GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

shallow creek☕

Haha, don't go acting like you're some kind of Marilyn Monroe 😍

Pairing an EVGA GeForce GTX 770 with the EVGA GeForce GTX 770 makes this PC a total beast; everything runs flawlessly at ultra settings.

I am fully expecting to tackle Watch Dogs and Battlefield 4—truly the definitive PC gaming titles of the year—while maintaining ultra settings and hitting a smooth 70 fps.

There's no way I'm hitting 70 fps. Honestly, Battlefield 4 shouldn't be too punishing—though, let's be real, you're probably going to need something a bit beefier than a 770 to actually enjoy it properly.

Larry Ortiz5 said:There is absolutely no way it hits 70 fps. Besides, Battlefield 4 won't be nearly as demanding; you'll likely need something more powerful than a 770 to see those numbers.

So, it won't hit 70 fps?

What kind of card am I actually going to need for Watch Dogs? Should I be looking at a GTX 760 Ti instead?

I certainly hope I haven't just run headfirst into a brick wall by picking up this EVGA GeForce GTX 770.🤔

Look, if you aren't pushing full HD resolution, you'll probably be fine—but once you try running things at 1920x1080, that measly 1 GB of RAM is going to be a massive handicap for you.

Benjamin King2 said:If you aren't running at full HD resolution, things might be fine, but once you hit 1920x1080, having only 1 GB of VRAM is going to be a massive handicap.

That is an interesting observation.

But what exactly did I gain by utilizing CF—shouldn't I be seeing at least double the performance?

I have already played through several games on ultra settings, all while maintaining a 1920x1080 resolution!

Nah, you're looking at maybe a 30-40% boost. At least, if this thing is actually legit like they say.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/H...ssFire/22.html

What’s actually the best GPU I could pair with an i5 3350P without hitting a massive bottleneck?

Maybe an EVGA GeForce GTX 770?

Honestly, just ignore the question—it's probably not even worth spending the cash when the performance jump is that tiny.

Lawrence Phillips said:What’s the most powerful graphics card an i5 3350P can handle without hitting a major bottleneck?

An EVGA GeForce GTX 770?

Honestly, just ignore the question entirely; there is simply no point in throwing money down the drain for such a negligible jump in performance.

That is precisely my point—just stick to Counter-Strike or something similar and call it a day. Why bother dealing with the headache of buying and selling hardware just to 😁

Once I am finished with Counter-Strike, I will simply sell what I have and pick up a decent 2 GB card, and that will be the end of it.

For those on a tight budget, Counter-Strike or something along those lines is the ideal solution.

Andrew Fox74 said:Nah, you're looking at maybe 30-40% if this data is actually accurate.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/H...ssFire/22.html

That's just an average, and they included games that struggle with CF/SLI, so sometimes the boost was basically 0%.😬

I guess the performance gap looks a lot better when the games actually know how to handle CF, and most of them do.😉

crimsonstag84 said:The average was calculated by including those specific titles that struggle with CF/SLI, which meant the performance gain occasionally hit zero percent 😬

Generally speaking, however, the ratio improves significantly when games actually "know" how to utilize CF, and most modern titles certainly do 😉

So, does that CF setup actually end up being worth it in the end or not? 🤔

I will reiterate once more that I am immensely satisfied with how this PC performs, and I am truly pleased with these graphics cards; they provide an indescribable level of enjoyment when running at maximum ultra settings with every single option enabled

I guess my take is that having one beefy GPU is still better than running dual weaker ones. Why? Less heat, lower power draw, and way less of a headache overall. I don't have to constantly stress about whether a game actually supports SLI or whatever.

Brian Campbell36 said:Combining an EVGA GeForce GTX series 1 GB with an EVGA GeForce GTX series 1 GB OC turns this rig into a total beast; everything runs smoothly on ultra settings.

I'm really hoping I can crush Watch Dogs and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (the big PC titles this year) at ultra settings with about 70 fps.

I'm not sure where you're getting those FPS numbers from, especially since I already sent you the benchmarks just a few pages back when you first asked.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/H...ossFire/5.html

According to this, BF3 hits over 50 fps, so hitting 70 fps on Call of Duty with maxed-out settings will be a stretch, though the game will definitely run well enough.

Timothy Kim60 said:I have no idea how you arrived at such drastic conclusions regarding the frame rates; I already provided those benchmarks just a few pages back when you originally inquired.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/H...ossFire/5.html

Based on this data, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare should pull over 50 fps, which implies reaching 70 fps at maximum settings will be a tall order, though the game will certainly run smoothly enough.

Very well, I shall simply scale back from Ultra to High settings, and the performance should align with my previous estimates.

Hey there;
So, I've got an Nvidia GeForce 9600 card and I'm trying to install the latest drivers, but I'm hitting a wall. I downloaded the installer directly from the Nvidia site, but it just keeps throwing an "installation failed" error. I even tried completely uninstalling the old drivers first, but no luck at all. For context, my setup is running an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz with 3.3 GB of RAM...

Thanks in advance, and please excuse me if this belongs in a different thread!!!

What’s the exact error message you're getting? And what OS are you running?

fadedorca66 said:What specific error message are you seeing? Also, which operating system are you running?

I'm on Windows XP, and first it tells me the installation was unsuccessful and asks me to restart my computer to try again, but after that, it just says "installation failed."

Wait, did you actually grab the correct driver for your specific version of Windows XP (whether you're running 32-bit or 64-bit)? You might have accidentally picked the wrong series by mistake.

If you didn't, just install Driver Sweeper. Boot into Safe Mode, run the program to wipe out every single Nvidia display driver currently on the system, then restart your PC and try recording again.

Timothy Kim60 said:Make sure you actually downloaded the correct driver for your specific version of Windows XP 32-bit or 64-bit; it's easy to accidentally grab the wrong series by mistake.

If that isn't the issue, try using Driver Sweeper—just boot into Safe Mode, run the utility to wipe out all existing Nvidia display drivers, restart your PC, and then give the recording another shot.

To be honest, I've tried everything under the sun. I'm not entirely sure if my system is 64-bit or 32-bit, but I've attempted to install both versions already. I managed to get some ancient version 175 driver working, but I can't find anything newer than that. Even when I go directly to the Nvidia website to look for drivers for my GeForce 9600, nothing comes up; whenever I use the automatic search tool, it tells me it can't even detect my GPU.