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GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Started by Sarah Turner98 · · 👁 64 views · 1K replies

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Participants Sarah Turner98Sandra Garcia5Jacob Wilson76James Castillo8Drew Mendoza3crimsonstag84neonmoose15Roger Phillips82Alexander Moore67Casey Long2Paul Wright7James Fisher11Henry Wood92boldcanyon14Patrick Garcia4stormywolf39Sean Rivera4dustyskipper77Amy Vaughn12Frank Adams26Kevin Kim6northerncyclist32Roger Booth86Sam Hayes14 …
Sandra Garcia5 Sandra Garcia5 Newcomer
3 messages
joined Sep 2010
#581 ·
I've got an AMD Radeon HD 3850 paired with an Intel Core 2 Extreme E6750. I ran Crysis 2 on high settings; it played smooth without any stuttering or fatigue, but honestly, that game is such absolute trash that I uninstalled it almost immediately.
We all know why GTA IV isn't even worth discussing, but there's no debate that an Nvidia GTX 460 will crush it. My old 8800GT handled it without breaking a sweat.

Low or medium? I haven't touched those settings on any game since I bought this rig with my old 8800GT... at this point, the Nvidia GTX 460 is going to walk all over those games like the Lakers against a high school team. 🙂
mistyseal11 mistyseal11 Regular
250 messages
joined Aug 2007
#582 ·
wiredmarlin5 said:Are you looking for an AGP or a PCI-E card?

Definitely PCI-E

wiredmarlin5 said:What’s your current or upcoming setup, and what kind of power supply are you running?

Athlon 3200+ 64-bit
nForce4 chipset
2GB DDR400
465W

wiredmarlin5 said:What resolution are you gaming at?

1920x1080 (or maybe something slightly smaller in 16:9)
plus I need it to handle watching Full HD movies

wiredmarlin5 said:How much cash are you looking to drop?

Nothing crazy, maybe around $300--$133 (ideally as cheap as possible if it hits the marks...)

wiredmarlin5 said:Which stores are you considering?

Just through classifieds... probably something used

wiredmarlin5 said:If you have any other specific requirements, let me know.

I'm not hunting for some miracle card, but ideally something with a 256-bit bus... and at least 320MB of GDDR3 VRAM.

I'm not really looking to play anything super heavy, especially not those massive AAA titles that melt your face off...
(The absolute peak would be an MMORPG... maybe something like WoW or whatever else is similar, or potentially a racing sim like NFS.)

- I’d love to get some solid recommendations from you guys on what to grab and what actually offers the best bang for my buck in this price range.

... I've been doing a bit of digging and a few things caught my eye like the 3870x2, 4850, 9800+, and so on... honestly, I'm totally lost in all these model names and can't tell which one is actually better 🙂 since they constantly change the naming schemes and you can't just look at the numbers to figure out what's good anymore...

*The GPU is basically just a "placeholder" until I save up enough cash to build a whole new rig from scratch.
*Needs an HDMI output.

Thanks!
mistyseal11 mistyseal11 Regular
250 messages
joined Aug 2007
#583 ·
Still waiting on some eyes here... bump!
stormywolf39 stormywolf39 Member
17 messages
joined Dec 2008
#584 ·
Don't even bother with the 3870x2. That tech is ancient history, and you'll just deal with overheating and those classic CrossFire headaches... It's a mess. Just grab a used 4850 and call it a day. You'll actually have some peace of mind.
Terry Reyes91 Terry Reyes91 Newcomer
1 message
joined Nov 2011
#585 ·
@Nathan Reyes59/">@@Nathan Reyes59 - look, that’s exactly why I was asking if it could handle everything. I mean, obviously there are games out there that just demand way too much juice—which is why I asked in the first place, I guess. Anyway, thanks for giving me a straight answer 🙂
mistyseal11 mistyseal11 Regular
250 messages
joined Aug 2007
#586 ·
stormywolf39 said:man, don't even think about the 3870x2, that thing is ancient news—it runs way too hot and CrossFire is just a total headache in general... honestly, just grab a used 4850 and call it a day, you'll be totally fine.

What about an 8800gt?
James Fisher11 James Fisher11 Newcomer
9 messages
joined Apr 2011
#587 ·
It's weaker than the AMD Radeon HD 3850..
mistyseal11 mistyseal11 Regular
250 messages
joined Aug 2007
#588 ·
What’s a realistic price for an AMD Radeon HD 3850 1GB, 256bit that's "boxed with a warranty" and has some decent cooling from
Manufacturer : Gigabyte Technology Co.?$183 I was offered it for
.
And how much should I even be looking at for an 8800 GT/GTS... maybe the 320bit/320mb versions... or the 256mb variants... whatever.🙂
feralmarlin8 feralmarlin8 Newcomer
6 messages
joined Sep 2010
#589 ·
I’m thinking about picking up an Nvidia GTX 570, but right now I’m running an Nvidia GTX 470 that I’ve got pushed to a 700 core and 1400 Memory overclock. Is it actually worth the cash to jump to the Nvidia GTX 570? How much of an FPS boost am I really gonna see? I mainly care about gaming, specifically Battlefield 3 which isn't dropping in about 10 months—I don't want my rig chugging when I try to crank everything to max settings.
Manufacturer:
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Processor:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, Socket 775, 3.20GHz
Memory:
4012MB RAM
Hard Drive:
6 TB
Video Card:
Gigabyte SUPER OVER CLOCK Nvidia GTX 470 1280MB GDDR 5
Monitor:
LCD/TV 24" Samsung P2470HD, 1920x1080, DVB-T, MPEG4, HDMI
Sound Card:
Realtek HD Audio output
Speakers / Headphones:
Plantronics gamecon 367
Keyboard:
Logitech G11 Mouse
Mouse:
Sharkoon Fireglider
Mouse Surface : Razer Goliathus speed edition ( Medium ) Operating system

Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit)
Motherboard:
Gigabyte P35 (Ultra durable 2)
Computer Case:
Antec 900
stormywolf39 stormywolf39 Member
17 messages
joined Dec 2008
#590 ·
The whole warranty thing feels a bit sketchy since they aren't even selling them anymore, and honestly, the price is just ridiculous... you could walk into $167 and pick up a brand new 5750 that actually runs a little better than this one anyway.
Alexander Moore67 Alexander Moore67 Active Member
137 messages
joined Jun 2013
#591 ·
stormywolf39 said:It seems a bit strange to bundle it with a warranty since they aren't even being sold anymore, plus the price feels way too high... for $167, you could just pick up a brand new 5750 at Best Buy that's actually slightly more powerful
Sandra Garcia5 Sandra Garcia5 Newcomer
3 messages
joined Sep 2010
#592 ·
Alexander Moore67 said:

There's a cheaper option here:

Stop lying to this fed-up nation.🙂
Jeffrey Bennett13 Jeffrey Bennett13 Newcomer
7 messages
joined Sep 2011
#593 ·
Sorry for starting yet another thread, but which card is actually better? The Nvidia GTX 550 Ti or the AMD Radeon HD 6770? I’ve seen claims that the 550 is stronger, but I figured I’d ask you guys since I can't afford to overhaul my whole rig every couple of years.
mistydriver2 mistydriver2 Newcomer
3 messages
joined Aug 2015
#594 ·
hwcompare.com/category/gpu-comparisons/
Jeffrey Bennett13 Jeffrey Bennett13 Newcomer
7 messages
joined Sep 2011
#595 ·
feralmarlin8 said:I'm thinking about picking up an Nvidia GTX 570. Right now I've got a GTX 470 with the core pushed to 700 and Memory 1400. Is it actually worth the upgrade? How much of an FPS boost am I looking at? Mainly asking for gaming and for Call of Duty: Battlefield 3 when it drops in 10 months—I don't want it lagging when I have everything cranked to the max.
Manufacturer:
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Processor:
Intel Core 2 quad, Q9550, Socket 775, 3.20GHz
Memory:
4012MB RAM
Hard Drive:
6 TB
Video Card:
Gigabyte SUPER OVER CLOCK GTX 470 1280MB GDDR 5
Monitor:
LCD/TV 24" Samsung P2470HD, 1920x1080, DVB-T, MPEG4, HDMI
Sound Card:
Realtek HD Audio output
Speakers / Headphones:
Plantronics gamecon 367
Keyboard:
Logitech G11
Mouse:
Sharkoon Fireglider
Mouse Surface:
Razer Goliathus speed edition ( Medium )
Operating System:
Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit)
Motherboard:
Gigabyte P35 (Ultra durable 2)
Computer Case:
Antec 900

Sorry for being a troll, but you already have a solid enough GPU.
Jeffrey Bennett13 Jeffrey Bennett13 Newcomer
7 messages
joined Sep 2011
#596 ·
mistydriver2 said:hwcompare.com/category/gpu-comparisons/

I took a look at that, and based on those numbers, the 550 comes out on top, right?
feralmarlin8 feralmarlin8 Newcomer
6 messages
joined Sep 2010
#597 ·
Jeffrey Bennett13 said:Look, sorry if I'm being a troll, but who actually needs a 570? Your card is plenty good enough already.

I don't even know if it'll help my frame rates in Battlefield 3, so I'm just trying to figure out if this upgrade is even worth the cash.
James Fisher11 James Fisher11 Newcomer
9 messages
joined Apr 2011
#598 ·
The GTX 470 is basically on par with a GTX 560 Ti—actually, it's probably even weaker than that. I really have my doubts about whether it can even run Battlefield 3 on max settings without constant stuttering. But hey, at least this beauty looks good. CLICK
crimsonstag84 crimsonstag84 Regular
518 messages
joined Jun 2010
#599 ·
James Fisher11 said:The GTX 470 is basically on par with a GTX 560, so it's actually a bit weaker. I'm not sure if it'll really handle Battlefield 3 on max settings without some lag, but then again, this beauty over here CLICK might.

Honestly, I think it's just throwing money away...
all that extra cash just for maybe 10 more FPS? $867 🤷
cosmicfox31 cosmicfox31 Newcomer
3 messages
joined Jan 2010
#600 ·
Hey everyone! This isn't really a formal request for a recommendation or anything, I'm just getting ready to buy some parts and wanted to double-check if this setup is solid enough.

Athlon X3 445 , M4N68T LE V2 , 4GB DDR3, 9600GT , EVGA 570W (R.I.P. my old 400W Corsair unit :'( )

I'm planning on picking up an ASUS GTS 450. Do you think I'll run into any power supply issues? Basically, can I just relax and know I'm good for the next two years?

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