GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

I’d suggest sticking with what was recommended to the guy above. An AMD Radeon R7 260X, an HD 7850, or an AMD Radeon HD 7790 should do the trick—though the HD 7850 is definitely the powerhouse of the group, it does come with a higher price tag.

Someone already pointed out that the HD 7850 has basically lost its purpose. Since the AMD Radeon R7 260X is sitting under $300, and the HD 7850 is hovering around $400, the gap feels pretty negligible. Plus, for $1,350, you can grab an AMD Radeon R9 270, which is noticeably more powerful anyway. 🙂

I’ve got another question here—maybe a bit of a silly one—but when I try to run a comparison on Google between the AMD Radeon R7 260X and the 6850, it doesn't look like there's much of an actual jump in performance? Considering I picked up that 6850 a full three years ago for $467, is it possible that this newer card at $300 isn't actually that much better than what I already have, or am I just totally misreading the charts?!

You didn't misread it; the AMD Radeon R7 260X is a bit more powerful, but it’s honestly not a massive enough leap to lose your mind over.
Look, you could always grab the AMD Radeon R9 270 (or the 270X)—but just a heads-up, your CPU is going to be a major bottleneck, so it might hold that card back depending on what you're playing. That said, if you're planning on upgrading your CPU anytime soon, go for it so you have something solid to build on.

driftingwalker19 said:I might have a silly question here, but when I Google a comparison between the AMD Radeon R7 260X and the 6850, I don't see much of an upgrade. Considering I bought the 6850 three years ago for $467, is it possible that today's card at $300 isn't actually that much better, or am I just misreading the data?!

Well, you can't really expect a massive leap in performance across two generations while the price drops by nearly half 😬

If I were dropping ~$467 on an AMD Radeon R9 270X today:

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/1077?vs=1043

AMD Radeon R7 260X:

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/1077?vs=1044

The difference is roughly ~30%

Can anyone help me out here???

So, I’m trying to figure out if it’s actually worth dropping cash on an AMD Radeon R7 260X with 2GB of GDDR5—$267?

Or should I just go with the Radeon HD 4870 X2, also 2GB GDDR5—$200?

Keep in mind both are used, though the first one still carries a 22-month warranty.

Which one would you guys recommend?

Hell yeah, 200% agree!

You can grab an AMD Radeon R7 260X with 1GB at Micro Center for about $297
.

Timothy Kim60 said:Well, let's just say I'm going with the first one—200%, plain and simple.

So, I’ve got an AMD Radeon R7 260X with 1GB of VRAM—brand new—sitting here at Best Buy. What kind of damage am I looking at? $297

Hmm... honestly, when I sit down and actually compare them—even those old 4870 x2 cards—it seems like they end up being the better option... though, I have to admit, I don't exactly consider myself an expert in this field.

Look, the first one is practically brand new—I’ve had it for less than two months—and it comes with 2GB of VRAM. Now, I'm sitting here wondering... is that extra capacity actually going to make it significantly better than the 1GB version? Or am I just overthinking the specs?

The real question—the one that actually matters here—is what I’d be willing to drop if we're looking at a budget somewhere in the neighborhood of $600. Or should it be more? That is the dilemma, isn't it?$233 Regarding a graphics card—though I suppose "graphics card" is a bit of an understatement when we're talking about the current state of hardware—I’m looking for something with a little extra... let's call it "oomph"... in the $900 range. Is that even a realistic target? Or am I just throwing money into a black hole?$333 New? Honestly, if I can manage to snag a used one that still carries a warranty—and actually fits within my current budget—then I’ll consider it a win.

I need to do some digging.

Don't be crazy. A dual 4870x setup pulls three times the power, lacks DX11 support—meaning modern games are basically dead on arrival—and it runs incredibly loud and hot. Plus, those cards are old enough to be ready for retirement (honestly, most people have already retired them by now), and you’d need a beast of a power supply just to handle it. Anyway, what CPU and PSU are you running?

Bottom line: it's not worth it. $200, http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphic-card-listing 🤷

Regarding the difference between 1GB and 2GB, you won't even notice it at 1920x1080 resolution in current titles. Take the AMD Radeon HD 7790, for example—it's practically the same card since the AMD Radeon R7 260X is essentially just a rebranded HD 7790.

http://us.hardware.info/reviews/4301...0-+-frametimes

As you can see, the results are identical; the maximum deviation is only 1.5 fps.
BTW, the AMD Radeon R7 260X will still have Mantle support (an alternative to DX11) and features Dolby Audio, which provides better sound in certain upcoming games.

http://www.newegg.com/product-details/graphics-card
http://www.newegg.com/product-details/graphics-card

And here you go: a brand new one is almost the same price. You can always find a better deal on Craigslist if you're looking to save some cash.

The x2 card is definitely a step up from the AMD Radeon R7 260X, but man, it runs hot—like, seriously hot—and it's a total power hog. If you're rocking some cheap, budget case from a big-box retailer, I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. You’re going to need a rock-solid power supply, at least 600W, just to stay safe. What does the rest of your rig actually look like? Processor? Power supply?

Hey everyone!

I'm seriously thinking about picking up this PC, so I wanted to see which GPU would actually pair well with this CPU and setup. I'm not a hardcore gamer, so I don't care about playing the latest AAA titles on max settings. I just do some light video editing and vector work here and there, and I'm looking to dabble in some 3D modeling as a hobby—nothing crazy, definitely don't need a high-end rig for that.

