Recommend me a Graphics Card

[Felix-The-Ghost]

Currently I have a pretty good PC, but it still has the default integrated graphics which sucks for some games and recording software.

Money isn't too much of an issue ( < $200 would be nice though)

It sounds silly, but every time I have ever bought a graphics card it always was poor quality, no longer supported, or the drivers were awful :P

Maybe cards are better nowadays (been a while since the last time I bought one) but I don't want to risk buying something I'll regret.

Windows 7 64bit if it matters

[1Cap]

Yes, and know about all your hardware matters too.

[Felix-The-Ghost]

[Jg99]

I use a GTX 650, that might work in your system, idk if the CPU would be bottlenecked or not, my GTX 650 runs great with a Core i3. Cost: around $110 on Newegg

[Flames]

Get a R9 270x , ofcourse the cpu will be a bottleneck, but since you have the money and since there might be a possibility of a future upgrade i recommend it...

you need to have a decent psu though...

[Vanquish]

Lol a 270x would be insane overkill :D
If you wanted a 270x, you'd probably need a 650w+ PSU. My PC has an AMD XFX R7950 (older, although still similar in terms of specs), and I max out at around 620ish watts of usage on full load, which is too close to my PSU's limit to warrant an upgrade.

Anyway, to get back on topic: if you're looking for any sort of high-end GPU performance, you'll have to upgrade your PSU to around 600 watts, and even then there's no guarantee that your CPU or even your RAM won't be a bottleneck (while you don't really need more, you wouldn't want any less either).
Based on what I think your current specification is likely to handle, I'd say that the AMD XFX 7750 is probably one of the best things you can get for your money ($86.99 after a rebate on newegg, since afaik you're american *sorry if i'm wrong*) - you get a relatively decent framerate and it only consumes 55 watts of power.
You could try the GTX 650, but that consumes almost 70 watts (okay, it's still not massive, but yeah). Only thing I'd say when comparing the two from my own standpoint is that, being an AMD owner, I prefer Nvidia's drivers.


Although before you make any type of purchase, it's important to research which PSU you have. Just to be safe.

[Flames]

^oh please, i know it will be overkill but since he has the money he can get it..

And about the power usage , it depends on other stuff too..
i have seen people using i5 and r9 270x on a good 450W PSU and have no issues at all (dont oc pls).. I use an Antec vp550w psu for my 280x
if your psu sucks get the 750Ti

Edit : btw vanquish 270x is an oc'ed 7870..

[Vanquish]

Edit : btw vanquish 270x is an oc'ed 7870..

Nah it's different for reasons other than the core clock speed. it uses entirely different architecture (270x is using Curacao XT + 7870 is using Tahiti). Also I think the memory speed, bandwidth and shader units are different. But yeah, they are similar.

I don't get how people can use an i5 and a 270x on a 450w PSU. it seems like you just made that up, since the 270x uses almost 200 watts of energy on its own, most i5's use about 120 watts on load (can be more if you have newer architecture or if you OC).

Based on the specs from Felix's PC I would guess that he doesn't have a 500w+ PSU installed so a 270x is a stupid option.

[Flames]

i didn't make it up, i actually build rigs from time to time.. What i have seen though is that western people usually end up buying high end psu's for cards like even the gtx 760. Its true that amd and nvidia recommend high watt psu's for their cards , but its just to be cautious..
As for the r9 270x and 7870 having completely different architecture your wrong son..
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7503/the-a...t-asus-his

I recommended the 270x only if he had a good psu.. If you dont have a good psu you can look to the 750ti which takes power from the pcie slot itself. it uses very little power and gives good perfomance..

Edit : it seems that i did make a mistake. you do require 550 watt psu for the r9 + i5.. i got the numbers mixed up..

[Vanquish]

Yeah, I built my own PC too, it's not that hard to do :D

I agree about the 750Ti actually, I think the wattage is only slightly more than the 7750 which I recommended, and it also has better performance, although idk how much they'd cost (presumably within a $200 budget though).

[1Cap]

Motherboard model:
Memory type and model:
Processor model:
Sound card model:
Internal power suplly type, model and capacity:
Video monitor type and model:

[+f0r3v3r+]

It seems you are a bit late to the rodeo, so to speak, Captain...

[Felix-The-Ghost]

I don't know what's in the PC right now but I just happen to have one of these lying around. Not sure if it's helpful or not. I'm not hardware savvy at all.

[+f0r3v3r+]

Device manager may be enlightening as you said you are using Windows....

[RandumKiwi]

I would recommend a Sapphire/AMD card, good quality stuff and AMD's support lasts fairly long.

[DrauL]

Buy a two Titans and then SLI them :3

[Felix-The-Ghost]

I've had time after work to look this thread over.
With the power supply I have in the box 600W I should be able to power the r9 270x which you said requires 550W. I read a review that said the fan started to fail after a few months though :/

It should be more than enough for AC right? To run recording software while playing?

Is it possible to upgrade the CPU to a quad core in the future? I didn't know you could just change them like that. (Again, not very educated in this)

[RandumKiwi]

All CPU's use a different socket (generally). You can potentially upgrade your CPU, but you have to make sure it fits your socket.

