GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Hey,

I posted here about a year ago asking for help picking out a new GPU—managed to hold out without one until now, but I'm feeling the itch again... 🙄 PES 2017 and FIFA just aren't running smoothly on my 42" Sony Full HD TV. Last year's PES 2016 and FIFA were okay, but FIFA 2017 won't even launch...😵

Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3 (PCIe 2.0)
Intel Core 2 quad Q9300 ........... Bottleneck?
DDR2 8GB 800
SAMSUNG HD502IJ 500GB
AMD ATI radeon 4770 512MB DDR5
Generic PC case
Corsair CX500M power supply...

Honestly, this rig is probably 7 years old. For what I actually do—browsing, home music recording, Cubase, Ableton—it's still fine. I don't need an upgrade for work, and let's face it, money isn't exactly flowing right now.😁

The new GPU is strictly for playing PES 2017 and FIFA 2017 via HDMI on my Sony KDL-42W650A. It's a Full HD TV, not 4K.
No budget for 4K, nor do I really need it...

I'm stuck using installment plans like everyone else in this economy, so I'm mostly looking at prices on Best Buy... where I can spread out the pain over up to 24 monthly payments.🤦

MSI R7 360 GDDR5 2GB .... $289
Asus MINI-R7360-2G .... $312
Palit GTX750Ti StormX OC 2GB .... $350
MSI RX 460 4GB GDDR5 ....$368
Palit GTX1050 StormX 2GB DDR5 .....$377
GIGABYTE GV-N1050D5-2GD ......$388

MSI 460 versus Gigabyte 1050 (keep in mind the Palit model comes with a shorter warranty)

On another note, your CPU actually meets the requirements for those games

Or maybe this one:

I guess the price without the discount is just what you'd pay on an installment plan.

But they don't offer 24-month financing options

Well, the difference is $13 in terms of... $17 vs. $30. Though, if the price is the same for an NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti, then I guess it's fine. It just ends up being $6.75 more 😛

Hey everyone, what kind of PSU would you recommend for a GTX 760? The specs suggest a 500W minimum—would a Corsair VS550 be enough to get the job done?

Skip the VS models; they just don't hold up

Take this one or this one on sale—plus, you get a 5-year warranty. Obviously, if you've got a bigger budget, there are plenty of other ways to go

Alright folks, I need some guidance on picking up a new GPU for a buddy of mine. He’s currently rocking a GTX 660 with 2GB of VRAM, which is... well, vintage.
He’s running an i5 processor (can't recall the exact generation) paired with 8GB of RAM. The real headache is that he can barely limp through the latest Call of Duty; even though the minimum requirements claim his current card should handle it, reality clearly disagrees.
I’m looking for recommendations with a budget cap of roughly $500. I was personally eyeing an AMD RX 470 with 4GB, but I'm having second thoughts about that 128-bit bus width—is that going to be a dealbreaker?
We’re also planning to bump up his RAM. Since I’ll be pulling this through my company via Best Buy, the pricing is flexible, so I really just need to know which specific GPU models are worth hunting for.

Thomas Wells5 said:Hey guys, I need some advice on picking up a GPU for a buddy. He's running a GTX 660 with 2GB right now
paired with an i5 (not sure which one) and 8GB of RAM. The main issue is he can't run the latest Call of Duty; even though the minimum specs say his current card should handle it, it just chokes.
So, what would you recommend for a budget of about $500? Personally, I was looking at an RX 470 with 4GB, but since it's only 128-bit, I'm not sure if that's a smart move.
We're also planning to upgrade the RAM. Since I'm buying through my company from Best Buy, the price is flexible, so I really just need to know which specific GPU models are worth chasing.

Either go with a GTX 1050 Ti for $433 and save the rest for RAM, or just grab the RX 470.

The RX 470 has a 256-bit bus... and I guess you probably don't need more than 8GB of RAM anyway; it's not a dealbreaker.

https://www.amazon.com/graphics-card/b?node=163309211

A GTX 1050 Ti wouldn't really be a massive leap forward—it isn't even twice as powerful as a GTX 660.

I’m leaning toward pulling the trigger on an RX 470 along with an extra 4GB of RAM just to have some breathing room, really. My main priority is simply ensuring he can actually run the new Call of Duty without it being a total disaster. By the way, how much of a leap are we talking about here—is the RX 470 actually twice or three times better than his current GTX 660?

Thanks for the tip, Timothy Kim60, but I can't get my hands on an FSP unit locally.

The situation has shifted slightly—I’ll likely end up going with the Asus GTX 770 2GB after all. It pulls about 230-250W, and the minimum requirements suggest a 600W PSU at the very least. I need some guidance on which power supply to pick.

Here is what's available:

EVGA 80 Plus Bronze 600w single 12+ rail — $60
EVGA 600w Single rail — $56
EVGA Bronze 600w Single rail — $72

Which one should I grab? Thanks in advance.

Where did you pick that up? Send me the link to the shop.

Here’s the link mylemon 🙂

I guess I’m just now realizing FSP makes them too—though honestly, you can probably find something better.

http://www.mylemon.at/artikel/lc_pow...lc6560gp3.html
http://www.mylemon.at/artikel/enerma...0w-maxpro.html

Let's talk about the best bang for your buck when it comes to power, price, and quality.

Thanks, I'll go with the EVGA. But what actually makes these power supplies better than the ones mentioned earlier?

Those first two options are definitely lower-tier products. While an EVGA 80 Plus Bronze is decent enough, this EVGA SuperNOVA offers much better value—it’s arguably higher quality and packs more punch for the price.

Nice! I'm putting together a used rig for some gaming.
Specs:

i5 2500k
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x 4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 RAM
ASUS GTX 770
Zalman Z3
EVGA SuperNOVA 600W
Some random HDD I have lying around

Do I have any headroom to overclock the CPU—or maybe the GPU? Not sure if this power supply can handle it.

No matter how much you 😉

I'm not sure if you're looking for a CPU cooler, but this seems like a pretty solid deal if you need one:

http://www.mylemon.at/artikel/arctic...eezer-i32.html