I'm assuming I'll need a beefier power supply to go with the card, right?

I wouldn't bother adding anything extra to a 280W power supply, though honestly, this whole build is pretty weak for what they're asking.

1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingmax, 1333MHz, non-ECC, CL9.0
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3.5", 24mo
1 x CORSAIR 430W Power Supply, CX Series 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black DVD writer, SATA
1 x Zalman ZM-T4 micro tower case. 189(W) x 427.5(H) x 364(D)mm. MB
1 x Asrock B85M, 1150, Intel B85, DDR3, 2 slots, 2 yr warranty
1 x Intel Core i5-4440 Processor (3.10GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box
1 x Kingston SSD 120GB V300, 2.5" 7mm, SATA 3 6G, 7mm to 9.5mm
1 x MSI GTX650 1024 GDDR5 128 bit, N650-1GD5/OCV1, Core Clock 1071 M

$1634 craigslist.com

With 8GB of RAM and a newer platform, you've got some room to upgrade later—maybe even an Intel Core i7 Broadwell if you ever find you need it. You get a 120GB SSD and a graphics card that can actually handle some light gaming, plus it might help out a bit when working with CUDA.

👍

Thanks a ton!

fadedorca66 said:Sure, if that's what they want 🙄

Let's get this rolling since someone actually showed up here first to ask for some advice and an opinion 🙄

Anyway, I picked up this http://www.amazon.com/graphics-card-example and now I'm running into a bit of a snag...

So, basically, I installed it, powered everything up, and once Windows booted, I started trying to install the drivers. Right near the end of the installation, some warning popped up saying it couldn't finish properly. I just clicked OK on the notification, then hit finish, and naturally, it asked if I wanted to restart the PC. I clicked OK... but after the system boots back up, a few seconds after hitting the desktop, everything just freezes. The screen stays stuck and nothing responds at all... I'm not really sure what to do now😕 Does anyone have an idea what might be causing this?🤷

Can you boot Windows into Safe Mode?

It’s possible your old graphics drivers are causing a conflict. I'd recommend downloading Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU), running it, and making sure you check both the ATI/AMD display and the Nvidia display (just in case you had an Nvidia card on this specific Windows installation). Run the analysis, wipe everything it finds, and then try reinstalling the drivers—ideally grabbing the latest versions directly from the web.http://support.amd.com/en-us/download

Timothy Kim60 said:Can you get into Windows Safe Mode?

Maybe the old graphics drivers are causing some issues. I guess you could try downloading a tool like Display Driver Uninstaller, run it, and just check the box for ATI/AMD displays (and maybe Nvidia too if you had an Nvidia card on this Windows install). Run the analysis and wipe everything it finds. Then, maybe try reinstalling the drivers—ideally grabbing the latest ones from the web http://support.amd.com/en-us/download

I'm away from my PC right now, so I'll let you know in the morning if I can hit Safe Mode. Just curious, do I use 🤷 😬F8
to get in?
Now that you mention it, that might actually be it. I totally forgot about those old drivers; I just rushed through installing the new ones. I'll give it a shot in the morning and let you know if anything changes.😉

I think you'll need to hit F8 (he'll write back to you)

If you’re planning on using that PC to go online and grab that driver sweeper—then I’d definitely suggest booting into safe mode with networking.

Also, I forgot to mention: before you let driver sweeper do its thing, make sure you uninstall the drivers the old-fashioned way through the Control Panel (Add/Remove Programs). Once that's done, you can let driver sweeper clean up whatever leftovers are still hanging around.

Adam Williams2 said:Let's just roll our eyes since someone decided to actually ask for an opinion and some advice on a forum first. 🙄

I think you misunderstood me. I'm actually backing the idea of coming here for advice first; half the vendors out there either don't know their stuff or will just try to offload whatever they can't sell.

Timothy Kim60 said:I think it might be F8 (I'll write back to you)

If you're planning on using that PC to go online and grab that driver sweeper—then I'd say maybe try safe mode with networking

Oh, and I totally forgot to mention, before you use driver sweeper, maybe try deleting the drivers the old-fashioned way first (like through the Control Panel via add/remove programs)—and then let driver sweeper clean up whatever is left over

Alright, I'll give it a shot like that. I really hope that's what the issue is. I guess I'll just download it from my other computer 😉

fadedorca66 said:I think you misunderstood me. I actually think it was smart that you came to the forum for advice first. A lot of salespeople either don't know their stuff or they'll just try to sell you something they can't actually deliver.

Aha, well now I'm the one apologizing, my bad😉

Thanks to The New for the breakdown

Benjamin King2 said:That x2 card definitely packs more punch than the 260 x, but there's a catch—it runs incredibly hot and pulls a massive amount of power. If you're working with some cheap, bottom-of-the-barrel case, I wouldn't touch it. You're going to need a solid power supply, at least 600W. What does the rest of your rig actually look like? Processor? PSU?

The CPU is an Intel Core 2 quad Q8400, and the power supply is 420W—nothing groundbreaking, certainly, but it should be sufficient.

A buddy of mine is having me build him a new PC, so he offered to hand over his 5750... is that thing significantly worse than the options you guys are suggesting?

All I really want is to be able to run these newer games on at least Medium settings.