GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Timothy Kim60 said:Look, if you want to reset the BIOS, let's just get on with it. Honestly? Just pop the battery out of the motherboard, let it sit there for a bit, and then toss it back in. It’s really that simple.

So, you’ve gone and messed up your BIOS settings? Again? Honestly, I don't know how you people manage to trip over your own feet most days, let alone brick your motherboard's configuration. But hey, we've all been there—usually right after we think we're being "tech geniuses" by overclocking something we shouldn't touch. If you've managed to scramble your settings to the point where the PC won't even POST, you've got two main ways to fix this mess. It’s basically like rebooting your life after a massive mistake, just with more static electricity and less dignity. First off, the "easy" way—if your BIOS actually lets you get into the menu before everything goes south. You just navigate to the "Load Setup Defaults" option. It’s the digital equivalent of hitting the panic button and asking for mercy. It wipes out whatever weird tweaks you made and puts everything back to factory settings. Simple, right? Even a toddler could do it, though I wouldn't bet on it given some of the stuff I see on these forums. But what if you can't even get into the BIOS because you set a weird voltage or a memory frequency that your hardware absolutely hates? Then you have to go old school. This is the "clear CMOS" method. You’ll need to pop the side panel off your case—try not to lose any screws, please—and look for that little silver coin-shaped battery on the motherboard. That’s your CMOS battery. If you pull that thing out and wait a minute or two, the memory holding those settings just... evaporates. It’s like a bad memory after a heavy night at a bar in Chicago. Once you pop it back in, your BIOS will be back to its default, "I don't know who I am" state. Alternatively, if you're feeling particularly brave (or just want to risk shorting something), look for the "Clear CMOS" jumper pins on your motherboard. Most modern boards have them. You just bridge those two pins with a screwdriver for a few seconds, and boom—reset. Just a heads up: once you do this, you’ll have to redo everything else you actually *wanted* changed. So, if you spent three hours perfecting your fan curves, prepare to spend another three hours doing it again. Is it worth it? Usually. Because the alternative is staring at a black screen and questioning every life choice that led you to this moment.

So, which specific card are we talking about here? Are you actually sure everything is plugged in right? I mean, seriously, did you double-check that power connector? It’s a rookie mistake, but it happens. Also, what exactly are we looking at on the screen? Is it just a total black screen, or are you seeing weird artifacts all over the place? Because those are two very different problems. You could easily have a dud on your hands—even if it’s brand new out of the box. Don't let the "new" label fool you; you can still get a lemon and just send it back for an RMA. One more thing: have you tried plugging your monitor into a different PC yet? Just to rule out the obvious?

Yeah, I figured out what's going on. I did some digging online and that’s basically what everyone suggests: just reset the BIOS to its factory defaults. If that doesn't do the trick, then you're looking at a dead motherboard. Simple as that.

None of them are working. Not the old one I had before lightning fried my setup, and not this new one I picked up based on your recommendation (the R7 250). It’s just a black screen. Every single time. Same exact situation with both cards. The PC boots up fine, the fan on the GPU spins, and I can hear the system loading, but absolutely nothing shows up on the monitor. I haven't tried the monitor anywhere else because as soon as I plug into the integrated graphics, everything works perfectly. Is there something else going on here that I'm missing?

analogtiger19 said:Look, just give me the full model name of that motherboard. I need the specifics. Because let’s be real here—if clearing the CMOS doesn't fix this mess, you're looking at a total loss. You'll basically be heading straight to Best Buy to pick up a replacement board.

Intel Dual-Core Processor (CPU)
ASUS Motherboard

I hope I copied all those names correctly. 😁

Go ahead and test that new graphics card in a different PC just to rule out the possibility that it's DOA.
So, you're still hitting 5 FPS even when the card isn't being utilized—meaning you're running off the integrated graphics? If that's the case, aside from a potential motherboard issue, you might want to look at your power supply. You aren't drawing any significant power while relying on integrated graphics, even if that Intel Dual-Core Processor pulls a little bit. Honestly, it seems pretty suspicious if this was all triggered by a lightning storm.

I'm gonna try asking around just to test out this GPU...

