GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Paul Hernandez49 said:Oh yeah—forgot to mention the drive, it's a Samsung 840 Pro 256.
What does "new" actually mean here? Are we talking DDR5 memory or what? Will I see any actual performance gains from that?
And is it worth splurging on something better just so it lasts longer? (I'm planning to hold off on a new build as long as possible).

Man, what a bizarre mix of parts you've got going on. You're running a bottom-tier power supply with an ancient AM2 platform, yet you've got an SSD (and a Samsung 840 Pro 256 at that) and you're looking to drop money on a new GPU for this rig. 😲 Honestly, I wouldn't recommend buying any high-end graphics card right now, mostly because of that power supply. That Microsoft component is a joke. Plus, the CPU would just bottleneck any decent GPU you tried to throw in there.

The smartest move would be to just run what you have until it dies and start saving for a proper machine. Buying a card like that GT 730 is basically throwing money away. This current setup is pretty outdated, and while you might breathe some life into it for $167, once it's time for a new PC—which I think is basically right now (😬)—you'll realize you spent $167 on a card that's too weak to even matter in a new build. 🙂 Just my two cents.

rofl
I was just sitting here waiting for someone to start mocking me... but honestly, Adam Moore3, you're spot on.
It’s really just a weird coincidence that this specific build ended up the way it did, but there you have it.
I picked up the Samsung 840 Pro 256 about a year and a half ago because I needed to speed things up—my old PC was driving me absolutely insane—and at the time, I figured I'd just swap the whole thing out for something new relatively soon. And yeah, even though I'm stuck with a SATA II slot on this motherboard and a 3Gb/s limit, I still noticed a massive jump in speed compared to my ancient HDD.
Then I found out I was going to be dealing with a little "budget cruncher," so all plans for a brand-new rig were put on hold because other expenses just took priority. Now, I barely have any time to even think about computers anyway since I mostly just use it for browsing, the occasional HD stream, or watching movies...
As for the power supply, that showed up about six months ago when my system started acting up on the old 400W unit... I took it down to a local repair shop, and they gave me the usual "we'll see if it's the PSU, we'll call you when we figure it out" routine. They never called back, and they obviously just slapped in the cheapest part available... but I didn't have the energy or the desire to get into an argument with them.
So, that's basically the short version of the story behind this crazy build of mine.
Right now, I just want to squeeze every last drop of performance out of this machine, but I don't plan on pushing it too hard because I think it'll still be perfectly fine for my son once he gets a bit older. The only thing is, I definitely won't be leaving him the SSD.

Hey, I forgot to mention—thanks for the input, Adam Moore3.
And one more thing: if I were to pick up a GPU right now, it definitely wouldn't be for a brand-new build. But do you honestly think that CPU would bottleneck a card enough that I wouldn't see any real benefit? What’s actually driving me crazy about my current rig is how much it stutters when I'm watching videos online—especially when I go full screen. As for my current card (that ATI Radeon X1600), there aren't even any drivers for Windows 7, so I'm assuming that grabbing a new, budget-friendly card would finally fix that headache.

1. Why do you think anyone is making fun of you? You’re wrong about that. I’m just stating facts. We aren't mocking you; we realize the average user isn't an IT expert, and we know how shady salespeople and repair shops can be when they try to upsell you on junk.

2. Don't buy anything yet. Just wait. That RAM might be fine, or it might be completely incompatible with your motherboard.

3. What GPU were you using before, and is there any other reason you're swapping it out besides video stuttering?

4. How exactly is it stuttering over the internet? Are you watching a live stream, something on YouTube, or what? Or are you playing a video from your PC over a local network to a smart TV? Does the video lag when you play it directly from your hard drive on your monitor, or does that only happen online?

5. What's your internet speed? Which provider and plan are you on? Go to speedtest.net and run a test for your download, upload, and ping.

6. I see you're running an old Radeon X1600. According to the web, drivers for it exist—not officially from AMD, but modified versions should work:

https://www.google.com/search?client...xt+driver+win7

Watch yourself when downloading so you don't accidentally grab some "driver updater," downloader, or malware bullshit. Be careful where you click. 😬 I think this link is straightforward and just gives you the raw driver download:

http://www.driverscape.com/download/...adeon-x1600-xt

And obviously, make sure you check if your version of Windows 7 is 32-bit or 64-bit.

