GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Yeah, it’ll definitely handle what the game needs.

Benjamin King2 said:Alright, that should meet the game's requirements.

That sounds great.
So, if I just pick out the graphics card I actually want, plug it in, and call it a day, am I good to go?
Do I need to worry about wiping my Windows installation or anything like that?

You’re going to need to get those drivers installed—and don't forget directx 9.0c either.

So, I'm rocking an old Pentium 4 Northwood 2.4GHz setup here—just 1 GB of RAM and a 17" CRT monitor... then my x1550 PCI-e card decided to just kick the bucket on me. What kind of card should I look for to match this CPU and resolution without overspending on stuff that'll just sit there idle?

Benjamin King2 said:You really need to get those drivers installed (and don't forget DirectX 9.0 C).

I finally have a little extra breathing room in my budget to treat myself to something a bit more powerful, though I suppose you could still manage to limp through some games on this thing if you had enough patience!
Does anyone have any solid recommendations for a graphics card under $150 ,specifically looking for something brand new rather than used?

Honestly, you aren't getting anything remotely decent from the new card market at those prices, whereas if you look at the used market, you can find a massive pile of solid hardware. For instance, you could grab an old NVIDIA GeForce 8800 or something similar that still handles Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 in high definition without breaking a sweat, and I guess you can find plenty of them listed for $100 on Craigslist.

Zachary Johnson38 said:I finally have some cash to treat myself to something better, but I can still limp along with my current setup if things get slow!
Any recommendations for a GPU under $150, provided it’s brand new?

Total waste of money... they haven't been manufacturing new ones for ages, so you'll just be buying some "new" card that's been sitting in a warehouse gathering dust for years for $133, when honestly, it's probably worth maybe 100-$50. Plus, once you upgrade your PC, you'll just toss it in the trash because it won't even run anything anymore.

Better off grabbing that 6800GT from the Microsoft link or maybe this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing-example

Morgan Moore37 said:With that kind of money, you won't find anything decent from the new stuff, but if you look at used gear, there's a ton of solid cards out there. For example, an old NVIDIA GeForce 8800 or something similar will run DirectX 11 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in high def without any stuttering, and you can find them for $100 on Craigslist.

Yeah, but he needs an AGP slot, so just let him be...

Grab a 6800GT; you probably won't find a better AGP card for that kind of cash. I guess on paper, it's about as strong as an HD 5550(DDR2), so it isn't exactly ancient junk. 😉

Man, what a mess

Benjamin King2 said:It’s honestly just throwing money down the drain... new cards haven't been manufactured for ages, so you’d basically be buying some "new" card that’s been sitting in a warehouse for years for $133, when in reality it's probably worth maybe 100-$50, and once you eventually upgrade your PC, you'll just end up tossing it in the trash because it won't be compatible anymore.

I'd honestly rather grab that 6800GT from the Microsoft link or maybe this one instead: http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing-example

Hey everyone, this is exactly how much cash I can actually afford right now:
http://www.bestbuy.com/pc-components-budget-example

Zachary Johnson38 said:Guys, this is exactly how much cash I can drop right now:
http://www.amazon.com/pc-parts/example-link

That's kind of trash, honestly. Those parts are ages old... you'd probably be better off grabbing something like this:
1 x Dell Optical Drive LG GH22NS, DVD±RW, 22x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x HDD WD 500GB, 5000AAKX, SATA 3, Buffer 16MB, 7.200 rpm , 8,9 ms
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingmax, 1333MHz
1 x Intel Pentium G630 2.7GHz, 512KB/3MB, 65W, Socket 1155
1 x Asrock H61M-VS - Intel H61, Micro ATX, Solid Capacitor for CPU power
1 x EVC 6005 • ATX Case • Front Control Panel in Black/silver
1 x HP Laptop Screen Power Supply Chicony HPD4302RWB2, ATX 2.2, 12cm fan, 380W

$696

or an AMD combo:
1 x Dell Optical Drive LG GH22NS, DVD±RW, 22x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x HDD WD 500GB, 5000AAKX, SATA 3, Buffer 16MB, 7.200 rpm , 8,9 ms
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingmax, 1333MHz
1 x EVC 6005 • ATX Case • Front Control Panel in Black/silver
1 x HP Laptop Screen Power Supply Chicony HPD4302RWB2, ATX 2.2, 12cm fan, 380W
1 x AMD A4-Series X2 3400 (2.7GHz,1MB,65W,FM1) box
1 x Gigabyte GA-A55-S2V , FM1, Micro ATX , AMD A75 chipset , 2xDDR3

$720

Maybe later if you want to actually play games, you could just pop in a decent GPU and call it a day...

