GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Harold Alvarez49 said:The question is, what's the best graphics card I can pair with this power supply to actually play Assassin's Creed Unity? Right now, it's a complete disaster—totally unplayable. Thanks in advance for any help!!!

None at all.

http://youtu.be/GBLMwocAFrk?t=12m56s

My ASUS GTX 970 can't even handle 1080p on Ultra settings. Ubisoft really pushed things way too far this time; when someone running an R9 280 X can't even get the game to run properly on medium, you know something is seriously wrong. 😲

Alright, I get the picture—I'm sticking with my current setup for now and just wiping Unity off my drive until they get things sorted out. If they do fix it, thanks to everyone for the help!

Yeah, I'm in the same boat—I can't really run it on Ultra either. I mean, sure, I can get it going, but I have to keep things like anti-aliasing and all those other little extras turned off just to stay afloat (running an i5 4670k and a GTX 970 here). Honestly, Ubisoft's optimization is such a headache.

Hey folks,

I could use a little help here.

I’m looking to just swap out my GPU because I honestly think everything else in my rig is holding up fine. So, I need two things from you guys:
1. Is the rest of this build actually okay? Like, is it even smart to just upgrade the graphics card given what I'm running elsewhere?
2. If it is, which one should I grab? Give me your best recommendation that won't totally choke the rest of the system—money is no object here.

Just to give you an idea of the goal—I want to run The Witcher 3 on max settings without it being a total disaster. I play at 1920x1080.

Here’s what I’m working with:
GIGABYTE 870A-UD3 AM3 Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
8 GB DDR3

And my current GPU:
AMD Radeon HD 6870

thanks😉

Christian Richardson362 said:Hey there.

Could use a little help here.

I’m looking to just upgrade my GPU since I think everything else in my rig is fine. Just need two things:
1. Is my current setup actually okay? Is it even worth just swapping the card given what I'm running?
2. If so, which one should I get? Looking for the best match for my specs—money isn't really an issue.

Just to give you an idea of my goal—I want to run The Witcher 3 on max settings without much trouble. Playing at 1920x1080.

Here’s what I’ve got:
GIGABYTE 870A-UD3 AM3 Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
8 GB DDR3

And my current GPU:
AMD Radeon HD 6870

thanks😉

Ugh, honestly? For The Witcher 3, I'm worried you'll end up needing a new GPU, motherboard, AND processor if you want decent performance. Based on what I've seen, I doubt the game will be optimized enough to save older rigs. With your current CPU, you're probably looking at an R7 265 or R9 270 as your absolute ceiling.

Sean Garcia3 said:Man, looking at how things are going, I’m honestly worried about The Witcher 3. You might end up having to drop cash on a new GPU, a new motherboard, AND a new CPU just to get it running. I highly doubt the game is going to be some miracle of optimization when it finally drops. Honestly, with your current setup, you're probably looking at an R7 265 or an R9 270 as your absolute ceiling.

Thanks,

So, tell me straight—does it even make sense to overhaul everything right now, or am I better off just swapping out the graphics card?
I mean, will jumping to totally new HW actually give me a massive boost for modern games, or should I just stick with what I've got for a while longer?

I'm asking because everything I've played so far has run pretty decently on this rig.

By the way, I noticed the R9 270 X seems to have better performance. Would that work okay with my current motherboard?

You can definitely put a card that's about 10 centimeters long onto your motherboard $ the real issue is your processor—it just isn't powerful enough to handle a beefier graphics card without creating a massive bottleneck.

Larry Ortiz5 said:You could practically slap a massive card on that motherboard, $ but the real headache is the CPU. If it’s too weak, it’ll just bottleneck your GPU and kill your performance.

Alright, look, if we're talking processors—if this thing can actually handle an R9 270 like Max wrote, then shouldn't an R9 270 X be totally fine too?

And going back to what I asked earlier: "Tell me straight, does it even make sense to swap everything out right now, or am I just better off replacing the graphics card?"
Basically, will jumping to entirely new HW actually give me a massive boost for running modern games, or am I wasting my time by sticking with this current setup?

thx

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/1336?vs=1080

That card is almost twice as powerful... and since you've got such a solid motherboard, I'd say if you haven't started overclocking yet, maybe grab an extra cooler. I'd definitely recommend giving it a shot if you end up going with the R9 270 😉

Greetings,

I have a question—if any experts here could spare a minute to help me out, I'd appreciate it.
I'm looking to buy a graphics card. My budget is pretty tight, roughly $117, and I don't actually play games. I've found two options and need to know which one is the better choice.

http://www.bestbuy.com/?item=graphics-card-example-1

Or

http://www.bestbuy.com/?item=graphics-card-example-2

My current specs are as follows:
CPU name: Intel Pentium E5200
package: Socket 775 LGA
core speed: 1800.22 MHz
Mainboard manufacturer: Gigabyte
model: G31M-S2l
RAM: 2 GB
As for the power supply, it looks like a 420W unit—specifically an ATX Switching Power Supply.