[DrauL]

Generally most modern mobos have space for all ivy chipsets which covers intel i3,5,7. Im not versed on AMD. :)

[Flames]

I've had time after work to look this thread over.
With the power supply I have in the box 600W I should be able to power the r9 270x which you said requires 550W. I read a review that said the fan started to fail after a few months though :/

It should be more than enough for AC right? To run recording software while playing?

Is it possible to upgrade the CPU to a quad core in the future? I didn't know you could just change them like that. (Again, not very educated in this)

Your mobo socket don't support the newer i-series processors, you will have to upgrade the mobo too..

[Vanquish]

Your CPU will probably also be a major factor when using recording software (for me it's THE major factor, which is why I OC'd a bit). I never tried recording much with my rig but I was able to record Skyrim on ultra (with a lot of HD mods) at a completely fluent 60 fps, so it's a safe bet that AC would be fine. A 600w PSU is enough to support all but the most high-end graphics cards - if money really isn't an object as you stated in the OP, you could even try a 280x, but that's the point where a lack of CPU power would start to become a problem.

[MotoShadow]

Get the GTX 750 TI ($150), and get a better CPU

[Felix-The-Ghost]

Some information, I probably won't be playing most PC games that I would otherwise play on a console (I have a PS3)

I'm mainly interested in AC and recording AC, then 2D games which I doubt is a problem. Minecraft as well which surprisingly I can't run very well.

So cpu is more important that not having integrated graphics when recording? I'll have to upgrade the motherboard and cpu then -_-

Didn't know there was that much retrofitting involved in just a graphics update :P

[1Cap]

The right combination of hardware elements and the operating system is very important. The communication and integration between motherboard, memory card, video card and other hardware elements are priority.
You should observe your computer as a whole. An interdependent system.
Simply place a "powerful" video card can not bring the expected result.
If you answer my quesões maybe I can help.
Otherwise, good luck. ;)

[Felix-The-Ghost]

Tomorrow I am off so I can probably open the chasis and see what's already inside.

[PhaNtom]

Just get nVidia Titan Black and put them in a 4-way SLI.

No but seriously, I've heard the 750 ti to be an excellent chip for the price..

[stef]

Regarding drivers and support, you basically only have the choice between AMD and nVidia in general - since they both have unified driver packages (at least for cards that you still can buy). Feel free to roam the forums about which one is better - it's only a war going on about that topic ;)

Regarding the card itself - of course, you can go for the biggest possible - even if that monster then only runs in idle mode most of the time.

If your computer doesn't already sound like a vacuum cleaner, I'd recommend trying to keep noise levels down. I usually go for one of the biggest cards with passive cooling - and then add a fan with low rpm. Upgrading a passive cooler with a fan gives you a quite silent but hugely overpowered cooling system, that will keep chip temperatures very low. That means, the card will run as stable as it can - and probably live forever. Power consumption will be below 70 watts, since that's about as much as can be cooled passively - which means, that basically every power supply will suffice.

You should try to get a card with high memory bandwidth, since otherwise the GPU will waste a lot of time waiting on the memory. Never go for a solution with more than one GPU - that's a waste of everything.

For example, an AMD HD 7750 would be exactly that. GDDR5 RAM with 72GB/sec and 819GFLOPS at 55 watts. The drawback of such a solution is, that you'll need at least three slots room (including the additional fan).

Should be enough for ac. I have no idea, if recording will work - but that may also be an issue of your CPU. I suggest that, if recording is crucial, you need to find someone who has done that already - and succeeded.

[Waffles]

As has already been stated, the CPU/GPU coordination is really where the hangup happens with performance. Stef brings up a great point about cooling and the power is obviously important (longevity per dollar).

From personal experience I have an asus motherboard with an intel socket that uses and i3.
Graphics card is gtx 560 (not the 'ePenis' megadream but it works and is cheap). RAM of course helps. splurge a little on each individual component to get a system that overall runs soundly. You can always update each component at a later date.

I have recorded and it has been relatively fine. My biggest issue has always been upload simply because comcast's upload packages are shit

[Felix-The-Ghost]

I upload 0.22Kb/s :(
Imagine online competitive play on consoles

[RandumKiwi]

Funny how this thread is turning into a "tell me what components to buy to upgrade my entire system" thread.

Re: RAM. If you do buy new ram, don't bother caring about brand. As long as the RAM you buy comes with a lifetime warranty, it's good RAM (because most manufacturers offer this these days, because good RAM is just that easy to make). Ensure you check the specs on your CPU to make sure that the RAM is OK to fit.

Re: Motherboards. If you do buy a motherboard, be careful about going cheap. Cheap motherboards are always the first fatal flaw of a system. Always check reviews for the motherboard - don't worry about a few dead-on-arrivals (all manufacturers will have a few - and as long as support is OK, you'll get to return a DOA no problem), but get a feel for its quality/longevity through reviews. Generally newegg.com is good for reviews, I find users there come back and comment months after buying (which is when you want to know about it).

Keep in mind. If you're upgrading CPU, you might be able to do so without a new motherboard *IF* the socket is unchanged. There will always be second hand CPU's available... ;)