GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Hey guys... so my Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS finally gave up the ghost. It's currently on its way to New York City since it's still under warranty (thank goodness!), and I originally picked it up at a General Electric store. I'm looking for a replacement in the same price range, maybe willing to shell out an extra 100-$67 if it makes sense.

My current setup: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor + EVGA Power Supply
Corsair 400W
ASUS Motherboard
Resolution I play at: 1024x768👎

Looking at what's available at General Electric right now, in the $950-$383 range, I found these cards:
1. EVGA GeForce GTS 250 512MB GDDR3, 512 MB GDDR3-SDRAM
2. PowerColor Radeon HD 4850, 512 MB GDDR3-SDRAM
3. Creative Sound Blaster, 1024 MB GDDR5-SDRAM
4. Nvidia GeForce GT 430, 1024 MB GDDR5-SDRAM
5. Gigabyte GV-R567OC-1GI, 1024 MB GDDR5-SDRAM
6. Creative Sound Blaster, 1024 MB DDR5-SDRAM
7. EVGA GeForce GTS 250 1GB, 1024 MB GDDR3-SDRAM
8. CLUB3D 9800GTX+, 512 MB GDDR3-SDRAM, PCI Express x16
9. VTX3D ATI Radeon HD5750, 1 GB DDR5
10. ASUS GeForce GTS 250, 1024 MB DDR3-SDRAM
11. PowerColor Radeon HD 4850, 1024 MB GDDR3-SDRAM
12. ASUS GeForce GT 240 1 GB

Now, obviously there are cheaper options out there, but since I'm playing stuff like Call of Duty 4 or Crysis, I want to be smart about this. I was actually really happy with my old card until it died on me, so I don't want to downgrade and regret it. I'd love to stay in this performance bracket or maybe step it up just a notch. Thanks for the help!

The Creative Sound Blaster is tucked away somewhere near the PowerColor Radeon HD 4850 and the GTS 250. It’s the newest card in that bunch, runs quieter, and pulls the least power... but honestly, you should be spending your money on a bigger monitor instead. 😬

I’d go with the Zotac GeForce GTS 250; honestly, anything more than that feels like massive overkill for that resolution. Is that your native res? You might want to look into a new power supply too, since this one is 👎

I’m thinking an Nvidia GeForce GT 430 would actually be the smarter move here, just because of the power supply requirements.

wiredmarlin5 said:It's tough to recommend anything beefier with that power supply...

Without TV out ->

Hmm, if I grab a new PSU, maybe I could go for something stronger? Would a Corsair 400W handle a PowerColor Radeon HD 4850? And how does this GTS 250 stack up against the HD 4850... is it actually better?
Also, wondering if that GTS 250 will even survive on my current setup—don't want to fry the motherboard or the PSU after a few months... xD

Running a GTS 250 on a Corsair 400W should be totally fine, I guess. ☕

crimsonstag84 said:I am currently reviewing the technical specifications for this particular component, which can be found at the following link: http://www.newegg.com/p/products/6135

If you're looking to stretch your budget just a little further, this option offers a bit more muscle under the hood:

I have been examining the technical specifications for this particular component, and I find myself contemplating its suitability for a modern workstation. It is my belief that one must approach such hardware acquisitions with a certain degree of analytical rigor to ensure the investment aligns with the intended computational load. While some might rush into a purchase based on superficial metrics, a more measured assessment of the architecture is always preferable.

I have been encountering frequent "GPU Recover" errors lately while playing certain titles, such as Mass Effect. After doing some digging online, I have gathered that this issue typically stems from a compatibility conflict between the graphics card and the motherboard. I am operating under the assumption that upgrading to a new component will resolve this discrepancy entirely.

It shouldn't be an issue for the graphics card to work with the motherboard if both have a PCI-e x16 slot... I guess you just need to be careful if you're switching to Nvidia; you should probably uninstall every single trace of ATI from your PC first—drivers and all—just so nothing crashes. ☕

placidwalker91 said:Lately, I've been getting VPU recover errors while gaming (Mass Effect, for instance). Did some reading online; apparently, it's a compatibility issue between the GPU and the motherboard or something similar. Hopefully, the new build won't have this problem.

