it. Right now, you're almost certainly bottlenecking your GPU. That said, I still think the Sapphire HD6850 is a fantastic card—especially considering what you can pick up on the used market these days. Honestly, I have no intention of swapping it out until the 8850 drops down to that same price point.

It was exactly the same story with the 4850 and the 5850... and honestly, I expect we'll see the same pattern play out with the 8850.
That ATI x850 series has always been an absolute steal. It’s definitely not overpriced, especially when you consider how solid it is for serious gaming.

The Series 7 lineup really delivered a massive leap forward—the 7850 is a total powerhouse compared to the 6950. It would be great if the Series 8 could maintain that kind of momentum. We definitely don't need a repeat of what happened between Series 5 and 6, where there was practically zero improvement.

swiftfalcon89 said:Yeah, I know it's bottlenecking the GPU. I'm trying to track down a Quad-core (LGA 775) or maybe even a Core i7, since I've heard that can push about 80-90% of the card's potential... at least, that's what I was told. I picked mine up for... $250 The Sapphire HD6850 features Vapor-X cooling, comes as a complete bundle, and includes a 1.5-year warranty—all the details are in the link.

I don't know what kind of rig you're running, but people are seriously overcharging for those used 775 Quad-core setups. Honestly, it feels like a total rip-off. $200 If you're looking for options, you could easily go with an Ivy Bridge Pentium or an Athlon 740—you can pick those up for around $40 or so. The 750K is another solid choice. Any of those will be more than enough to handle the Sapphire HD6850 without breaking the bank. Your only real extra cost would be if you find yourself needing to grab some DDR3 memory.

Honestly, you're much better off investing in a solid foundation—get yourself a reliable platform first. Once you have that established, swapping out graphics cards becomes a breeze. In my opinion, trying to squeeze value out of those old 775 Quad-core setups just isn't worth the headache anymore. $200

Quad-core? I honestly don't believe you're actually going to pick up something that low-end $200. Is it really worth dumping cash into a dead socket? You’d be much better off grabbing a decent budget build and jumping straight to Ivy Bridge—those Celerons are surprisingly solid processors, or you could just go with an AMD setup. Especially if you're already running DDR3, you could just swap the RAM over, though that's hardly the biggest issue when you can find $50 4GB on eBay
.
Look, Timothy Kim60 was faster and gave you a way better answer than this. Chasing after those old Quad-cores just isn't worth the headache
.

Andrew Fox74 said:I doubt you’ll find anything worth picking up below a $200. Honestly, I don't think it makes much sense to dump money into a dead socket. You're better off grabbing a decent budget build for around a hundred bucks and moving over to Ivy Bridge—those Celerons actually hold their own—or just going with an AMD chip. Especially if you're already on DDR3, you could potentially reuse your RAM, though that's the least of your worries since you can find $50 4GB sticks on eBay
easily enough.
Timothy Kim60 was faster on the draw here and gave you a better answer. Chasing those old Quad-cores just isn't worth the headache.

I get that, I really do. It's just that I don't have the cash right now—and I don't see it coming anytime soon—to jump to a newer platform. I just dropped about $200 into this rig recently (Sapphire HD6850 $250, Corsair CX 430 $117, and 2GB of DDR2 800 MHz RAM $40), so sinking more money into a random Quad-core feels wrong. I did see one for about $133 a while back, but my wallet said no. If I can make this work, I figure it'll carry me through for a while until I can slowly save up for a completely new setup. My plan is to keep this power supply and GPU, as they should be solid enough to pair with a future i5 build and 8GB of DDR3 memory...

If you're currently running on DDR2 and a Quad-core pops up at a reasonable price point, then absolutely, go for it. You could probably stick with that setup for quite a while, depending on how demanding your workload is.

Timothy Kim60 said:plus, if you're still rocking DDR2 and you find a Quad-core at a decent price, then yeah, go for it. You could probably ride that setup for quite a while depending on how picky you are with your settings.

Look, I wouldn't call myself "picky." It's not like I'm obsessed with having everything set to Very High or cranking AA up to 16x or 32x just because some game title suggests it 😬 . For me, it’s pretty simple: I just want to be able to run whatever I'm playing at Med/High settings at 1024x768 with a smooth, playable frame rate...

Why is it that everyone seems to have such a strong preference for ATI?

Because just like when you're looking at CPUs, you're getting way more bang for your buck, or maybe even paying less for better performance.

hey, check this out

EVGA GeForce GTX460

Corsair 8GB, 2x4GB, 1600MHz DDR3, XMS3-1600, DDR3,

Phenom II X4 955 processor (3.2GHz, 8MB, 125W) box 36 units

Asrock AM3 motherboard - AMD 770, AMD
SB710, ATX, FSB 2600, Dual Channel DDR3,

LOOKING FOR A NEW GPU, NVIDIA AGAIN UP TO $1500, $533, ANYONE GOT RECS? NEED IT FOR RENDERING VISUALS... THANKS.