7. Regarding memory, look on Craigslist or find a local shop or a private seller nearby who deals in used parts. Grab 2x1GB DDR2 sticks, but only if you can test them and return them if they fail. If you're looking on Craigslist, a stick shouldn't cost more than $17, ideally even less. Your board has 4 slots; if you fill them with 4x1GB, that's plenty, and there's no need to buy anything new.

8. Since your priority is changing so many things at once, spending big money on this rig doesn't make sense. Not even on the power supply, which really should be your first upgrade. Just leave it; the setup isn't demanding, so if it works, let it work...

The video issues could be caused by a whole bunch of other factors—mostly software stuff—long before you even get to the GPU. It all depends on how you're watching the video, like I asked above...

I'm running an Asus P5Q Deluxe on a socket 775 setup,
with an Intel Core 2 Duo E7500,
an Nvidia GeForce 9600,
and a Corsair VX Series 550W power supply.
The fan on my current card is driving me absolutely insane because it’s loud as hell, so I need to swap it out, and I want to know which GPU actually makes sense to throw in here.

The real question here is—do you actually need a gaming-grade graphics card? Or are you just looking for something to get an image onto your monitor? If it’s the latter, I’d suggest picking up a card with passive cooling instead...

Larry Ortiz5 said:The real question here is whether you actually need a gaming GPU or if you just want something to push a signal to your monitor, because if it's the latter, you should just grab a card with passive cooling and call it a day..

The entire damn computer is basically just being used for browsing the web and watching movies.

http://www.amazon.com/product_info.php?c...ducts_id=12083

I know it's a bit pricey—but honestly, it’s probably the most affordable option out there once you consider everything. It comes with a passive heatsink, too, so it’s basically silent.

Larry Ortiz5 said:Look, I get that it’s a bit pricey, but honestly, it’s the cheapest way to go if you want a passive heatsink and a setup that stays practically silent.

Will this one work too?

Honestly, I wouldn't bother... it’s just way too pricey and probably not worth the investment.

If you're looking for something that isn't bottom-of-the-barrel, maybe try this:

http://www.newegg.com/graphics-cards/1sdv-d3bx.aspx

crimsonstag84 said:Don't even bother, you really don't need it... it's way too expensive and just isn't worth the money.

If you actually want something that isn't complete bottom-of-the-barrel garbage, check this out:

http://www.newegg.com/p/graphics-cards...1sdv-d3bx.aspx

Thanks for the tip.

darkowl72 said:1. Why would you think anyone's making fun of you? You're wrong there. We're just stating the facts. No one is mocking you—we all realize the average user isn't hardware-literate, and we know how sales reps and repair shops can try to talk you into things you don't need.

2. Don't buy anything yet. Just wait. That RAM might be fine, or it might be totally incompatible with your motherboard.

3. What graphics card were you using before, and is there any actual reason to swap it out other than the video stuttering?

4. How exactly is it stuttering over the internet? Are we talking about watching a live stream, or maybe a movie on YouTube, or what? Or are you playing a video file from your PC and streaming it over your local network to some smart TV with an ethernet port? How does the video behave when you play it directly from the hard drive on your computer and watch it on your monitor—do those problems happen then too?

5. What’s your internet speed like? Which provider and plan are you on? Go ahead and hit up speedtest.net to check your download, upload, and ping.

6. Looking at this now, I see you've got an old Radeon x1600. Online, people say drivers for it exist—not official ones from AMD, obviously, but modified versions that should work:

https://www.google.com/search?client...xt+driver+win7

Just be careful when downloading so you don't accidentally install some junkware, "advisors," or random downloaders—watch where you click. 😬 I think this link here doesn't complicate things and just gives you the clean driver download:

http://www.driverscape.com/download/...adeon-x1600-xt

And obviously, make sure you check your version of Windows 7, whether it's 32-bit or 64-bit.

7. Regarding memory, look on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace—something local, near you. Or if there's a local shop or a guy selling old parts, grab some 2x1GB DDR2 RAM, but only if you can test it first and return it if it fails. If you look on the local listings, a stick shouldn't cost more than $17, ideally less. You have 4 slots on your board, so if you fill them with 4x1GB, that's plenty; you won't need to buy anything new.

8. Since your priority is changing so many things, a major investment in this machine isn't worth it. Not even the power supply, which really should be the first thing you replace. Honestly, just leave it alone; the config isn't demanding, so if it works, let it work...

And those video playback issues could easily be caused by a bunch of other factors—software stuff, mostly—long before we even get to the graphics card. It all depends on how you're watching the video, like I asked before...

