GPU or something else?

Hey,

I need to pick up a new graphics card. I spend most of my time modeling in AutoCAD and running a few other construction-related suites—think Robot and SAP2000—and my current GPU (if you can even call it that) just isn't cutting it anymore.
Here’s what I’m running right now:
AMD FX 6300 with a CM Hyper TX3 Evo
ASUS M5A97 R2
XFX TS 550W (80+ gold)
AMD Radeon HD 7770
8 GB of RAM,
Intel 520 SSD and a 500 GB hard drive,
running at FHD resolution on Windows 7 Ultimate.

The main headache happens while I'm working in AutoCAD—specifically when I'm wrapping up a project. Zooming and rotating becomes a nightmare; the transitions aren't smooth, they just stutter and jump to views I didn't intend to go to, which makes things pretty frustrating to deal with. I hope you get what I mean. My budget is capped at $400, so I'm totally fine with looking at used gear on eBay or Craigslist rather than buying something brand new. Thanks! 👍

Does $400 and NVIDIA support CUDA cores
?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...w,3750-18.html
Give this a read.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing

You can go take a look at it in person. It’s still got nearly a year of warranty left, so I guess you could try to talk them down to $17.

crimsonstag84 said:http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing-example

You could go see it in person since there's still nearly a year of warranty left. I'd try to negotiate the price down $17.

A GTX 750 Ti is basically new with a two-year warranty and only pulls about 60 watts, so temps stay low. But a 660 Ti isn't new, might be overclocked, and draws 150 watts—it's a total gamble.

It's about 50-60% weaker than what I need.🙂

And this too...

crimsonstag84 said:You could take a look at it; it should still have nearly a year of warranty left...

I've been sleeping with my lady for two years now; her name is ASUS, and she's still got a year left on her warranty...

crimsonstag84 said:It's about 50-60% weaker 🙂

And this too...

Also, please take a look at why the guy actually needs a GPU.😵

Thanks for all the input, everyone. It looks like I’ll be leaning toward Nvidia—those CUDA cores make things easier to navigate when I'm looking at future upgrades 👍. My plan has shifted slightly, though; I’ve decided to hold off until I’ve saved up enough. Since everyone seems obsessed with aesthetics these days—and since this software has its own built-in rendering, which isn't quite as slick as dedicated suites but gets the job done—I'm going to grab an extra 8GB of RAM first. I'll probably ditch my current CPU for something from the FX 8xxx series. Once that's set, I'll pick up a GTX 760 just to run some games here and there—honestly, I don't think I need anything more powerful than that right now.
Anyway, I appreciate the advice; you guys helped me figure out exactly what kind of card I actually need for my workflow. I'm currently out in Chicago, so I can't swing by to check out that specific card
.
P.S. My cousin just swapped his GTX 560 Ti for an R9 270 x or something similar, so I'm wondering if this card would give me a decent boost while I work on the rest of the build? Thanks again. 👍

A GTX 560 Ti should be perfect for what you need to do.

Checking back in regarding the specs I laid out in my first post—now that the GTX 950 is actually out, I'm wondering if it'll actually cut it for what I need.

It's a bit weaker than the GTX 760, but I guess it should be fine.

crimsonstag84 said:It's slightly weaker than the GTX 760, but it should still perform decently enough.

I've been digging through some reviews—specifically looking at Strix models over on Guru3D—and it seems like this consistently beats out the GTX 760 and the R9 270 x. It looks like an overclocked version might even hold its own against the GTX 960 (which is basically just a crippled version anyway, lol). Honestly, seeing those HD7950 numbers feels a bit too good to be true...

That’s why I think sticking to local reviews from PCMag is your best bet. One thing is certain: it definitely outperforms the 270, making it worth the price for $467 (checking Best Buy). If anyone is thinking about picking up a GTX 950, my advice is to hang tight for a bit longer until more options hit the market and prices actually drop.

It was $471 back when I first linked her 🤣

I linked mine today too, and honestly, the pricing just doesn't align with what I'm seeing on Nabavi.net.

Prices are going absolutely haywire. First, there was only an ASUS model listed at Micro Center for some ridiculous $533, then an EVGA card hit $1400 in Austin, and now its price has spiked $33 higher while the Gigabyte single-fan version dropped $33 lower. Now I see a Gigabyte Windforce with dual fans for $480...

At this rate, this post might be outdated by tomorrow morning 🤣

That’s why you should never jump on new GPUs the second they drop. You have to wait for the market to stabilize. Maybe prices will settle in a week or two, or maybe even by tomorrow or the day after—who knows...$433...

Honestly, when I saw the price tag on the $533 GTX 950, I was floored. Was anyone actually crazy enough to drop that kind of cash on this card? It’s basically just a glorified MOBA machine. Come on, I can't believe people are actually falling for this...