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GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Started by Olivia Gonzalez3 · · 👁 81 views · 1.7K replies

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Casey Long2 Casey Long2 Member
14 messages
joined Feb 2010
#1041 ·
That sounds like a solid plan 🙂

Well, looking at how the rest of your setup is built, $267 that graphics card is actually massive overkill for a machine like this.
The Radeon 5670 is pretty much the ceiling for what the rest of your hardware—and especially that power supply—can actually handle.
I’d also suggest picking up some extra memory while you're at it; if you can bump it up to 2 GB of RAM, you'll notice a huge jump in performance. For instance, 2 GB of Kingmax DDR2 🙂
Sarah Turner98 Sarah Turner98 Member
15 messages
joined Jul 2010
#1042 ·
Maybe grab the 1GB version if they're running a full HD monitor...
Just saying. 🙂
Karen Rogers23 Karen Rogers23 Newcomer
7 messages
joined Jan 2009
#1043 ·
Casey Long2 said:It's fine 🙂

Well, looking at the rest of the build, I guess $267 the GPU is actually overkill for a machine like that.
Radeon 5670 is probably about as much as the rest of the system (and the power supply) can actually handle.

So it's bad then 🤣
I don't really know much about this stuff, and my husband knows even less—he was the one who bought it.

Thanks for the help 😁
Karen Rogers23 Karen Rogers23 Newcomer
7 messages
joined Jan 2009
#1044 ·
Bryan Evans77 said:he might want to consider the 1GB version if he's actually running a full HD monitor....
just saying 🙂

The monitor is a Samsung SM-S22 22" LCD, 2 ms, DVI
Casey Long2 Casey Long2 Member
14 messages
joined Feb 2010
#1045 ·
Bryan Evans77 said:The only reason he might want the 1GB version is if he’s running a Full HD monitor...
Just a small side note here. 🙂

Honestly, given the processor he's working with, I doubt he'll even be able to push the games hard enough to actually run out of video memory.

Karen Rogers23 said:So it’s actually pretty bad? 🤣
I don't know much about this stuff—and my husband knows even less—but he was the one picking it up.

Thanks for the help! 😁

It isn't bad at all; the Radeon 5670 is a perfectly capable card as long as you aren't demanding top-tier, cutting-edge performance. For a smooth, enjoyable gaming experience, it's more than sufficient.

I updated my previous post with the suggestion to grab a bit more memory. In this day and age, 1GB of VRAM feels a little thin.😉

Karen Rogers23 said:The monitor is a Samsung SM-S22 22" LCD, 2 ms, DVI

At that resolution, 512MB should be plenty.🙂
Sarah Turner98 Sarah Turner98 Member
15 messages
joined Jul 2010
#1046 ·
I don't know... I've been mulling it over...
but honestly? It might be smarter to just grab the version with the 512MB graphics card and then toss in an extra gig or two of RAM instead...
Karen Rogers23 Karen Rogers23 Newcomer
7 messages
joined Jan 2009
#1047 ·
Casey Long2 said:It’s not bad; the Radeon 5670 is actually a pretty capable card if you aren't trying to push extreme performance. For just playing things smoothly, it's more than enough.

I updated my previous post to suggest grabbing a bit more memory too. I guess 1GB of RAM is considered pretty stingy by today's standards.😉

For that resolution, 512 MB should be plenty.🙂

Oh great, thanks a ton.😁
I think the one we had before was only 256MB, so if that worked fine for him, this 512MB version will definitely do the trick.
Sarah Turner98 Sarah Turner98 Member
15 messages
joined Jul 2010
#1048 ·
It’s not even about the memory capacity... but let's move on...
Just grab a Radeon 5670 with 512MB and call it a day.

Whatever you do, don't accidentally buy thishd5550 just because it shows up with 1GB of memory and looks "cheaper" than what we actually suggested...

