GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Full HD 1080p is the resolution
but I've been dealing with some pretty annoying issues with it, so I'm thinking about swapping it out...

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=295

I’m a bit confused about how Spyware managed to pull those numbers on this Bug, because every other review shows the HD 6870 being significantly faster, yet here it looks completely reversed... 🤷

Still, I agree you probably shouldn't swap it out just yet. Just keep saving up; word is the HD 7950/7970 might drop around September 9th. 😉

Have you tried to OCati it? It is a Black Edition, after all, and the HD 5xxx series were actually decent overclockers. 😉

Here’s what else I’ve got in the rig:
CPU: Intel Core i5-750 2.66
RAM: Corsair XMS3 1333mhz 2x2gb
MOBO: Gigabyte P55-UD3
PSU: Corsair TX 650W
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB

Everything is stock. No overclocking, no mods, no BIOS tweaks—just straight out of the box and plugged in exactly how it came.

So, tell me: will those new AMD Radeon 7 xxx cards play nice with this setup? I'm mainly worried about whether the rest of my gear can actually handle them without the processor becoming a massive bottleneck.

Also, does anyone have a ballpark idea of what those new Radeon cards are going to cost?

On a side note, I've been dealing with some annoying little hiccups with my 5850. It feels like a software issue, honestly, because they've been popping up constantly since day one, even though I stay right on top of my driver updates.

I remember that thread, I think we were putting it together about two years ago 😁

Don't sweat it; that CPU should handle a CrossFire setup with 2xNVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 without any issues. If you find you need more headroom, you’ve got a solid motherboard and that i5 is actually a great overclocker, so maybe you could squeeze out some extra juice if you grab a decent cooler 😉

The price of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 7950 will probably top $2,000, but it'll be a massive jump compared to what you're running now (even the HD 6950 is quite a leap from this one) 😉

crimsonstag84 said:I remember that build, we were putting it together about two years ago.😁

Don't sweat it. That CPU can definitely handle a CF paired with dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580s. And hey, if you need more juice, you’ve got a solid motherboard and that i5 is a beast when it comes to overclocking. Toss on a decent cooler and you'll squeeze out plenty more power.😉

The price of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 7950 is definitely going to top $2,000, but it'll be a massive jump over what you're running now (honestly, even compared to the HD 6950).😉

Heheh yeah, I only trust this forum crew when it comes to big-ticket investments. My parents practically crossed themselves and nearly fainted when I hauled that rig home along with the receipt. But I don't regret spending a single cent because I know it'll serve me well for at least five years—even if it's not for gaming, since I'm already starting to lose interest in that anyway...

My graphics card died on me yesterday. Since this rig is about six years old now, I'm not looking for anything high-end—just something functional to get the machine running again. Does this motherboard
http://asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=775Dual-VSTA

actually support any of these cards?

If you have a better suggestion for what I should pick up, feel free to speak up.

Thanks. 🙂

http://www.asrock.com/mb/vga.asp?Model=775Dual-VSTA
here's the card list for your motherboard
i guess an ATI X1650 or maybe an NVIDIA 8800 would be enough to run older games smoothly

We're looking at an ASRock hybrid motherboard here, which features two different slots for graphics cards: one is a newer PCIe 4.0 slot, while the other is an older AGP 8X slot.

Your best bet is to either grab one of those PCIe cards Rommel suggested via Craigslist (here's his link), or maybe look for an older AGP card from the AMD Radeon 3650, 3750, or 3850 series. 🙂

Since we're dealing with a PCIe 4.0 slot on this board—whereas most modern boards run at 16X—buying any of the newer cards probably isn't worth the money. 😢

I’ve got about $367 to work with here. I’m looking for some advice on a LOW-PROFILE graphics card that won't clash with my current setup:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 450 @ 3.2 GHz
Motherboard: ASRock's 770 Extreme3
RAM: 4GB DDR3
PSU: Seasonic S12 520W (80+ Bronze)

The only thing really jumping out at me right now is the MSI GTX 460, which seemed to fit my budget perfectly ($360 over at Micro Center), but they're totally out of stock everywhere at the moment. So, I'm hunting for an alternative that hits similar performance levels—ideally something with 1GB of VRAM and at least a 192-bit bus. If I could snag something with a 256-bit bus like that GTX 460, even better. Otherwise, I guess I might just have to sit tight and wait for the GTX 460 to show up in stores again. 🤷

Look, in this price bracket, you're pretty much looking at a dead end—there just isn't an alternative. The 6770 or the GTX 550 Ti are both weaker options, and if you want the 6850, you're going to have to shell out more cash.