Just disable VPU recovery in the ATI control panel. It causes more headaches than it actually solves.

Kyle Sanchez4 said:Go into the ATI control panel and disable VPU recovery; frankly, it tends to cause more headaches than it actually resolves.

Is there any risk of something going sideways if I decide to turn that off?

I'm looking for a decent GPU recommendation—something capable of running newer titles without breaking the bank.

You should be able to run newer titles without much trouble. I guess if you're actually planning on picking up a new card, maybe let me know what the rest of your build looks like? 😉

Yeah, what kind of rig you're running really matters here. As far as I know, you might have an AGP slot, which would mean this card won't fit.

Hey,
I was wondering if anyone could weigh in on which of these two graphics cards is actually the better pick—the Radeon HD 3850 with 512MB AGP or the Radeon HD 4650 with 1024MB AGP?... It looks like the HD 3850 is priced a bit higher right now.
By the way, my current setup is running at 3.0GHz with 1.5GB of RAM.

The HD 3850, obviously—it’s got faster memory, more bandwidth, and just feels like a better-built card overall. 🙂

Though, I’m not sure how much sense it makes to dump money into that specific rig. With a P4 3.0, you might struggle to even get the full performance out of a weaker HD 4650... 🤷

Buying a new AGP graphics card is (almost) literally throwing money down the drain..

The best card you can actually find around here is probably the Radeon HD 3450.
It’s got: HDTV, DVI, HDMI, DirectX 10.1, and all those other little bells and whistles that let you browse the web, watch HD movies, and run Windows Vista or Windows 7 at resolutions up to 1920x1200 without any hiccups.

It's plenty powerful enough to handle older games at roughly 1024x768 resolution; personally, I paired mine with a Dual Core processor and managed to get through Fallout 3, the whole Call of Duty series, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R....

It goes for $117, and honestly, it'll run on any junk power supply you have lying around. Seriously, you don't need anything beefier for an old Pentium 4 relic—just plug in the Radeon HD 3450 so you can at least watch HD video, and if you actually want to game, just go buy a new PC..

crimsondrifter15 said:Buying a new AGP card is—honestly—just throwing money away..

The best card you can actually find around here is probably the Radeon HD 3450.
It’s got HDTV, DVI, HDMI, DirectX 10.1, and all those other little extras you need to browse the web, watch HD movies, or run Windows Vista/Windows 7 at resolutions up to 1920x1200 without a hitch.

It's strong enough to handle older games at roughly 1024x768—I personally used it with a Dual Core setup to get through Fallout 3, the whole Call of Duty series, S.T.A.L.K.E.R....

It costs $117, and it'll run on any junk power supply you have lying around. Seriously, you don't need anything better for an old Pentium 4 bucket; just grab the Radeon HD 3450 so you can watch HD video, and if you actually want to game, just buy a new PC..

Hmm, trying to play Call of Duty 4 on a card like that is pure fantasy if you want decent settings... 😁 I think I was getting maybe 40fps on a 2600xt, so this would be even worse—not to mention stuff like NBA 2K or NFS Shift, Blur, and so on.😁

I'm looking at these two cards and honestly can't decide which one is worth the money—especially since that ATI one comes with DX 11 support...

James Castillo8 said:I'm looking at these two cards right now—not quite sure which one makes more sense to grab, especially since that ATI card supports DX 11.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/zotac-gts-250-pci-e

http://www.newegg.com/r5670-graphics-card

The GTS 250 is the better choice here. Having DX 11 isn't going to offer much of a tangible advantage in the current landscape... I guess. Just a word of advice—don't buy from that specific site; you can find plenty of cheaper retailers elsewhere.

Thomas Martin4 said:the gts250 is better. you aren't really getting much out of dx11 right now... just don't buy it at Best Buy, there are cheaper shops out there.

Yeah, I know there are cheaper places—but Best Buy is the only spot where I can actually split it into 12 monthly payments using my Chase card 😁 since that's the only credit I have available... might as well use it here $23 especially since I need to grab a new power supply from Micro Center for $133