GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

That mid-tower is an absolute steal for the price you're paying.

If you're willing to shell out a bit more, the Fractal Design Define Mini is probably your best bet over an ATX case. Even their full-sized version runs surprisingly compact.

Mid-towers offer the best bang for your buck when it comes to cases. You can fit both ATX and ATX motherboards in them, and they don't break the bank.

An ATX motherboard would work just fine in a mid-tower, you'll just have some extra empty space around it.

https://www.newegg.com/zalman-mid-tower-case-zal-z3/p/N1E4

😛

Hey guys, I need some help picking out a graphics card. Any suggestions? $433 I'm planning on making the jump to Ryzen soon, but for right now, I’d probably just pick up a graphics card. $433 Current setup: AMD Phenom II X4 965, HD 7770 graphics, and a 500W power supply. What do you guys think?

You’re probably going to need a new power supply too... it's honestly surprising it hasn't died on you yet. 😬

https://www.newegg.com/inno3d-gtx-1050...1ddv-m5cm/dp/N82E16832247114
https://www.amazon.com/fortron-power-supply-bronze-atx/dp/B00X4M5SXC

I truly appreciate all the suggestions you've provided. I would also ask you to take a look at this particular option; although it isn't currently in stock, I am inclined to believe it represents a solid purchase when compared to the other alternatives, $667 even after accounting for shipping costs: https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GTX-1060-Graphics-Card/dp/B071CQ5LRV/ It may not be an absolute steal given how nonsensical the current market has become, but it strikes me as a fairly reasonable value. What are your thoughts on this?

Sure, they show five items with prices, but there are a million products listed that aren't actually in stock and never will be. They’re just sitting there with outdated pricing.

If it’s not available right now, then it’s ancient history.

Good grief, I suppose I was actually foolish enough to hold out hope that something might surface at that price point within the next few weeks.

Samuel Castillo49 said:Thanks for the suggestions. Take a look at this one too—it’s out of stock right now, but I think it’s a solid deal compared to the others, $667 including shipping: https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GTX-1060-Graphics-Card/dp/B071CQ5LRV/ It's not an absolute steal because the market is acting crazy, but it seems fair. What do you guys think?

That card hasn't been in stock since August, and it won't be back for at least a month.
If you can wait, maybe something will pop up for Black Friday or Cyber Monday. That's about a month and a half away.

EVGA GTX 1060 8gb $866 , which is actually a pretty decent price. If you were holding out specifically for FreeSync support or something similar, your wait is finally over.

Timothy Kim60 said:The 560 isn't actually twice as good as the 460 (you might have been looking at an old GTX 460). Both the 460 and 560 are built on the same Polaris 11 chip; the 560 just has all the cores unlocked, so it's maybe a few percent faster.

Well, when I checked earlier, the benchmarks showed it performing twice as well. Looking back now, they seem nearly identical—I guess I forgot to check the sample size of the reviewers.
Besides the slot type, is there anything else I should look for to make sure the card is compatible with my motherboard?

As long as there's a PCI-E x16 slot available—regardless of the generation—you're golden. That slot has been the industry standard for about a decade now. Just remember, the biggest pitfall when pairing components is an imbalance; you don't want a CPU that can't actually push the card to its full potential.

Cheapest find in the States:

I managed to snag one for myself, and if I am being honest with my own estimation, the price seems to be $100 significantly lower than what one would typically expect to see on the American market under normal circumstances; I truly believe this represents a sufficiently advantageous opportunity to make the purchase.

Nice enough

That’s a solid price. You might find deals like that in Germany, though they're pretty rare outside of specific shops—maybe you'd see a PowerColor Red Dragon here or a Nitro a little bit more often.

What do you guys think about the fact that we're probably looking at decommissioned mining cards? I see some guy trying to flip RX 480s for $190, which feels way too steep for cards that have been run into the ground.

They’re still asking an absolute fortune for used cards. God knows how much longer they can keep this up with crypto mining in the picture, but since prices on new hardware are finally starting to stabilize, those sellers won't be able to demand such ridiculous premiums forever.

I have been keeping a close eye on eBay over the last ten days or so, and I must say, it feels like people are asking far too much for used hardware. Whether they are mining cards or just standard consumer models, there seems to be a profound lack of awareness regarding current market values and realistic pricing. It isn't everyone, of course, but about 19 out of every 20 listings I tracked featured completely unrealistic asking prices. For cards that are already several years old and lack any kind of warranty, sellers are attempting to demand nearly the same amount as a brand-new card from the GTX 10 series—which, in most cases, is essentially the functional equivalent to what they are selling, typically an EVGA GTX 1060 6GB. They don't seem to grasp the reality of the situation; they likely believe their older tech is twice as powerful simply because it cost double what a GTX 10 would have cost back when it first launched three or four years ago. Consequently, they ask for astronomical sums for gear that carries zero protection. The same goes for the mining cards; I spotted an EVGA GTX 1060 listed for $220, and an RX 480 for $19. At this point, it honestly doesn't seem worth even considering the used market, because for just a slightly higher investment, you can secure a brand-new, more recent generation card that offers equal, if not superior, performance.

Look, you don't care about these GPUs because they're garbage for actual gaming, but if you were a crypto miner, you’d probably find these old cards pretty tempting since the margins make sense. It's just basic supply and demand, I guess—miners are still hunting for these and paying crazy prices for them

fadedorca66 said:Supply and demand. Plain and simple. Miners are still hunting for cards and paying insane prices.

Maybe. But honestly? The ROI is just too slow right now. We'll probably see a flood of used gear hitting the market soon enough.