Zachary Young4 said:Hey, I'm running this setup

EVGA GeForce GTX460

Corsair 8GB, 2x4GB, 1600MHz DDR3, XMS3-1600, DDR3,

Phenom II X4 955 Processor (3.2GHz, 8MB, 125W) box 36 unit

Asrock AM3 770 EXTREME3 Motherboard - AMD 770, AMD
SB710, ATX, FSB 2600, Dual Channel DDR3,

I WANT A NEW GPU, AGAIN NVIDIA UP TO $1500, $533, ANYONE HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS? NEED IT FOR RENDERING VISUALS... THANKS.

GTX 660

http://www.nabava.net/trazilica.php?tp=0&q=gtx+660

swiftfalcon89 said:GTX 660

http://www.nabava.net/trazilica.php?tp=0&q=gtx+660

+1

Just a heads-up: watch out for those cheaper models (like the Gainward or Palit ones with just a single fan—they can get pretty loud when they really start spinning, if that kind of noise bothers you at all)

So, as the title suggests, I’m looking to finally move on from my AMD Radeon HD 6850 Crossfire setup. I’m currently weighing my options for an upgrade, though I won't be pulling the trigger on a new GPU immediately—that’s a bit further down the road. My CPU situation isn't really part of the equation right now since I plan on picking up an Intel Core i5-4670K once it hits the shelves. What I really need to focus on is finding a card that can handle 1080p gaming for now, with enough breathing room to tackle higher resolutions down the line.
Thanks in advance

It’s like they say: if you’ve got nothing to lose and plenty to spare, you might as well play it bold and grease the wheels with butter.

Honestly, a massive jump would be stepping up to the NVIDIA GTX 780 that just hit the market—though I'm not entirely sure when it'll actually land in local stores here in the States. Also, you didn't mention how much cash you're looking to drop on a new card?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=-1&isNodeId=1

Larry Ortiz5 said:A massive leap would be jumping to the NVIDIA GTX 780 that just launched, though I'm not sure when that'll hit the shelves here in the States. Also, you didn't mention how much cash you're looking to drop on a card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=-1&isNodeId=1

There is
By the way, they have it for 3 $267, but locally it's more like 5 $267 ☕

From what I can tell, this new generation isn't bringing anything revolutionary; it’s just the classic rebranding trick where a "new" card is basically just a rebranded higher tier from the previous lineup. For example, the NVIDIA GTX 680 = NVIDIA GTX 770, and the NVIDIA GTX 670 = NVIDIA GTX 760Ti

Timothy Kim60 said:he's got
just an FYI, they have 3 $267, but here we have 5 $267 ☕

From what I can tell, this new generation isn't actually bringing anything new to the table. It’s just the classic rebranding trick
like how the NVIDIA GTX 680 is now the NVIDIA GTX 770, and the NVIDIA GTX 670 = NVIDIA GTX 760Ti

Honestly, it’s a waste of money. In six months to a year, those cards will be significantly cheaper...

swiftfalcon89 said:It's basically throwing money down the drain. In six months to a year, those cards will be significantly cheaper...

Of course it is. For that kind of cash, you could practically build an entire high-end PC from scratch. I'm just saying, they're available here in the States if you want them.

Timothy Kim60 said:Well, obviously. For that kind of money, you could just buy a whole high-end rig instead. All I'm saying is that they're available here in the States.

Look, I wasn't attacking you. I know you're just pointing out that 😬 exists. I’m just giving you my two cents—it feels like throwing money down the drain. Even you admitted you could build a killer PC for that price, and let's face it, the cost of that card will probably drop by half within a year anyway....

Maybe not, honestly. That NVIDIA GTX 780 performs almost as well as a Titan. While the stock models might lag behind a bit, once you start overclocking, they're right on par with the Titan—plus, they're significantly easier on the wallet. Even the GTX 690 has been holding its value quite steadily for a long time now.

Based on the analogy I laid out earlier, the Titan is essentially an NVIDIA GTX 780, while the GTX 770 is more like a GTX 680. If that's the case, they really ought to release a successor to the "Titan" line soon. Honestly, those cards are only for people who live solely for gaming. Bogte, anyone who picked up a Titan recently is probably kicking themselves right now—you can find a card with similar performance for a fraction of the cost 😬 . That’s just how it goes when you play in the "high end" bracket; the depreciation hits you like a freight train almost immediately
.

Larry Ortiz5 said:A real upgrade would be jumping to the NVIDIA GTX 780 that just dropped—though who knows when it’ll actually hit the shelves here—but you didn't mention what kind of budget we're working with for this GPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=-1&isNodeId=1

I was thinking somewhere in the ballpark of $350 to $450.
Then again, maybe it makes more sense to hold out for those 4GB GDDR5 models—games seem to be demanding more detail lately, and those 2GB or 3GB cards might hit their limit sooner rather than later.