GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Look, if you don't know what you're talking about, just stay quiet. It's better that way.

@OP
http://www.newegg.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=7946
This should be plenty. The card isn't a huge power hog, so you shouldn't have any issues.

Won't the CPU bottleneck it?
I mean, that's a pretty old processor, an Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition.

driftingfox11 said:Won't the CPU bottleneck it?
That's an old processor anyway, the Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition.

Bottleneck or not, it's currently the best value in this category. You get way more bang for your buck compared to a weaker 50-series card.$33 🙂

So what if it runs hot? It’ll just be operating at maybe 80% of its actual potential, but it isn't going to spontaneously combust or anything. If you've got the cash, just buy it.🤷

driftingfox11 said:won't the CPU bottleneck it?
it's a pretty ancient Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition anyway

should be fine🙂

Robert Rodriguez2 said:it shouldn't 🙂

Maybe you should just keep quiet—did you walk into a casino and lose all your money or something? 😉 hahaha, oh man, give it a rest, buddy... just enjoy the ride.

Alexander Moore67 said:Just walk over to Micro Center $157 and you can probably squeeze by with that power supply.
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Thanks. Any chance you could recommend something with 1GB of RAM? I'm leaning towards Linksys because they let me pay in interest-free installments. Man, this recession is killing me.🙂

http://www.linksys.com/graphics-card-details

I mean, seriously—why bother with 1 GB of RAM? With a setup like this, you aren't going to be pushing high resolutions anyway, so that extra memory is basically just dead weight—unless, of course, you just want to see the price tag climb for no reason.

Benjamin King2 said:http://www.bestbuy.com/graphics-cards

Why bother with 1 GB of VRAM? With a setup like yours, you aren't even going to touch high resolutions, so that extra memory is basically dead weight—it just inflates the price tag for nothing.

Look, my thought process was simple: if I'm building a new rig, I want to dodge the massive upfront cost of a high-end GPU right out of the gate. Besides, neither the kids nor I are hardcore pro gamers; we don't need the bleeding edge of technology just to get things running. Thanks!🙏🙂

P.S. I’m assuming I can just clear out those various cable bundles and USB headers sitting under the card. Once I move them down toward the sound card, I’ve got about 35mm of breathing room left. Is that enough clearance for a newer card? Some of these modern ones look absolutely massive.

The GPU is going to block that next slot right underneath it because of the fan—so, honestly, just move the sound card down to a lower slot. If the graphics card fan ends up pressed right against the sound card, you aren't actually getting any real cooling benefits anyway.

Benjamin King2 said:Look, if you drop that GPU in there, the fan is going to choke out the very next slot because of its size. You should probably move that sound card down a notch. If the GPU fan is pressed right up against the sound card, you aren't getting any actual airflow anyway. It'll just be hot air hitting a wall.

Well, that’s not even the whole story. I've got a TV tuner card sitting right under the sound card. And after that? There's nothing left. It's a dead end.🙂
Heading into the office now. Thx🙂

Hey, can you please just tell me which motherboard you're running? There's no way it's some tiny little thing that only has 3 PCI slots. 🙂

Gigabyte K8 Triton GA-K8NF-9 Socket 939 nForce4-4X chipset

Yeah, the board layout is a bit of a joke—honestly kind of nonsensical—but if you’ve got your tuner card and audio card sitting in those last two white slots, you should be fine. The fan will just end up covering one empty PCI slot anyway.

Thanks! Quick question though—would a Sapphire HD 5670 1 GB be a decent fit for $176?

By the way—how do I actually embed a link, like if I wanted to point directly to this specific card on Amazon?

Just make sure you’re grabbing DDR5—not that old DDR3 stuff—because I’m pretty sure DDR5 runs a bit higher than what you've got there. Just grab the URL straight from your browser.

http://www.bestbuy.com/?id=graphics-card-example Is this the one?

Heh, look at that. Lesson learned.🙂🙏🙂

vividmoose33 said:http://www.amazon.com/graphics-card-example Is this the one?

Yeah, that's the one.😍

http://www.bestbuy.com/product/graphics-card-example

If you're looking to justify the extra cost for a GPU, maybe grab this one instead. It’s $33 more, but it’s way more powerful than the HD 5670—honestly, having 1GB of VRAM doesn't really mean much when it comes to actual performance...

Well... we’ve officially kicked off $167, and we're already sitting at 750. It feels like we just started—honestly, at this rate, we'll be out of juice before we even get warmed up. 😁

🤣

That bit about the "GPU driver issue" actually makes me think you should probably just grab a more expensive card. Even if you aren't some hardcore gamer, I guess an HD 5670 might start struggling pretty quickly 😁