MS INDUSTRIAL GEMINI CASE, NO PSU
600W POWER SUPPLY, LC POWER OFFICE SERIES, ATX 2.2, 120MM FAN
250.0 GB SAMSUNG SPINPOINT F1 HARD DRIVE, SATA, 16MB CACHE, 7200 RPM, DESKTOP
LG GH24NS70 DVD RW, 24X, SATA, DUAL LAYER, BLACK, BULK
PC-10666 MEMORY, 4 GB, MUSHKIN ESSENTIALS, 991769, DDR3 1333MHZ
ECS A75-M2 MOTHERBOARD, AMD A75, DDR3, AUDIO, G-LAN, RAID, S-ATA, PCI-E, D-SUB, HDMI, USB 3.0, Micro ATX, SOCKET FM1
AMD A6-3500 BOX PROCESSOR, SOCKET FM1, 2.1GHZ, 3MB, GPU 6530D, Triple Core

Total: $2.$44 ebay.com

The power supply isn't exactly the best choice, I guess, but at least it comes with a 2-year warranty and this setup is super low on power consumption.

fadedorca66 said:That Fuj stuff is just old parts from years ago... if I were you, I’d honestly look into something more like this instead:
1 x Dell Optical Drive, DVD±RW, 22x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x WD 500GB HDD, 5000AAKX, SATA 3, 16MB Buffer, 7.200 rpm , 8.9 ms
1 x Kingmax 4GB DDR3 (1x4GB), 1333MHz
1 x Intel Pentium G630 2.7GHz, 512KB/3MB, 65W, Socket 1155
1 x Asrock H61M-VS - Intel H61, Micro ATX, Solid Capacitor for CPU power
1 x EVC 6005 • ATX Case • Black/Silver Front Panel
1 x Chicony HPD4302RWB2 Power Supply, ATX 2.2, 12cm fan, 380W

$696

or an AMD setup:
1 x Dell Optical Drive, DVD±RW, 22x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x WD 500GB HDD, 5000AAKX, SATA 3, 16MB Buffer, 7.200 rpm , 8.9 ms
1 x Kingmax 4GB DDR3 (1x4GB), 1333MHz
1 x EVC 6005 • ATX Case • Black/Silver Front Panel
1 x Chicony HPD4302RWB2 Power Supply, ATX 2.2, 12cm fan, 380W
1 x AMD A4-Series X2 3400 (2.7GHz,1MB,65W,FM1) box
1 x Gigabyte GA-A55-S2V , FM1, Micro ATX , AMD A75 chipset , 2xDDR3

$720

Down the road, if you decide you want to play some games, you can just plug in a decent graphics card and you'll be all set...

I mean, you could definitely run slow games on that, right?
Look, I'll give you a challenge: see if you can $1050 actually find me the perfect complete computer setup with everything—top-tier new parts, mouse, keyboard, monitor, and speakers included!

Zachary Johnson38 said:You can definitely play slow games on that, right!?
Look, I'll give you another option, but you're asking me to $1050 find you an "ideal" full setup with top-tier parts, including a mouse, keyboard, monitor, and speakers!

Stop messing around😁 with "everything top-tier"?? For $1050 plus a monitor and all that extra gear??
You've gotta be kidding me... if you meant just the tower, then fine...