1. Fine, okay, maybe not mocking me, but I was definitely looking at this configuration like "what on earth is this?" 😁
2. Already bought it, so I'm stuck with it... though I can't even get it to fit into the motherboard right now... I'll let you know if it actually works.
3.-4. The card is a Radeon x1600, as you saw... I get what you mean about it being a software issue before, considering HD movies run on my BS Player without any stuttering at all... but it always stutters on YouTube (mostly in FullScreen), and occasionally during live streams.
I wanted to change it specifically because of that... but clearly, I won't. I'll see if I get anything out of the RAM (if I actually get anything).
5. Speed isn't the problem... http://www.speedtest.net/result/4835315730.png
6. Alright, next step is trying to hunt down these drivers... thanks a ton—fingers crossed this actually works. I’ve been scouring the web for driver fixes for ages now—some guy online suggested I try using a Windows Vista 64 driver for this specific card, but that was a total bust. It just wouldn't click.
7. As for my RAM, I'm sitting at 2x1GB right now. I'm really hoping that bumping up to 2x2GB gives me some actual breathing room—right now, whenever I have too many apps running or just way too many tabs open in Chrome, my memory usage spikes up to 95% and everything starts crawling.
8. Seriously, thanks for all the detailed advice...

Ž!!!!

The X1600 just doesn't have full hardware support for decoding the H.264 codec—or any of those other HD codecs, honestly, I can't even remember all their names 😁. That's going to be your constant bottleneck because the workload just shifts over to the CPU, and let me tell you, it isn't efficient at all. I dealt with this exact same headache about ten years ago on an old rig that was basically a twin to yours, except back then, even my HD movies were stuttering constantly when I pulled them from the web in mp4 or m4v formats... I'm pretty sure AMD didn't really get it right until the hd2xxx series came along. As for NVIDIA? I'm not entirely certain, but I think they stepped up around the gtx 6 xxx series.

Here’s what I’m running right now:

Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3220 CPU @ 3.30GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.3GHz
8192MB RAM
AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series
Corsair CX Series, 500Watt, 80%

Is it worth picking up this:
GIGABYTE GF GTX 960, 4GB GDDR5, 1190(1253)/7010 MHz, DVI/HDMI/DP, Multi-view 4, GV-N960OC-4GD

Or would it be smarter to just save up for a new CPU and motherboard instead?

Thanks!

Maybe I’ll just pick up some cheap used card for peanuts—something a bit newer than what I’ve got that actually plays nice with Windows 7... at least for now... until I finally bite the bullet and build a whole new rig.
That said, my current setup handles HD movies (mkv) in BS Player just fine... no stuttering or anything like that whatsoever.

Samuel Kelly78 said:GIGABYTE GF GTX 960, 4GB GDDR5, 1190(1253)/7010 MHz, DVI/HDMI/DP, Multi-view 4, GV-N960OC-4GD

Worth it

darkowl72 said:1

6. So now I see you're running an old Radeon X1600—and look, word on the street is the official AMD drivers for this thing are basically dead, so people use modified ones instead, but they should still work fine enough:

https://www.google.com/search?client...xt+driver+win7

Just be careful when you're downloading stuff—you don't want some sketchy adware, bloatware, or random "PC optimizer" junk infecting your system, so watch where you're clicking. 😬 From what I can tell, this link shouldn't be complicated; it just gives you a straight download for the driver:

http://www.driverscape.com/download/...adeon-x1600-xt

And obviously, make sure you check your version of Windows—whether it's 32-bit or 64-bit.

I tried updating the driver, but it keeps telling me I already have the latest one... I think I actually installed the one for Windows Vista 64-bit by mistake. I can't find anything specifically for Windows 7—not the official stuff, and honestly, not even the unofficial versions either. Everything I come across (including this YouTube video) shows people installing that "10-2_legacy_vista32-64_dd_ccc" driver.
That one on driverscape seems to be for a Sapphire Radeon x1600—which isn't even the exact same card I have, and I couldn't find a specific driver for mine anyway—so when I tried it, my resolution dropped to 800x600 and now I'm stuck because I can't change it back.🤔

I'm wondering if I should just grab a new GTX 950 or if there's a better Radeon option out there for roughly the same amount of cash?

Jesse Williams59 said:I'm wondering if I should just grab a new GTX 950 or if there's a better Radeon option out there for about the same price?

In terms of AMD, the 270X sits in that same bracket, but honestly, I'd personally lean toward the GTX 950 since it generally performs a bit better on average.

GTX 950