Yeah, everything runs fine when I'm using integrated graphics. This new card is also budget-friendly—not sure if that's a smart move or if I'm risking burning something out, maybe I should just pull it out now? Here's the thing: the first time I plug my monitor into the integrated graphics, I get hit with a Blue Screen of Death. Specifically, Error 0x00000116. I found a workaround online: boot into Safe Mode, wipe the integrated display drivers, and then I can get back into Windows normally and everything works fine.

But once the card is seated in the PCI-E slot, you can actually hear it struggling. The fan spins up faster and faster, then suddenly slows down, and it just keeps looping like that—like it doesn't have the juice to finish its startup cycle. Does that even make sense? I don't know how else to describe it. It only happens during the boot sequence while the system is loading. Once I'm actually inside Windows, the card seems to act totally normal. No weird noises, fans are spinning fine.

I tried pulling the CMOS battery for about 30 minutes, nothing. Tried resetting the BIOS settings to default, still nothing. The BIOS doesn't even recognize the PCI-E slot. I even ran GPU-Z, and it won't see the PCI-E slot there either, just shows PCI.

Look, I'm not an expert, so I can't say for sure what's broken, but from what I've been reading online, everyone who dealt with this exact same mess was told their PCI-E slot was dead.

I'm at a total loss here. 😁 We thought it was the GPU, so I went out and bought a brand new one, and guess what? Still nothing. Now it could be the power supply, or it could be the PCI-E slot—basically the motherboard itself. Honestly, I might actually set myself on fire if I have to drop more cash on a new motherboard haha.

It could honestly go either way. The real headache is that LGA 1155 motherboards are becoming increasingly hard to find, so you’ll want to double-check that you aren't accidentally buying an RMA unit (one that's been refurbished). If you end up needing one, maybe look at something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/motherboards-p/1155-socket
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search/motherboard

That second option is definitely on the pricier side, but you're getting a longer warranty and a chipset that actually supports USB 3.0 and SATA 3, which makes it worth the jump.

There is also one other possibility—your Windows installation might just be completely trashed. It might be worth doing a fresh install to see if everything stabilizes. I've seen cases where a lightning strike fried the LAN controller, but after a clean OS install, everything started working perfectly again... It's definitely worth a shot.

Hey, why not? It’s not like it costs me anything to give it a shot.

I’m probably just going to drop it off at a shop, maybe Best Buy or something similar, to get it looked at. Honestly, I don't have the patience or the technical know-how to mess around with this myself. 😁

I’m basically faceplanting here, but honestly, what’s even the point of an LGA 1155 board when you've got an Athlon on AM3 right there?

My mistake, I'm glad you caught that. I accidentally swapped him out for Karlo125 (who's running a Sandy Bridge Pentium) while I was busy multitasking with my fried graphics card, so I completely lost my train of thought

Greetings, everyone.

A few days ago, my screen started flickering—just for a fraction of a second, occurring every few minutes. At first, I suspected my GPU was finally preparing to pass on to the great beyond, but the glitching subsided. Then, the following day, everything seemed fine for a few hours before the screen suddenly turned gray, marred by vertical black lines. I couldn't get it to boot again. In a moment of questionable judgment, I thought perhaps I just needed to clean out the coolers, assuming they were choked with dust. While working with a multi-tool, I managed to snap a small component... so even if the card wasn't dying before, it certainly is now. To be fair, I usually consider myself quite proficient with tools, but this was a lapse in judgment. RIP GPU. I would appreciate some recommendations for a replacement.

msi 970a-g46
amd fx-4170 4.2
corsair cx600
the deceased card is a sapphire radeon hd 7850 2gb ddr5

I am not strictly limiting my budget; I simply want the best performance possible for my setup.

http://www.amazon.com/msi-video-card-...-d-retail.aspx

Are you running the stock cooler on that CPU?

I'm planning on picking up a GTX 980 ti G1 from Gigabyte in a few months once I've saved up enough—hopefully! My main question is whether it'll play nice with my current setup? I'm mostly just worried about the power supply side of things... everything else I think I have figured out. 🙂

feralrider92 said:I'm planning on picking up an ASUS GTX 980 ti G1 in a few months once I've saved enough cash. My only real question is whether it'll actually work with my current setup. I'm mostly worried about the power supply. I think I've got everything else figured out. 🙂

Buying a GTX 980 ti G1 just doesn't make sense. First off, your CPU is way too weak for a card like that—you'd hit a massive bottleneck. Plus, that card is going to run you nearly $2000, which is probably more than your entire rig is worth right now. That would be a crazy upgrade to attempt. You're better off sticking to what was already suggested, something in the ballpark of an R9 380. You might see some bottlenecking there, but it won't be nearly as bad. What do you mainly use this PC for anyway?

