GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Hey everyone. I'm putting together a build around an i5 4670k—and I'm stuck choosing between these GPUs: NVIDIA GTX 760, EVGA GTX 760 OC, PowerColor HD 7950, or the ASUS HD 7950 Vapor-X. That Gigabyte card looks pretty cheap and decent (AMD)—but honestly, I have no clue if it's actually the best move. Any advice on which one I should grab? Thanks.

gentlewalker10 said:Hey everyone. I'm currently putting together a build around an i5-4670K, and I'm having a hard time picking between these GPUs: the NVIDIA GTX 760 Gaming 2048GB GDDR5, the EVGA GTX 760 OC, the AMD Radeon HD 7950 BE, or the PowerColor HD 7950 Vapor-X OC. That Gigabyte model looks pretty cheap and solid (good value), but I'm not sure if it's actually the best choice. I'd love some advice on which one to grab. Thanks.

Performance-wise, the GTX 760 and the HD 7950 are pretty much neck and neck, but if it were my money, I’d go with the PowerColor HD 7950 Vapor-X OC...

swiftfalcon89 said:Performance-wise, the GTX 760 and HD 7950 are pretty much neck and neck, but if I were in your shoes, I’d definitely go with the PowerColor HD 7950 Vapor-X OC...

I'm with him on this one.

Or maybe just go with the boost edition.

7950 Xerox, I read somewhere that overclocking could potentially boost performance by about 22%.

Thanks for the suggestions. Is it actually true that those Radeon cards are such a headache? I’ve heard rumors that the VRAM chips on the Steam X versions tend to overheat like crazy—correct me if I’m totally off base here—and that they have major driver issues too. I even read on some US tech site that the boost version is actually superior to this Steam X model.

Honestly, there aren't really any issues here—it’s just how things work. Every manufacturer has their own specific approach; some might opt for beefier cooling solutions, others offer longer warranties, or maybe they just push the factory overclock a bit higher, and so on. It really comes down to you picking whichever one fits your needs best. Just don't fall into the trap of thinking a factory-overclocked card is somehow "worse" than one with better cooling—we're talking about tiny, negligible differences here. And as for the drivers? Yeah, no problems there either.

gentlewalker10 said:Thanks for the input. Is it actually true that those Radeon cards are such a headache? I heard some rumors about the VRAM chips on the Xerox models running way too hot, or something like that—correct me if I'm talking nonsense. Also, any truth to the driver issues? I saw somewhere on a US tech forum that the boost version is supposedly better than this Xerox one.

That's nonsense. You really can't go wrong with the Xerox...

So, I just received a decent offer on the graphics card mentioned in the title.
GeForce GT 210 1GB DDR3 (up to 2GB via VRAM).

Now, I’d appreciate a straight answer: is this card actually any good?
For my kid, we're looking at playing Madden NFL 13 and Madden NFL. For myself, it's mostly Law & Order: SVU and similar stuff.

I did a little digging on Google, and it seems like that "up to 2GB with VRAM" bit means the card can pull from the system RAM if it runs out of its own memory. Or am I totally misinterpreting how this works?

Looking for some input here.

Thanks in advance.🙂

Look, honestly, that thing is barely an upgrade over integrated graphics—it’s a card meant for a basic PC setup, not actual gaming. Sure, you'll be able to run Madden NFL or maybe some stuff in Los Angeles, but FIFA is going to push it just a bit too hard. If you want to actually play games on a budget, I’d say grab a GeForce GT 630 as your absolute baseline.

What does a "good deal" even mean here? $33? Paying less? Because for $67, you could snag a used card that absolutely smokes that GeForce GT 210.

You hit the nail on the head regarding the VRAM, though—you aren't ever going to actually need that much capacity for the games you're looking at.

Greetings...
My current setup consists of a Core 2 Duo E5700 at 3.00GHz, paired with 2GB of RAM and this specific graphics card.
In my experience, you should be able to run FIFA or Madden NFL without any significant issues; I've personally managed to play Halo 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on medium to high settings without experiencing any stuttering.
Of course, that was all done at a resolution of 1024x768.
The card itself is about two and a half years old, and you can still find them available for purchase for approximately $80.

Benjamin King2 said:Look, that thing is barely an upgrade over integrated graphics. It’s a card meant for a basic PC setup, not gaming. You might get Madden NFL or Los Angeles running, but FIFA is going to be a bit more demanding. If you want a baseline for low-end gaming, I’d suggest looking at a GeForce GT 630 instead.

What defines a "good deal" here? $33? Paying less? For $67, you could snag a used card that completely blows that 5450 out of the water.

You nailed the VRAM situation, but honestly, you aren't going to need that much capacity for the games you're playing anyway.

$50 straight from the shop 🙂

And frankly, I doubt it’s even any better than whatever integrated graphics some kid is running on his budget rig right now.🙂

THX Benjamin King2

Richard Sullivan80 said:The card is only about two or three years old—you can still find them sitting on shelves at Best Buy for $80.

Well, that's a fantastic deal you've got there—considering you can pick up a brand-new one for less than $67. 😬

I was under the impression that graphics cards were still being sold for $80 at the retailer where I picked up my PC. 🙂

Noah Miller6 said:$50 from the store 🙂

Honestly, I highly doubt it's going to be any worse than the integrated graphics this kid is currently running. 🙂

THX

What kind of processor are you rocking? Look, if you're already spending the money, just buy something decent—assuming the CPU can actually handle it.
Keep in mind these are modern titles. Pretty soon Madden NFL 14 and FIFA 14 will be moving to entirely new engines, and then the kid will be complaining that he can't run the next big thing—even before it hits the shelves.

Timothy Kim60 said:What kind of CPU are you running? Honestly, if you're already shelling out the cash to upgrade, just grab something decent from the jump—provided the processor can actually handle the load.
We're talking about modern titles here. Pretty soon Madden NFL 14 and FIFA 14 are going to move over to a brand new engine, and then you'll have some kid complaining his rig can't even launch the next thing before it's even hit the shelves.

Madden NFL 14 is already on the new engine, and FIFA 14 is following suit. Only FIFA 14 will be sticking with the old engine for the PC version, while FIFA 15 is also moving to the new setup...

Timothy Kim60 said:What kind of CPU are you running? Honestly, if you're going to spend the money, just buy something decent from the jump—provided the rest of your rig can actually handle it.
Keep in mind we're talking about modern titles here. Once Madden NFL 14 and FIFA 14 move over to a brand-new engine, you’ll have some kid whining that his setup can't even launch them—even though they aren't even out yet.

Intel Core i7 Processor
955* 3.2 GHz 2MB 6MB socket AM3 125W 45nm SOI

Noah Miller6 said:Intel Core i7 Processor
955* 3.2 GHz 2MB 6MB socket AM3 125W 45nm SOI

I mean, why pair a processor like that with such a weak GPU? What's the absolute most you’re looking to drop on a graphics card?

swiftfalcon89 said:Why would you pair such a weak GPU with that processor? What’s your actual budget here?

Because it meets my needs at home.

Noah Miller6 said:it covers all my basic needs at home.

Look, I get that. But if you invest in a solid, high-end GPU now, you’re set for those sports titles for a long time. With the card you're looking at, you might get five years out of it, or maybe just one—it really just depends on how fast these games evolve and how much they start demanding from your hardware.