GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

This one only draws about 60W
http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing-1 or maybe for $133
http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing-2

Alexander Moore67 said:The real issue is the card's height—this case is only about 4 inches wide. He’s basically stuck looking for a card that fits those specific dimensions.

Actually, low profile brackets usually come right in the box with the card; you just swap out the existing one and screw it in. The actual physical height of the card itself isn't the dealbreaker here.

Larry Ortiz5 said:$33 is asking more, but I'd try talking him down to $33. Of course, unless you happen to live in Springfield, he'll probably just ship it via FedEx. It's an older card, sure, but it’s solid—it’ll absolutely smoke your current setup by a mile 😁. My only worry is that since you're running a junk power supply, I'm not sure if it'll even hold up; this card pulls about 160W at full load. Maybe the other guys here have a better suggestion.

Thanks for the input, everyone. Feel free to suggest something better, especially since I'm picking up a decent 400W power supply to go with it...

Greetings. A colleague of mine is looking to pick up a new graphics card in the $233 range. I suppose an AMD Radeon HD 7750 fits that budget—though he’s currently running an AMD Athlon X2, and I don't have the exact model on hand. His current card is an old ATI 4650. I find myself wondering if an upgrade would actually be worth the investment—specifically, whether that processor is going to act as a major bottleneck.

How am I supposed to know if even you don't know the exact processor model? 😁
I mean, if it's an Athlon, I guess... I guess I'll just leave this here. If it's an X2, there shouldn't be much of an issue. I guess if it’s an older Athlon series, that might end up being a bit of a bottleneck... maybe.

fadedorca66 said:And how exactly are we supposed to know—if even you can't be bothered to identify the specific processor model? 😁
Generally speaking, if we are looking at an Athlon... I suppose I should probably address this—though I have my doubts about whether it matters much in the long run. There’s a certain predictability to how these things unfold, isn't there? One might think we've seen it all before, yet here we are again, navigating the same old patterns. It feels somewhat redundant—if I may be so bold—to even bother discussing it, but perhaps there is some small utility in documenting the inevitable. I guess we shall see. If it’s an X2, then I suppose there shouldn't be much of an issue—provided we aren't looking at an older Athlon series, which might just end up being a bottleneck... maybe.

I suppose that one might be the choice... given that the configuration isn't exactly ancient—it's decent enough, I guess. Thanks.

I was thinking about posting this on Craigslist: just a rough estimate of what I might get for these few items?
1. Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT
2. Nvidia GeForce GT 520
3. 2x256 DDR RAM
4. I received a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops II as a gift through some promotion, and I was considering selling it for $133. I haven't even unboxed it or installed it on my PC, so I figured I could list it for $133 since the retail price in stores is around $150. (It hasn't arrived yet, it should be here sometime next week—the reason I'm selling is because I'd rather just buy EA Sports FC)

Quick question for you guys: can this card http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/300/212359565.jpg, which only supports DirectX 10.1, actually run a game that requires DirectX 11?

swiftfalcon89 said:I have a quick question regarding whether this graphics card http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/300/212359565.jpg, which is rated for DirectX 10.1, will be able to run games built on DX11?

My apologies, but if I haven't missed anything in my search, I can't seem to find any mention of this specific 4880 version anywhere on Google. If the specs explicitly state 10.1, then it certainly won't render DX11 features, though it might still manage to launch certain games developed for DX11.

driftingheron95 said:Sorry, if my memory serves me right, I couldn't find any mention of this 4880 version anywhere on Google. If it says 10.1, then it won't display DX11 features, but it might still be able to run games built on DX11.

That’s actually what I was trying to figure out—whether it can actually launch a game developed for DX11. I didn't phrase my question very well. Cheers...

driftingheron95 said:I was thinking about putting this on eBay: just a rough guess, how much could I get for these few things??
1. Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT (There's one issue, its tiny fan died... I attached a standard AMD CPU fan to it and it actually runs better than the small one, but still)
2. Nvidia GeForce GT 520 1GB 64 Bit (Still has a warranty, bought it less than 3 months ago)
3. 2x256 DDR RAM
4. I got Call of Duty: Black Ops II as a gift in a game and was thinking of selling it for $133. I haven't even unboxed it or installed it on my PC, so I figured I'd sell it for $133 since it's $150 in stores. (It hasn't arrived yet, should be here next week—reason for selling: I want to buy FIFA or EA Sports FC)

