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GPU Recommendation - Super Low Budget

bigdogchris

bigdogchris

Fully [H]
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
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I've got an old system used by some kids, Phenom 9750 4GB of ram. Win 10 1024x768 I want to throw in a low end GPU for under $100.

I've looked at the RX550, GT1030, and a few other's but the prices are higher than MSRP, guessing from mining.

Is there a secret low end GPU (maybe OEM) that no one knows about that may not be affected by mining right now? I do not want one of those eBay Chinese cards though. Also, rebuilding system with APU/Mobo/RAM is not an option unless you can do it for less than $100.

Thanks
 
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You don't have an extra SATA or Molex power lead? You can just get a power adapter and get a 6pin card, that will expand your options greatly.
 
vick1000 said:
You don't have an extra SATA or Molex power lead? You can just get a power adapter and get a 6pin card, that will expand your options greatly.
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Molex with an adapter is fine. I should clarify that I do not have a dedicated 6 pin PCIe power connector available.
 
You might want to consider used if you want a "gaming" card, well.. or anything really. There's still a lot of life left in older models. Is that a potential option for you?

The other thing is to be mindful of the usually requisite "power plug" (one or more) required by mid to high end cards. If you need something bus powered alone, the 1050 is today's choice, but you mentioned the much lesser 1030 as even being out of your price range. There are some 1050 cards out there new in the $150-160 USD range (just a bit more than your budget).

Hope you find something you like at a good price.
 
What about selling that old phenom and upgrading to one of the new Ryzens with the built in, cut down Vega?


Otherwise stretch back to Nvidia 6 or 7 series. They are no longer profitable for mining and you should be able to find them for cheap on ebay.
 
Archaea said:
What about selling that old phenom and upgrading to one of the new Ryzens with the built in, cut down Vega?


Otherwise stretch back to Nvidia 6 or 7 series. They are no longer profitable for mining and you should be able to find them for cheap on ebay.
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Yeah, thought about that. Would prefer new though, but I might not have an option but grabbing used. I just don't like buying used GPU's.
 
Yeah, a used 750 Ti will be a good choice. I see ebay auctions closed between $75 - 100. The evga model (the one that looks like half length) does not need external power.

I still keep one of these around for a backup, it's actually a pretty nice card for the price. Obviously won't be maxing out games, but for 1080p you can play a number of titles on lower settings.
 
The 750ti will offer a bit better performance than the 1030. If you are located near a microcenter you can sometimes find GT 1030s for close to $80+tax. Sometimes it may need to be an open box item (with warranty) for that price.

I will also add, your results will be best if their favorite games aren't heavy on both the cpu/gpu. Games like Planet Coaster/Cities Skylines/Space Engineers(this one scales down ok though)/real time strategy titles that rely heavily on fast single threaded performance (Stellaris, even civilization 6 chugs on modern hardware)
 
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Avoid AMD for such an old CPU. (driver overhead IS REAL)

A 750 Ti is a better choice than a GT 1030.

Fry's does have an MSI GT 1030 for $80 though....
 
Really hesitant to buy used, so looking at a GTX 950 for around $100.

Says this is a 90 watt card. PCIe should be 75 watts. So a single molex to 6 pin adapter is 36 watts. Anyone see an issue with that config? 350 Watt Antec PSU.
 
A 950 would be OK too (a little better than the 750 Ti). Really nothing wrong with used cards. Assuming you're OK without warranty, it shouldn't be a problem. GPUs can last for a long time.
 
No way I’d buy a new 950 for $20 more than a used 680. Your paying 20% more for at least 20% less. I linked a couple 680 above for $80 used from a local [H] member. I don’t know the seller. But $80 for a 680 at this point can be replicated on eBay. 950s just aren’t that exciting. I’d rather have a higher end card from a previous gen.

680 ~ 770 ~ 960 ~1050

Time stamp 6:24

Shows 680 pretty equivalent to a 1050ti in a 8 game average FPS at 1080p.
 
Archaea said:
No way I’d buy a new 950 for $20 more than a used 680. Your paying 20% more for at least 20% less. I linked a couple 680 above for $80 used from a local [H] member. I don’t know the seller. But $80 for a 680 at this point can be replicated on eBay. 950s just aren’t that exciting. I’d rather have a higher end card from a previous gen.