Same story here...
CLICK
People used to buy junk based solely on the amount of VRAM, then they'd act surprised when it performed like trash because they wouldn't listen to us.
👍
wearystag16 wearystag16 Newcomer
8 messages
joined Jan 2011
#1049 ·
So, I've got this old 3GB rig sitting here.
CPU is an Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition on a socket 940 motherboard.
Motherboard is an ALiveNG6G-DVI.
Running 2GB of Kingmax RAM.
GPU is an ATI Radeon X1950 Pro.
Power supply is a Hyper 530W.
I'm looking to pick up a new graphics card, but I'm stuck on what to get, so I figured I'd ask you guys for some advice...🙂 Thanks... budget is maybe around $500, though I'm hoping that covers both the GPU and some more RAM. I know I need the extra memory, just haven't decided on a card yet...
wearystag16 wearystag16 Newcomer
8 messages
joined Jan 2011
#1050 ·
wearystag16;30212267 said:hey, so I have this old 3GB rig.
It’s running an Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition on a socket 940 motherboard
Motherboard: ALiveNG6G-DVI
RAM: 2GB Kingmax
GPU: ATI Radeon X1950 Pro
Power supply: Hyper 530W
Now, I’m looking to grab a new graphics card, but I'm stuck on which one to pick, so I figured I'd ask you guys for some advice🙂 thanks a lot... budget is maybe around $500, and that needs to cover both the GPU and more RAM... I know I need the memory, just can't decide on the card :/
darkowl72 darkowl72 Regular
311 messages
joined Oct 2015
#1051 ·
When people ask for advice on buying a PC that'll last them five years without any headaches—regardless of their budget—we tell them straight up: it’s impossible. Nobody knows what the tech landscape will look like in five years, or even three. And that’s exactly what happened to you. Even though your rig is "only" three years old, there aren't any decent CPUs left to upgrade to. Unless you get incredibly lucky and stumble upon some high-end Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition at a flea market, which is basically a pipe dream.

Now, you might be wondering why the CPU matters so much. It does. Your current processor is a total weakling. There’s zero point in building a high-end rig around a powerful graphics card if that CPU can't actually feed it enough data to work with...

You can still find DDR2 memory lying around, and you can slap just about any GPU in there, but as far as processors go? You're out of luck...
darkowl72 darkowl72 Regular
311 messages
joined Oct 2015
#1052 ·
You’re going to need a new motherboard, CPU, GPU, and RAM. You can probably hang onto the case, the drive, and the DVD drive—and if your power supply is actually decent quality and can handle the new load, you might be able to keep that too...

Here is the first option where you stick with DDR2 memory, just adding another 2GB to the mix:

1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, socket AM3, BOX , 1.5MB, 3.1GHz
1 x Gigabyte MA770-ES3, AMD 770+SB710, AM3, 6xSATA RAID, 2xDDR2 1066
1 x DDR2 2048MB ( 2GB ) Kingmax, 800MHz, CL5, KLDE88F-B8KB5

total: $415

But this second option moves you over to a newer platform with DDR3, which is the smarter move:

1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, socket AM3, BOX , 1.5MB, 3.1GHz
2 x DDR3 2048MB ( 2GB ) Kingmax, 1333MHz, CL9, FLFE85F-B8EE9
1 x Gigabyte MA770T-UD3 , AM3, AMD 770+SB710, S.,6xSATA RAID, 4xDDR3

total: $496

In either scenario, sell off your old surplus gear—the motherboard, the processor, and maybe some RAM—then see which of these graphics cards you can afford:
wearystag16 wearystag16 Newcomer
8 messages
joined Jan 2011
#1053 ·
darkowl72 said:you’d pretty much have to grab a new motherboard, CPU, GPU, and RAM.... you could probably hang onto the case, the drive, and the DVD player—maybe even the power supply if it’s high-quality enough to handle the new setup...

that's what I figured, needing everything from scratch.... then there's the headache of actually doing it. unless I can just scrape by with a weaker card for now... maybe something like this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/index.php?item=...us=051.806.574
darkowl72 darkowl72 Regular
311 messages
joined Oct 2015
#1054 ·
http://www.chicago.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=7946