1. $50
2. $67
3. About $5
4. Just try listing it low, it doesn't cost much... if you need the cash fast, go with $30-$35. BTW, for that kind of money you can grab either FIFA or EA Sports FC. But hey, wait for Christmas, there will definitely be sales again and prices will drop

Andrew Fox74 said:1. $50
2. $67
3. Around $50
4. Just give it a shot; there's really nothing to lose by trying... if you're in a rush, maybe aim for something in the $300-$350 range. By the way, for that kind of money, you could probably pick up both EA Sports FC and some other titles. Just wait until the Christmas sales hit; I'm certain everything will be discounted again and prices will drop significantly.

I appreciate the input.
I was under the impression that $27 would cost about $150 for the first one, $60 for the second, and maybe a little more for this last part. xD
I'll buy you a beer when we eventually cross paths 🙂) haha

And if things aren't moving quite like that, why not try lowering them?
Your current prices would probably fly off the shelves in no time... or, you know, if you're in a massive rush. Personally, I usually just wait. Sometimes I’ll sit on it for a couple of months, but most of the time, I end up landing a price that actually works for me. You should take a look at what people are charging in your local area and use that as your guide.

Hey everyone.

I need some advice. A friend of mine is running an old setup with a Q6600—that used to be my CPU—and his Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 just died on him.
He wants to pick up a new card and is willing to drop the cash on an AMD Radeon HD 7870, but he doesn't want to build a whole new PC since everything else still works fine.

My question is: how is that going to perform on a system with a Q6600, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, and an XFX Power Supply? He’s using an ASUS board with a P45 chipset.

Gary Anderson38 said:Hey everyone.

I was hoping to get some advice here—not entirely sure myself, so I figured I’d ask. A friend of mine is running an old setup with a Q6600 (which used to be my processor back in the day), and his Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 just bit the dust.
He's looking to pick up something new and is actually willing to drop some cash on an AMD Radeon HD 7870, but he doesn't want to rebuild the whole PC since everything else is still working fine...

So, I'm wondering, how is that going to perform on a build with a Q6600, 4 gigs of DDR2 RAM, and an XFX Power Supply? The motherboard is an Asus with a P45 chipset.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...neck-7850-7870

Larry Ortiz5 said:http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...neck-7850-7870

Thanks for the link. Looks like it'll work. I could even overclock the CPU back when I had one—kept it at 3 GHz, hit 3.2 GHz once, but anything higher was asking for trouble...

The monitor he's using is a 20", 1680 x 1050...

It would be a waste to grab it if he's going to regret $667 the GPU because the processor can't keep up. If it's not a massive bottleneck, just tell him to go for it. As long as it runs okay, right?

It’s definitely going to be a bottleneck if you're trying to push high-end games or anything multiplayer—honestly, you should probably look into overclocking that CPU to at least 3.0 GHz just to stay ahead of the curve.

Alright, I’m jumping into this thread because I’ve got myself a bit of a nasty little headache to deal with... basically, right now I’m running

SAPPHIRE HD 5550 1GB DDR2 HDMI -
Output 1 x D-Sub(VGA)
1 x Dual-Link DVI
1 x HDMI
GPU 550 MHz Core Clock
40 nm Chip
Video Memory GDDR5 Video Memory
128 -bit DDR2
1600 MHz Effective

but a buddy of mine is offering to hand over

SAPPHIRE HD 5450 1GB DDR3
Output 0 x D-Sub(VGA)
0 x HDMI
Dual-Link DVI-I
GPU 650 MHz Core Clock
40 nm Chip
Video Memory 1024 MB Size
64 -bit DDR3
1333 MHz Effective

My current setup looks like this:
Processor AMD Athlon II X3 445, 3100 MHz (15.5 x 200)
Motherboard Name ASRock Motherboard (3 PCI, 3 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
Motherboard Chipset Nvidia nForce 720, AMD K10
System RAM 6144 MB (DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM)

So here's the kicker—the whole dilemma is whether my current card actually holds up better than the one he's offering me, or if I'm just being played? THANKS!

The 5550 is definitely the better graphics card here.

And hey, maybe throw out some recommendations—nothing crazy expensive though, I'm looking to stay under like $75 or so—that might actually squeeze a bit more juice out of this setup?