Adam Moore3 said:Grabbing a GTX 980 ti G1 just doesn't make sense here. First off, your CPU is far too weak to handle it; you'd be facing a massive bottleneck. Secondly, that card is priced at nearly $2000, which is more than your entire current rig is worth—upgrading to it would be total madness. Your best bet is to stick with what was already suggested, something in the ballpark of an R9 380. You might still see some bottlenecking there, but nothing catastrophic. What do you actually use this PC for anyway?

You’re mixing this up with the previous request. The signature lists an i7 2600 and a gtx 770 (so an R9 380 would actually be a downgrade)

feralrider92

It would hold up; it pulls about 320W under full load when paired with an i7 4770 k overclocked to 4.4ghz click. I'm just not sure if spending that much on a GPU is actually worth it for you, but hey, your money, your call.

Timothy Kim60 said:You mixed this up with the request above. His signature lists an i7 2600 and a gtx 770—switching to a 380 would actually be a downgrade.

feralrider92

It should hold up fine; it pulls about 320W at full load with an i7 4770 k overclocked to 4.4ghz click, though I'm not sure if spending that much on a GPU is really worth it for you. But hey, your money, your choice.

Oh, wow, I honestly thought the guy had lost his mind for a second.😬

crimsonstag84 said:Are you running the stock CPU cooler?

If you're asking about my setup, then yes...

In that case, you might want to grab this along with your GPU:

Just double-check if it actually fits in your case (it's 152mm tall).

My current setup:

AMD Phenom x4 945 at 3.0GHz
Gigabyte 880 GA-UD3H AM3 4
4GB RAM at 1333MHz (planning to add another 4GB)
650W XFX power supply
Radeon 5850 — currently six years into its life

Beyond just adding more RAM, I'm looking to upgrade the GPU as well.
Would my system handle a GTX 750 ti 2 ?

Susan Anderson said:My build:

AMD Phenom x4 945 at 3.0GHz
Gigabyte 880 GA-UD3H AM3 4
4GB RAM at 1333MHz (planning to add another 4GB)
650W XFX PSU
Radeon 5850 (been running this thing for six years now)

So, besides the RAM, I want to grab a new GPU.
Could my rig handle a GTX 750 ti 2?

Yeah, it would. That card barely pulls 60W... but you'd be trading a stallion for a donkey. That card is actually weaker than what you've got.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Not really—that card only pulls about 60W... but you'd be trading a stallion for a donkey; it's actually weaker than what you've got currently.

I am less concerned about the power supply and more worried about whether the CPU can actually keep up with the GPU.

The GTX 750 ti 2 is definitely the stronger card here. To be fair, the Radeon 5850 was legendary, but lately it’s been dropping to a measly 20-30 fps when it used to hit 100.
I am open to suggestions for a new card up to roughly $433. An AMD option would be fine too.

Timothy Kim60 said:I think you might be mixing this up with the request above—his signature lists an i7 2600 and a gtx 770, so an R9 380 would actually be a bit of a downgrade

feralrider92

It should hold up—it pulls about 320w at full load when paired with an i7 4770 k overclocked to 4.4ghz click—though I guess I'm not sure if spending that much on a GPU is really worth it for you, but hey, it's your money and your call

Well, I'm planning to dip my toes into 4k gaming soon, and I really want to grab something that'll last me at least four years while still running everything smoothly.

You can forget about that. Your only real way out is to swap everything out every two to two and a half years. You have to look at it strictly in terms of how much you're paying per frame. Ideally, you want those top five games to hit at least 30 FPS—45 is the sweet spot—at 1080p with maxed-out settings. Because what good is an R9 270 with great value if it fails to meet that second requirement?

Right now, the sweet spot is something like an r9 290 or a GTX 970. They'll stay at the top of the curve for maybe another 18 months. At that point, you sell them while they still hold some resale value, then either trade up for something new or grab a used card that’s 20-30% cheaper than retail.

Over a ten-year period, you'll actually end up spending less and enjoying much more stable frame rates than if you tried to sink all your money into high-end flagship cards.