Honestly, just grab this one instead. You can always hang onto it for later when you finally decide to upgrade your whole rig...
wearystag16 wearystag16 Newcomer
8 messages
joined Jan 2011
#1055 ·
darkowl72 said:you'd need a new motherboard, CPU, GPU, and RAM... you can hang onto the case, drive, and DVD drive—maybe even the power supply if it's decent enough to handle the new setup...

here's the first option where you stick with DDR2 and just grab another 2GB:

1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor, socket AM3, BOX , 1.5MB, 3.1GHz
1 x Gigabyte MA770-ES3, AMD 770+SB710, AM3, 6xSATA RAID, 2xDDR2 1066
1 x DDR2 2048MB ( 2GB ) PC6400 Kingmax, 800MHz, CL5, KLDE88F-B8KB5

total: $415

then there's the second one, moving to a new platform with DDR3, which is the smarter move:

1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor, socket AM3, BOX , 1.5MB, 3.1GHz
2 x DDR3 2048MB ( 2GB ) Kingmax, 1333MHz, CL9, FLFE85F-B8EE9
1 x Gigabyte MA770T-UD3 , AM3, AMD 770+SB710, S.,6xSATA RAID, 4xDDR3

total: $496

either way, sell off the old gear you don't need: the motherboard, CPU, and maybe some RAM, then see which of these GPUs fits your budget:

http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=7946
http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=9199

Thanks a lot... money's going to be tight, though. Do you happen to know anyone who buys old parts? Any idea what they're worth these days...
darkowl72 darkowl72 Regular
311 messages
joined Oct 2015
#1056 ·
Put it on Craigslist. I’m not exactly an expert at appraising gear, but here’s my best guess: motherboard maybe $150-$67, CPU $67, RAM around $100-$50, and honestly, I have no clue about the GPU... maybe $100-$50....

Oh, and just so you know, those prices are based on what I saw over at Chicago holding —well, if you spend over $2k, you get free shipping...
wearystag16 wearystag16 Newcomer
8 messages
joined Jan 2011
#1057 ·
darkowl72 said:Putting it out on the hardware market. I'm not really one for precise math, but let's call it... motherboard for 150...$67Yeah, processor... $67RAM at 100%... just great...$50Honestly, I haven't a clue about the graphics card... maybe 100 bucks...$50....

Man, those prices are just ridiculous... Chicago holding... The big city... over 2 million in free shipping...

Alright, thanks a lot. Guess I just need to scrape some cash together somehow... I'll give it a shot, I guess... :/ :/
crimsonstag84 crimsonstag84 Regular
518 messages
joined Jun 2010
#1058 ·
darkowl72 said:you're listing this on a hardware marketplace. I'm not exactly an expert at appraising gear, but I'll take a guess: motherboard maybe $150-$67, CPU $67, RAM around $100-$50, and honestly, I have no clue about the value of the graphics card... maybe $100-$50....

Oh, and just so you know, those prices look like they're straight out of Chicago holding—over 2 million bucks including free shipping...

That GPU is actually slightly better than an 8600GTS, so I guess $67I'd personally price it at 🙂
darkowl72 darkowl72 Regular
311 messages
joined Oct 2015
#1059 ·
Alright, I guess I was wrong about that one... thanks crimsonstag84... 😁
Samuel Martinez Samuel Martinez Member
26 messages
joined Jan 2011
#1060 ·
Hey everyone... I'm heading down to Micro Center in six days to pick up a new graphics card. I currently have $500, and I've got a bit of a dilemma. They're suggesting I grab the GTX 460 768MB, but here is my actual setup:
Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H
4GB DDR3 RAM @ 1333MHz
Sapphire HD 5450 (absolute junk)
Thermaltake MasterMax Outpower 420W
Intel Core i3 530 (Dual-core, 2.93GHz)

http://www.microcenter.com/product_info.php?products_id=7771

Is this actually doable? Can my current rig even handle this thing, and more importantly—will my power supply survive the jump? Please, let me know what you think.

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