$100 Video Card Help?

U

UMASS

Gawd
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Jan 17, 2008
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Hi All: I'm down @ my parents home in Florida. Usually I don't play too many games down here. Here's my rig I built about 18 months ago.

AMD A6 6400K APU (Dual Core @ 3.9 GHz) w/ 8470D OB Graphics
8GB DDR3 1600
WIN 7 Pro 64-Bit
WD Black 1TB HD
Corsair CX430M (Modular) PSU
AOC 27" 1080P

This was a short money build for myself. My parents don't even use this. I play only strategy games like Heroes of Might & Magic series, Age of Wonders (all turn-based) Funny....The OB 8470D does a decent job overall even @ 1080P I just would like to bump-up the eye candy a tad.

I'm an AMD guy & thought about this R7 250 here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127763&cm_re=r7_250-_-14-127-763-_-Product

Or should I go with GTX 750Ti here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...127784&cm_re=gtx_750ti-_-14-127-784-_-Product

I'm sure either one will be fine. Please keep in mind that I'll only be using this computer like 4 times a year. Any insight would be appreciated.
 
The GTX 750 Ti is slower than the R9 370.

It's faster than the R7 360.

The R7 250 is half the speed of the R7 360.

If those are your only two choices, the go Nvidia in a heartbeat. The 250 is crap.
 
From the benchmarks I looked at, the 750ti destroys the R7 250. It competes with the 260, not the 250.
 
Go over to FS/T,and you should be able to pick up an R9 270 or something for $85-100 easy
 
Syran said:
Go over to FS/T,and you should be able to pick up an R9 270 or something for $85-100 easy
Click to expand...

^^ this, you can get yourself a much better used card, stretch that $100 budget to the max and get the best bang for the buck!
 
Yeah that card is probably 3-4x as fast as your onboard. Should work great.
 
I'm glad I pulled the trigger yesterday. $129.99 now with $3.99 shipping. $99.99 after $10.00 rebate (free shipping) works for me.
 
I just bought a Windforce r9 270 for $85 with shipping used on /r/hardwareswap. I know it's a bit too late but you could have scored a better deal with a used card but either way, the 750 Ti will suffice for you. Sucker draws basically nothing too.
 
Thanks guys. I installed it yesterday. Cleared-out the AMD drivers & installed fresh Nvidia's. The 90mm fan is pretty quiet overall. It's so damn tiny compared to my R390X!

It's not a bad card for 1080P gaming. I'm playing Heroes of Might & Magic VII maxed out & it's pretty smooth. Fits the bill. I wanted a GPU that required little or no bump on my PSU for $100.00. Amazing this card doesn't even require a 6-pin. I think it draws 60 watts max. I decided to use a 120mm side fan on my Cooler Master N200 case. I think it's a great "bang-of-the-buck" card. I appreciate everyone's help.
 
I'm glad you like it. I have a GTX 750 ti in my secondary rig. I've measured it at 58W max consumption. It's used for light gaming at 1440p connected to an Apple Cinema Display (most advanced game on that system is World of Warcraft).
 
Why didn't you get 950? only a few more ten's dollars and it has a lot more ports (HDMI 2.0 and 3x DP1.2) support for 4x monitors or 3x 4K monitors? also dx12 as well as hardware h265 decoding and encoding?
 
wildpig1234 said:
Why didn't you get 950? only a few more ten's dollars and it has a lot more ports (HDMI 2.0 and 3x DP1.2) support for 4x monitors or 3x 4K monitors? also dx12 as well as hardware h265 decoding and encoding?
Click to expand...

There's always something a little better for a little more money. Sometimes people have a hard budget. I'm assuming you're asking the OP, but just in case you were asking me, the 950 wasn't out yet, and I got a steal of a deal for the 750 ti from EVGA for $89. That's not as great a deal today, but at the time it was highway robbery.

I was upgrading two systems near simultaneously, so I also got a GTX 970 for $289 with MGS V (would have prefer the Arkham Knight bundle. I always get pack in games that I don't want).
 
Well the 950 needs a 6 pin PCI-e. Whereas the 750Ti doesn't. And this would not require he update his PSU in the case it wouldn't handle it.
 
JustReason said:
Well the 950 needs a 6 pin PCI-e. Whereas the 750Ti doesn't. And this would not require he update his PSU in the case it wouldn't handle it.
Click to expand...

To be fair, he's running a Corsair 430W PSU. His system under full load is using less than 50% of that. He could upgrade to a GTX 970 or even 980 and have room so spare, so a 950 won't move the needle too much. Many gamers grossly overestimate just how much power their systems draw. I mean, here's a guy that did a build with GTX 980 SLI with a rated 550W PSU :)

[Finished] The silent cube: Pushing passive cooling to the limit with dual GTX 980 - [Update 21: Liquid Cristal Thermometer]
 
Daniel_Chang said:
To be fair, he's running a Corsair 430W PSU. His system under full load is using less than 50% of that. He could upgrade to a GTX 970 or even 980 and have room so spare, so a 950 won't move the needle too much. Many gamers grossly overestimate just how much power their systems draw. I mean, here's a guy that did a build with GTX 980 SLI with a rated 550W PSU :)

[Finished] The silent cube: Pushing passive cooling to the limit with dual GTX 980 - [Update 21: Liquid Cristal Thermometer]
Click to expand...
Oops had this one mixed with the other guy that was looking at the 750Ti the same day as this guy.
 
Would plan on at least spending $175 and get a 960. Even then you are pinned down with only 2gb Vram.
 
danpsmith67 said:
Would plan on at least spending $175 and get a 960. Even then you are pinned down with only 2gb Vram.
Click to expand...

There's no point based on the game's he's playing. His onboard graphics are nearly enough for him. He's not trying to max out Fallout 4. GPUs aren't one size fits all, and for him, the GTX 750 ti is the best bang for the buck budgetary recommendation.

But anyway, he already made his purchase.
 
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Daniel_Chang said:
There's no point based on the game's he's playing. His onboard graphics are nearly enough for him. He's not trying to max out Fallout 4. GPUs aren't one size fits all, and for him, the GTX 750 ti is the best bang for the buck budgetary recommendation.

But anyway, he already made his purchase.
Click to expand...

Daniel understands were I'm coming from. The OB graphics work well enough for me down here. Keep in mind I use this computer a few weeks out of year when visiting my mother in Florida. On top of that, I'm usually not even gaming down here (chasing the sun @ the pool/beach)

The 750Ti works pretty well overall. Money isn't the issue, just that you need to draw a line in the sand @ some point. I would say this is overkill for what I use it for. Thanks all.
 
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