680 ~ 770 ~ 960 ~1050

Time stamp 6:24

Shows 680 pretty equivalent to a 1050ti in a 8 game average FPS at 1080p.
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I don't think you're looking at the context here. He has an old weak power supply so a 680 is certainly not appropriate plus he does not want a used card much less one from 2012. If he had a better power supply then yes it would make more sense.
 
misterbobby said:
I don't think you're looking at the context here. He has an old weak power supply so a 680 is certainly not appropriate plus he does not want a used card much less one from 2012. If he had a better power supply then yes it would make more sense.
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ahh -- missed the 350 watt PSU.


as to the used from 2012....doesn't matter - it's faster than the card he is considering for less money. like a 40% swing... but the PSU is a deal breaker....
 
I still think the used 750 Ti is the best bet, especially since it only needs a 300W PSU and some models use PCIE power only (no additional power cables needed).
 
This is mine:

412qUhIDOUL.jpg


I used it as a temporary card, and was able to play Ridge Racer Unbounded at 1080P I think on max settings (if I recall correct) and it looked great. Also Skullgirls.

You could likely play e-sports titles on low settings or older/indie games without too much issue.
 
You'll pretty much have to shop around for a good price on a GT 1030, preferably low-profile. That's the best you're going to get if you want something new. You can find them in some places for $70-$80, but the going rate on them is $110.

Your best bet may be to just go to your local computer parts store and see if they have any older, low-end GPUs like a GT 730 they haven't sold yet. They might still have something in stock for cheap if you just need a PCI-E part to make an old PC output graphics at 1024x768. I saw a few retailers still carrying unopened GeForce 210 cards a couple years ago.

It's really too bad that old Phenom system has no integrated GPU. I would recommend just using the integrated stuff if you're not going to be gaming or rendering on the machine. Even Intel GPUs are more than good enough for standard 2D desktop work and video playback nowadays. But yeah, honestly, if you're looking for something in the sub-$100 range, you're stuck with ancient 700 and 600 series cards unless you want to hope you get lucky with a new GT 1030 at a fair price.

GPU prices are ridiculous right now, though. You can't get anything worthwhile for less than $100. Even an ancient GTX 670 from 2012 (my current card, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit) is still selling for around $100 on eBay.
 
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Another option is doing a search for used GTX 750
These cards perform almost as well as 'Ti' version but can be much cheaper because Ti variant is vastly more popular
Or go with 1030, or 750Ti, whatever. It after all is all pretty much the same level of performance and power consumption.
Phenom 1 is not monster CPU either.

Used GTX6xx series card are interesting alternative.
But would getting GTX 660-680 break this PSU? It depends on build quality and used parts more than on label they sicked to it. Manufacturers like to run one production line for all range of products with different ratings. I used to have two identical 400W and 250W PSU which were identical and both could run Pentium D OC's at 3.8GHz. The 400W blew up at about 3.9GHz then I ran 250W at 3.6GHz just to be on the safe side... which was still totally out of spec for this PSU :ROFLMAO:

This of course might not be the case for you and I absolutely do not recommend 'overclocking' PSUs, just indicate that labels can some times mean nothing.
That of course works both ways and if this PSU have no weight to it then it might be a good idea to replace it anyway just to be on the safe side...

BTW:
What do you mean by "1024x768"?
You cannot possibly have LCD with that resolution except maybe some very very old model with image quality that kills soul when you try too look at it.
Did you mean CRT?
On a budget CRT makes perfect sense for gaming, much better than using very old LCD and small LCD.
Often you can get 21" CRT for a smile and service of getting it from someone's house and image quality is in many aspects superior to even best gaming LCD's, no input lag, multi resolution support without scaling, superior black levels, perfect viewing angles, etc.
 
Look at the specs in my Signature area below. It runs Mass Effect Andromeda on High/Med settings at 70+ fps and Rise of the Tomb Raider runs super smooth too. CPU is OC'ed @ 4.5 GHz STABLE

I had an Intel 8700k based system in January with a GTX 1070 Ti GPU and the only differences were I didn't have to OC, I could turn up the eye candy that I can't see anyways while actually gaming and games loaded noticeably faster. IMHO not quite worth the $1400 difference in cost to build (8700k system only available as new whereas FX system can easily be had as used)
 
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_l_ said:
Look at the specs in my Signature area below. It runs Mass Effect Andromeda on High/Med settings at 70+ fps and Rise of the Tomb Raider runs super smooth too. CPU is OC'ed @ 4.5 GHz STABLE
Click to expand...
Maybe its because I just woke up but what the heck does that have to do with this thread?
 
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