GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

It’s probably already gone. It says there's only 1 left in stock...

Yeah, when I checked, there were 3.

What should I pair with this Core i3-4130? Go with a GeForce GTX series or stretch for a 7870? I know he won't be able to push a 7870 to its full potential, but still...

The monitor is just some old 17" LCD

A CPU upgrade is on the horizon eventually—definitely not within the next year, though, not until prices for an i5 or even an i3 finally drop. Naturally, the motherboard and monitor will get updated in about ten years, though probably not right away either. What are the odds that used cards actually survive all that? What’s their typical lifespan?

Anthony Jackson2 said:What should I pair with my Core i3-4130? Maybe an HD 7770, or should I just stretch the budget for a 7870? I mean, I know it probably won't push a 7870 to its full potential, but still...

My monitor is some ancient thing, just a 17" LCD

I'm planning on upgrading the CPU eventually, but definitely not within the next year or so—not until prices for an i5 or even a basic i3 finally drop. And honestly, the motherboard and the monitor will probably get upgraded in maybe ten years, if ever. I guess... what are the actual odds that used graphics cards will even survive all that time? Like, what's the average lifespan of these things?

I'm not entirely sure how smart it is to grab an older card with limited DirectX 11.2 support, but you can snag an EVGA Radeon series at Future IT for a pretty sweet price. It’s got nearly 2 teraflops of power under the hood...

http://www.futura-it.com/catalog/computer-components/graphics-cards/evga-radeon-series/

Here he goes again with his teraflops obsession🤦

@questioner
so, what kind of budget are we looking at for the GPU?

electricharbor30 said:I'm not sure how smart it is to grab an older card that just barely hits DirectX 11.2, but you can snag a 260x at a great price over at Best Buy. It’s got nearly 2 teraflops of power...

http://www.bestbuy.com/catalog/graphics-cards-geforce-gtx-series

All Radeon HD 7xxx cards support DirectX 12 on Windows 10
They're GCN cards, so compatibility won't be an issue. Plus, the 7870 is significantly more powerful than a 260x.
It all comes down to the budget, but since the OP mentioned the 7870, I assume they're looking at the used market where stretching the budget to a 7870 or better actually makes sense.

As for the CPU, that socket can handle a decent i5. That Pentium will struggle with some games or just flat out fail, so there won't be much difference in terms of bottlenecking between the cards.
My take? Just get a card that fits your current budget. A Pentium might actually hold its own with a 7870 in less demanding titles, and if you want to play the heavy hitters, you'll need a CPU upgrade anyway. Don't waste money on a weaker card like a 7770 unless this is the absolute end of the line for this PC—otherwise, it'll be useless the second you swap the processor.

P.S.

The whole "teraflops" argument is getting old.

Honestly, that EVGA Radeon series isn't worth the headache. It runs hot, sounds like a jet engine, and you’re stuck with a 2-year warranty when you could grab a quiet, cool GeForce GTX series with a full 3-year guarantee for just a measly $6.75 more http://www.nabava.net/search.php?tp=...abyte+gtx750ti

http://www.gpuzoo.com/Compare/GIGABY..._R7-260X-CNF4/

Well, I guess you can just go ahead and check it out for yourself here

And honestly, it’s not even 20, it’s probably $40 more than that...

Robert Rodriguez2 said:here he goes again with his teraflops obsession 🤦

@original poster
so, what’s the actual budget for this card?

you can snag a used HD 7870 for maybe $700—which is basically the ceiling for me—so I don't bother with new cards. why pay more for less, only to realize it's already obsolete and needs an upgrade in a year anyway?

really just two paths here: grab something decent like the 7870 now and deal with upgrading the CPU later, or just pick up a 7770 for $133 and plan to overhaul the whole rig in about twelve months.

Anthony Jackson2 said:you can probably snag a used HD 7870 for like $700, which I guess is pretty much the ceiling for me right now, so I don't even bother looking at new cards because you just end up paying way more for less performance, though I'll probably be hunting for an upgrade in a year anyway since they'll likely feel underpowered by then.

so I feel like there are basically two ways to play this: either grab something beefier like the 7870 and then deal with upgrading the CPU and everything else later on, or just pick up a 7770 for $133 and then just overhaul the whole rig in maybe a year or so.

honestly, you might be better off just grabbing the 7770, I mean, on a 17-inch laptop screen you aren't really gonna notice a massive difference... just try to find one that actually comes with a warranty so the thing doesn't just die on you the next day...

electricharbor30 said:http://www.gpuzoo.com/Compare/GIGABY..._R7-260X-CNF4/

So, there you go. Just look at the data for yourself.

And honestly, it isn't even 20%, it's $40 more than that...

Besides, what does it actually matter if one card looks better on a spec sheet? When you get down to the stuff that actually matters—real gaming—that GTX 950 holds its own against the R7 260 x. In quite a few cases, it’s actually pulling a few extra frames over the R7 260 x. Plus, you're getting an extra year of warranty, it runs cooler, it's quieter, and it pulls less power from the wall.

BF4

Witcher 3

GTA V

It's the same story with the R7 370 being technically superior to the GTX 950 on paper, yet the actual gameplay tells a completely different tale.

electricharbor30 said:http://www.gpuzoo.com/Compare/GIGABY..._R7-260X-CNF4/

So there—figure it out for yourself.

And it isn't 20, it's actually $40 more than that...

I could've found that myself—not really a fan of synthetic benchmarks, though. I don't trust them much.

Real-world experience and actual reviews are all I care about.

Anthony Jackson2 said:I mean, I could probably find those numbers too, but I’m just not really a fan of synthetic benchmarks, and honestly, I don't trust them all that much.

Real-world experience and actual reviews are pretty much the only thing I care about, I guess.

