GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Look, you aren't going to find a card better than the 4870 for $217. Honestly—if you want an actual upgrade—you’re looking at the 6790, but that'll set you back well over $300.

If you’re living in the NYC area, this guy is selling a 4890 for $167 http://www.craigslist.org/listing/graphics-card-ad-3711272
Honestly, it's going to be pretty tough to find a better deal than this.

Hey,

Looking to upgrade my GPU, so I need some advice.
Right now I'm running a GeForce 8600 GT. It’s been doing its job fine, but I want something beefier for $200 heavier titles.

My motherboard is DDR2, LGA 775 socket, SATA II... not sure if a card like a DDR5 model will even work with this setup.
Power Supply: 450W
CPU: 2 x 2.33 Intel Core 1333MHz
RAM: 2GB (planning to grab another 2GB soon)

I've been eyeing: the GeForce GT 440 1GB DDR5 and the ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB DDR3.
Are these actually compatible with my board? And more importantly, are they actually a big jump over the 8600 GT? (Strictly for gaming).

Thanks!🙂

Grab the 5670, but make sure you get the one with the DDR5 memory: --seriously, don't settle for less.

It’s at least twice as fast as that old card you're currently lugging around.

Problem!

I just picked up a GPU with a DVI port, but my old monitor only has VGA. What am I going to need to get this thing hooked up properly? (Specific adapters? Which ones exactly?)
thanks

If you picked up the one mentioned above, you're already set with all three types of connectors—no need to go hunting for some random adapter.

Hey everyone.

I just managed to scrape together some extra cash (around $300) and I’m looking to give my rig a much-needed upgrade.

Here’s what I’m rocking right now:
CPU - Intel Core2Duo E8400 3.0 GHz 2
2 GB DDR2 RAM
320 GB WD HDD
Power Supply - 500W ATX
Motherboard - MSI P45 Neo MS-7519
GPU - ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 512 MB
Monitor - AOC F22+

Obviously, since I'm posting here, the GPU is the first thing on my list to swap out. Most of my time is spent playing Call of Duty 2—I really need better FPS, and I'd also love to be able to actually launch a newer game once in a while without everything crawling. I also use it to watch movies and shows. On top of that, I'd really like to save enough left over to grab a new hard drive, because my current one is constantly maxed out and I'm basically fighting a losing battle with storage space every single day.

Thanks.

Michael Brooks13 said:Help me out here!

I just picked up a new graphics card that only has a DVI port, but my old monitor only uses VGA. What am I going to need to get everything hooked up properly? Like, do I need specific adapters or something else entirely?
thanks

Well, if you ended up with the ATI Radeon HD 5670 512mb DDR5 version, you won't find a VGA port on there at all—it's just DVI and HDMI. In that case, you're probably looking for a DVI to VGA adapter to bridge the gap between the card and your monitor if that's the only input you have available. Honestly, I actually had one of those DVI-to-VGA adapters included in the box when I got my card last time..

If you can't find it at a local Best Buy or maybe a Target...$6.75 or some other big-box retailer...

Gregory Ward said:Hey there.

I've managed to scrape together some extra cash (around $350) and I'm looking to upgrade my PC.

Current specs:
processor - Intel Core2Duo E8400 3.0 GHz
2 gb ddr2 ram
wd 320 gb hdd
power supply - 500w atx
motherboard - p45 neo ms-7519
gpu - ati radeon hd 2600 pro 512 mb.
aoc f22+ monitor

Logically, since I'm posting here, I want to swap out this graphics card. I mostly use this computer for playing Call of Duty 2—I need better FPS, and I guess I'd also like to be able to run a newer game every once in a while—as well as watching movies and shows occasionally. I'd also really like to have enough left over to grab a new hard drive, because mine is constantly full and I'm always struggling with storage space.

Thanks.

It might be a good idea to pick up a quad-core processor and maybe overclock it a little, something like this

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=intel+quad+core+processor

then a new graphics card, for example http://www.newegg.com/p/hd+6850

along with an additional 2gb of ram and a more reliable power supply, which would probably be necessary.

Gregory Ward said:Hey there.

I just came into some extra cash (about $300) and I’m looking to upgrade my PC.

Current specs:
processor - Intel Core2Duo E8400 3.0 GHz
2 GB DDR2 RAM
320 GB WD HDD
PSU - 500W ATX
motherboard - MSI P45 Neo MS-7519
GPU - ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 512 MB
AOC F22+ monitor

Since I'm posting here, I obviously want to swap out the graphics card first. I mostly use this rig to play Call of Duty 2 (I need better FPS, plus I'd like to be able to run something newer every once in a while), and occasionally watch movies or shows. I’d also like to save enough left over to grab a new hard drive, since mine is constantly full and I'm always fighting for storage space.

Thanks.