Try something like this instead, and just stick with the monitor you already have 😁

1x MSI 870-C45 Motherboard, AMD 770/SB710, DDR3, audio, S-ATA, G-LAN, PCI-E, ATX, AM3 socket
1x AMD Athlon ii X3 450 box Processor, AM3 socket, 3.2GHz, 1.5MB cache, Triple Core
1x 2 GB G.SKILL NS series RAM, PC-10600, F3-10600CL9S-2GBNS, DDR3 1333MHz
1x 500GB Western Digital Caviar Blue Hard Drive, SATA3, 16MB, 7200 RPM, Desktop
1x SAPPHIRE ATI Radeon HD 5670 Graphics Card, PCI-E, 1GB DDR5, HDMI, DVI, D-SUB
1x LG GH22NS70 DVD RW, 22x, SATA, Dual layer, black, bulk
1x 430W Corsair CX Series V2 Power Supply, COR-CMPSU-430CXV2EU, ATX 2.2, 120mm fan
1x Cooler Master Elite 310 RC-310-BKN1-GP Case, MIDI, black-blue, no PSU
$973 http://www.newegg.com/
Or just reuse whatever you can from your old rig... at least grab the power supply, the case, and the hard drive... then you can buy the rest when you actually have the cash...🙂

Taylor Brown said:come on, stop messing around 😁 calling all of that "excellent"?? when you're talking about $1050 plus a monitor and other peripherals??
you have to be kidding me... if you didn't need a monitor, then sure, maybe it's okay..

if you want something along these lines, just stick with using your current monitor 😁

1x MSI 870-C45 Motherboard, AMD 770/SB710, DDR3, audio, S-ATA, G-LAN, PCI-E, ATX, AM3 socket
1x AMD Athlon ii X3 450 box, AM3 socket, 3.2GHz, 1.5MB cache, Triple Core
1x PC-10600 Memory, 2 GB, G.SKILL NS series, F3-10600CL9S-2GBNS, DDR3 1333MHz
1x 500GB WESTERN DIGITAL Caviar Blue Hard Drive, SATA3, 16MB, 7200 RPM, desktop
1x PCI-E SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON HD 5670 Graphics Card, 1GB DDR5, HDMI, DVI, D-SUB
1x LG GH22NS70 DVD RW, 22x, SATA, Dual layer, black, bulk
1x 430W Power Supply, CORSAIR CX Series V2, COR-CMPSU-430CXV2EU, ATX 2.2, 120mm fan
1x COOLERMASTER Elite 310 RC-310-BKN1-GP Case, MIDI, black-blue, no PSU
$973 http://www.newegg.com/
or just repurpose whatever you can from your old rig... at least grab the power supply, the case, and the hard drive, and then you can buy the rest whenever you've actually got the cash.🙂

I am personally looking at this and this to bundle them together for a single purchase.
I realize it isn't exactly top-tier, but for getting into a better and more modern computer, I think the price is pretty great.
Could someone please just let me know if everything here is compatible?

You can't actually play Spor with that setup—if you're relying on integrated graphics, you really need at least a dual-core processor to make it playable.

Benjamin King2 said:You won't be able to run Sporu on that because if you're relying on integrated graphics, you really need at least a dual-core processor to make it work.

Is it the one I mentioned earlier, or am I getting myself mixed up?
:/
You know how much I struggle with this kind of technical stuff.

Zachary Johnson38 said:I mean, you could probably play some slower games on that, right?
Look, I'll give you another option here. See if $1050 you can find me an ideal full computer setup where everything is actually decent—brand new parts, including a mouse, keyboard, monitor, and speakers!

monitor LCD led 20" AOC e2050Sda, 1600x900, 250 cd/m2, 20,000,000:1, 5ms, black
Genius KB C100 Keyboard + Mouse combo, PS2, black, complete set
Logitech S120 speaker black
HDD sat ii 320 GB Samsung Spinpoint F4, 3.5", 7200rpm, 16MB, HD322GJ
Samsung SH-222AB sat Bulk Black
400W MS Industrial FSP-400 Power Supply
Giga GZ-KX5 Case, black, without power supply
MSI A55M-P35 Motherboard, FM1, DDR3
Transcend DDR3 1600MHz 4GB RAM, JM1600KLN-4G
AMD A6 3500 Processor (2.1GHz, 3MB, 65W, FM1) box, GPU: Radeon TM HD 6530D

$1052
protis

I guess yours is basically nothing compared to this one.