An ASRock 6850? I have to admit, I've never even heard of Verizon before. 😁

edit: Found MSI's 6850 over at Best Buy. Though, I gotta say, seeing it at that price feels a little sketch... kind of too good to be true? 😕

Grab the cheapest 😛

It’s a bit weird to say, but I probably wouldn't buy from HGA. Out of the three parts I picked up there, I had to fight them for three months just to get the warranty honored on two of them 😂

So, here is the situation... I am currently running a Gigabyte NVIDIA 8800 GT Zalman Edition—512MB DDR3 with a 256-bit bus—paired with an Athlon 5200+ dual-core at 2.7GHz, 4GB of DDR2 800MHz RAM, and a Gigabyte GA-M52L-S3 motherboard (running the stock BIOS, of course), all powered by an OCZ 500W unit. It is an older, rather underwhelming configuration, I realize... but the time has finally come to upgrade the graphics card. I am looking for recommendations for a card in the $500 $200 range that won't sound like a jet engine under load, yet still provides enough juice to run Call of Duty 4 smoothly—which is really the only game I play these days. Beyond gaming, I also dabble in photography, so I need something capable enough for that side of my life as well... lead the way... 😁

Coding isn't exactly your calling card, and since you aren't exactly rolling in cash either, I’d say just look for an ATI 5750, 5770, 6770 or maybe an Nvidia GTS 450—doesn't matter if they're new or used... though if you want to dig through older stock, you might find a 4870, 4890, or even a GTX 260 somewhere.

For $500, $200 I’d say look at the used market; nothing brand new is going to be much of an upgrade over your 8800GT anyway...

Those specs aren't really my concern... I don't have much of a need for anything high-end anymore. I used to run a much beefier processor paired with a GTX 260, but I ended up selling that whole rig. This current setup is mostly just for browsing the web and some light photo editing—nothing professional, mind you—so there's really no need for raw power. Back in the day, an 8800 could handle Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 2 on high settings without breaking a sweat, but honestly, all that noise has become exhausting... the fan whine is what gets to me most; it’s easily the loudest part of the entire computer. That's why I'm looking to move toward a passive cooling solution that actually performs decently. So, I'm wondering about the performance gap if I opt for something like a 64-bit card with 2GB of DDR3 memory for instance , versus going with something like a 1GB DDR3 128-bit card such as this one , though it does have a fan—hopefully it stays relatively quiet 😉. My gaming needs have dwindled to almost nothing... I was even running Call of Duty 4 multiplayer on a laptop with pathetic graphics, so this shouldn't be an issue at all...

Check this out—it’ll run Call of Duty 4 without breaking a sweat: http://www.newegg.com/?item=graphics-card-example

Besides, when you're taking photos, it doesn't really matter what kind of GPU you're rocking.

crimsonstag84 said:It’s honestly a waste to pay extra for 1GB of VRAM; it just drives the price up way too much...

http://www.diskont24.com/product.php...cat=390&page=4

This one is clearly more powerful and fits perfectly with that CPU 🙂

Just one thing about this. I just noticed there's another version for like $23 that only has 1GB of DDR5. Would that actually be worth it, or does the stronger card have some kind of performance issue or whatever?

this:

http://www.diskont24.com/product.php?productid=98796

//edited

If you're running at Full HD resolution, then I guess so 😉

Nah. 😁 But hey, you never know when things might actually turn around. Thanks a ton though, I'm gonna go grab one today.