🤣 There isn't even much point in me adding anything else after that...

swiftfalcon89 said:And what does it even matter if one card looks "stronger" on paper when it comes down to what actually matters—gaming? In most cases, that GTX 750 Ti is basically equal, or maybe even hitting higher frame rates than the R7 260 x. Plus, you get an extra year of warranty, it runs cooler, it's quieter, and it pulls less power, right?

BF4

Witcher 3

GTA V

On paper, the R7 370 looks more powerful than the GTX 950, but once you're actually playing games, it's a whole different story.

It feels like Nvidia has some kind of secret sauce with their drivers and specific settings for every single game. You can literally go into the Nvidia control panel and see individual profiles they've set up for each title. I haven't seen a single relevant gameplay test online where those specific tweaks were disabled just to show how the cards actually compare without the help.

GeForce Experience is basically just like what AMD offers—it’s part of how gaming has evolved. It’s such a practical little tool for anyone who doesn't want to waste time messing around with individual settings for every single title. You just hit "optimize all" and you're good to go.

BTW, I’m with Anthony Jackson2 on this one; people aren't really moving away from synthetic oils much, especially with Nissan...

electricharbor30 said:🤣 Not much left for me to say after a statement like that...

fine

thanks for all the "stellar" help so far 👍

swiftfalcon89 said:Battlefield 4. I guess this video covers some interesting ground, though I'm not entirely sure if I agree with everything being said. Maybe it's worth a look if you have the time.

Maybe I should finally sit down and give The Witcher 3 a real shot. It seems like everyone else has already lived through it. I guess this video covers the basics of how those specific components interact, though it might be a bit simplified for some. It’s an interesting look, I suppose.

GTA V I guess this video covers how to set up those specific settings for better performance. It seems pretty straightforward, though maybe there are a few more tweaks you could try if you're looking for an extra boost.

On paper, the R7 370 actually edges out the GTX 950, but when you're actually running games, it’s a completely different story.

The issue seems to stem from those old drivers; I guess AMD actually made some decent improvements toward the end of last year.

I guess the R7 260 x is pretty much on par with the GTX 750 Ti now, while the R7 370 seems to be trailing by maybe 5 to 10%.

The R7 370 used to be noticeably slower than the GTX 950, but I guess it’s actually giving it a run for its money now. 😉

@electicharbor30

For the 38th time now, linking those kinds of sites doesn't really help. Sure, you can get a rough idea of how two cards stack up, but it’s never precise, and they're pretty terrible at representing actual RL tests. I guess Anthony Jackson2 hit the nail on the head.

Anthony Jackson2

I saw this listing for a graphics card on a local marketplace site. I guess it might be worth a look if you're hunting for a deal, but maybe check the specs carefully first.

Someone on the PC hardware forums is listing an HD 7870 for sale. $267

Honestly, I feel like the factory specs on these cards matter way more than any random real-world testing you see online. It’s kind of like picking out a car—you either go for one with 300 horsepower or one with 400, right? At the end of the day, how much performance an actual driver can squeeze out of them is pretty much irrelevant... if you check GPU-Z, you're looking at the raw, factory power, which is what actually counts in my book. I mean, if someone actually takes the time to tweak their AMD card settings to match a competitor's Nvidia setup, they'll see the true reality of the situation during real-world use. Most of those gaming benchmarks are just kind of useless, if you ask me.

Speaking from experience, the 750 Ti is a beast. I’ve been running mine for months now and it handles everything I throw at it on high settings without breaking a sweat. 😁

The only catch is that the card is way out of your price range. 😳 😛

electricharbor30 said:IMHO, factory specs matter way more than any real-world testing. It’s like choosing between a car with 300 hp or 400 hp—how much a specific driver can squeeze out of them doesn't change the math. You look at GPU-Z to see raw, factory power; that's what's relevant. If someone actually wants to see the truth, they can just tweak their AMD settings to match a competing Nvidia card and see how things hold up in reality. Most game benchmarks are pretty useless...

Saying that is like claiming a '65 Mustang with a primitive 200 hp 4.7L engine is "faster" than a modern Nissan just because it has more displacement under the hood.
Since you clearly know all the "tricks," why don't you run some tests under the conditions you consider "fair" and start your own blog?

Anyway, moving on—if people needed links to those sites, they could have just typed the card name into Google and picked from the top results.

Regarding the upgrade:
The 7870 is convincingly better than the others mentioned, and if you can afford it, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone in the US.
I'm running a 7850 myself, and it handled GTA V on solid settings (High) just fine.

wiredotter14 said:What you're getting at is basically like saying a '65 Mustang with some super primitive 4.7L engine pushing 200 horses is somehow "faster" than a brand new Nissan just because it’s got more displacement under the hood.
If you're such an expert on these "tricks," then maybe you should just run your own tests under whatever conditions you think are "fair" and start your own blog.

But anyway, putting that aside, if people really needed direct links to those sites, they could have just typed the card name into Google and picked from the top results.

Regarding the upgrade:
The 7870 is convincingly better than the other ones mentioned, and if you can swing the cash, I guess I'd definitely recommend it to someone living in Canada.
I'm running my 7850 right now, and let's just say it handled Grand Theft Auto V on pretty solid settings (high).

Well, look, we're talking about cards that came out almost at the same time here... I mean, sure, I agree that Nvidia uses less power, that their manufacturing process is smaller, and that—I don't know—it's technically more advanced, but AMD gives you way more bang for your buck. And yeah, I'll admit the 78XX series is stronger than the two we talked about, but it's also older and probably sucks up even more electricity, plus the guy is using a 17-inch monitor and likely has a really low resolution anyway, and if he buys used, the thing might just die on him tomorrow...