1 x DDR2 2048MB ( 2GB ) PC6400 Kingston, 800MHz, CL5
1 x XFX HD6850 775M 1GB DDR5, DisplayPort x2 v1.2, DVI x2, HDMI 1.4a
1 x Spire TherMax II, socket 775/1156/1366/754/939/AM2/AM2+/AM3
1 x XFX Core edition 80 550W PSU - EasyRail technology

$685

Micro Center (Chicago), free shipping on orders over $667 😉

@Ryan Hayes82/">@@Ryan Hayes82 Since he mainly plays Call of Duty 2, he won't really benefit from multiple cores anyway; the single-core performance on the E8400 is actually much higher than the Q6600, and the price tag on that quad-core is probably overkill. Even considering the extra cores, the Q6600 will struggle to outperform that Core2Duo, especially since the latter tends to overclock a bit better.🙂

Hey everyone. I just picked up a used PowerColor ATI Radeon 3850 DDR3 with 512 MB on it, and I'm thinking about tossing it into my current rig. Here’s what I'm working with:
-Athlon 64 X2 4400+
-350 W power supply, though I have no clue what brand it actually is.
-Current card: Nvidia 7300 gt 256 mb

The main question is, do you think this setup will actually run smoothly?

Quick question!!

I was running a GT 8600 before, but today I swapped it out for a new HD5670 512mb DDR5. Everything installed perfectly fine.

The problem is, I tried playing Rage—which barely even ran on my old overclocked GT 8600 (using DirectX 9.0 C drivers)—but now it’s even slower with this new card. I made sure to grab the latest drivers, but honestly, it feels like it would run better without them. So, what am I missing here? Should I just nuking the game and reinstall everything from scratch or what??

Specs: 2 x 2.33 GHz, 4gb RAM, 450w

Help me out here!

rustyfox7 said:Hey everyone. I just picked up a used PowerColor ATI Radeon 3850 DDR3 with 512 MB of VRAM—planning to drop it into my current rig. Here’s what I’m running right now:- Athlon 64 X2 4400+
-Power supply- 350W, though honestly, I have no clue what brand it is.
-Current GPU: Nvidia 7300 gt 256 mb

So, the big question is... will this actually work without any major issues?

Yeah, it'll work. That card is leagues ahead of that old Nvidia piece of junk—it's massively more powerful—and since it pulls about 70-80W, your power supply should handle it just fine.

Benjamin King2 said:Look, that GPU is leagues ahead of that Nvidia card, and it pulls about 70-80W, so you won't have any issues with your power supply.

A buddy of mine picked up a different one, so he’s letting me have the specific one I mentioned. I was browsing some reviews online and stumbled upon some sketchy numbers claiming it draws around 90W at idle and over 180W under full load. Honestly, it's got me a bit paranoid about things blowing up. When you said 70-80W, were you talking about idle or when it's actually working hard? It's not that I don't take your word for it, I'm just genuinely worried about frying something if my PSU can't handle the hit. One more thing—what’s your take on this unit if I decide to go out and buy a new power supply instead? http://www.amazon.com/power-supply...kl=052.712.083

That power draw you mentioned covers the whole rig, not just the card—you’re probably looking at some kind of quad-core processor in there, something beefier than yours... as far as Chieftec goes, their Nitro series is decent enough, but anything else? Honestly, I wouldn't trust it. Your setup should be pulling around 160W, so you shouldn't run into any issues with the PSU, unless it's one of those absolute bottom-of-the-barrel pieces of junk. 🙂

Michael Brooks13 said:Quick question, guys.

I was running a GT 8600 before, and today I swapped in a new HD5670 512 mb DDR5. Everything installed perfectly fine.

But here's the thing—I tried playing "Rage," and even with my old GT 8600 overclocked (using DirectX 9.0 C), it was barely playable. Now, with this new card, it's actually slower. I grabbed the latest drivers, but honestly, even without them, the game should still be running better than this... so what am I missing? Should I just nuking the game and reinstall everything from scratch or what?

Specs: 2 x 2.33 GHz, 4GB RAM, 450W power supply

Help me out!

The card is supposed to be twice as fast, yet the game runs worse. Anyone got an idea why?

Did you actually patch the game yet? Did you get this installed? http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles...erfDriver.aspx

Look, Rage runs like absolute garbage even on rigs way more powerful than yours.

Benjamin King2 said:Did you patch the game? Try installing this: http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles...erfDriver.aspx

Rage runs like garbage even on rigs way more powerful than yours.

Yeah, I patched it. It actually ran without stuttering on my old card... might try some other drivers, since I know with a new GPU I should be hitting at least low settings. Just wondering—will the game recognize the hardware swap? Don't want to have to restart the whole thing from scratch.

Go ahead and install DirectX 9.0 C since the game runs on a DX9 engine—it’s pretty much non-negotiable. It doesn't actually matter if the game itself "recognizes" it or whatever, the main thing is just making sure Windows sees it's there.