I would be very grateful if someone could take a look.👍

Christian Richardson362 said:thanks,

tell me if it even makes sense to swap everything out right now, or should I just stick to replacing the GPU?
basically, will jumping to entirely new HW actually give me a massive boost for running new games, or am I better off just hanging onto what I've got.

I'm asking because everything I've played so far has run pretty decent enough.

btw, looks like the R9 270 X performs a bit better. Is that okay for my motherboard?

If I were you, I'd hold off on upgrading for a bit. Prices have gone absolutely insane lately and most components aren't worth the premium right now. Better to wait maybe four months until The Witcher drops, and there's a good chance AMD will release a new series by then too, which should hopefully drag prices back down. Things might actually stabilize in a few months because the current markup compared to three months ago is just straight-up ridiculous.
Look, you could grab an R9 270; seems like a solid deal at this price Going for the R9 270 X isn't really worth it since they're basically the same card—you're looking at a 4 fps difference for an extra $250$100.
And I didn't ask about your power supply. Give me the exact model and wattage..

Morgan Lopez34 said:Hey everyone,

I've got a quick question, and if any of you experts could spare a second to help me out, I'd appreciate it.
Basically, I'm looking for a graphics card. My budget is pretty tight—around $117—and I don't really play games. I found two options and was wondering if anyone could tell me which one is better?

http://www.bestbuy.com/example-link-1

or

http://www.bestbuy.com/example-link-2

Here's my current setup:
CPU name: Intel Pentium E5200
package: Socket 775 LGA
core speed: 1800.22 mhz
Mainboard manufacturer: Gigabyte
model: G31M-S2l
RAM: 2 GB
As for the power supply, it looks like a 420W ATX Switching Power Supply.

Anyway, I'd be super grateful if someone could take a look. 👍

Honestly, for that kind of money, buying anything brand new from a big-box retailer is a waste. You'd have way better luck hunting for a decent card on eBay or Facebook Marketplace for maybe $35-$$133

Sean Garcia3 said:At that price point, buying anything brand new from a retail store is a waste of money—you could easily find a decent GPU on eBay or Craigslist for around $350.$133

I expected as much—but I’m in a bit of a rush here. Between those two options mentioned, is one actually better than the other? Even if it's just a marginal difference, I need an answer.

Morgan Lopez34 said:I was kind of expecting that answer, but I'm in a bit of a rush here. Is one of those two options actually better than the other? Even if just by a little bit?

Doesn't your motherboard already have it built-in? Why would you even bother with a separate card...

Timothy Kim60 said:Doesn't your motherboard have integrated graphics? Why would you even bother with a dedicated card...

Look, I'm clearly struggling to explain myself here—I've got some ancient ATI Radeon sitting in my rig, but it’s overheating. The fan died, so the whole system just shuts down after a few minutes. I'm not standing right at the desk, so I can't give you the exact model, but I know it's only rocking 512 MB of VRAM.

Your motherboard has onboard graphics

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...ga-g31m-s2l#ov

Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 (Intel GMA 3100)

Timothy Kim60 said:Your motherboard already has integrated graphics built-in.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...ga-g31m-s2l#ov

Haha—so you're telling me I didn't need a new card at all? That my Radeon was basically useless for the last five or six years?😁

Exactly, if you aren't using it for gaming,
just pull that Radeon out and plug your monitor directly into the motherboard's VGA port...

Check page 42 of your motherboard's manual here:

Onboard VGA
Enables or disables the onboard VGA function.
Enable If no Ext PEG
Activates the onboard VGA only if no PCI Express VGA card is installed. (Default)
Always Enable
Always activates the onboard VGA, whether or not a PCI Express card is installed. If you wish to
set up a dual view configuration, set this item to Always Enable.

Timothy Kim60 said:Yeah—if you aren't actually gaming with it.
Just pull the Radeon card out and plug your monitor directly into the VGA port on the motherboard...

Check page 42 of your motherboard manual.

Fine, I get it now. Thanks for the "help."
🙂