GPU Reccomendation for an aging system

davecarter · 18 Nov 2016 at 09:48

After building my new rig this year I have given my nephew my old gaming pc, its an Intel core 2 quad Q6600 with 8GB of Ram. I bunged in an old 8800GT that I had lying around just so he could play some old games which was fine but of course now he is itching to play some newer releases.
I know he really needs a new board & processor but kids these days dont even have paper rounds so what would be the best upgrade GPU wise for less than 100 quid.
I was thinking something like a 750TI but will this be able to play games like Fallout 4 or GTA V

Any advice appreciated
Cheers

orbitalwalsh · 18 Nov 2016 at 11:09

in theory Nvidia did the GTX 1050Ti as the replacement , but i think on sales you can hit £140

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-18q-gi.html

£20 discount

RX 460 they have on sale is under £100 but might be a better option on the MM if you can gain access to it , as they really does lack power!!!!

davecarter · 18 Nov 2016 at 11:54

Yes was thinking that, He was probably hoping to spend no more than 100 but I have just seen a you tube video of even latest titles like Battlefield 1 playing with this setup at over 30fps so definitely worth considering.
Its a shame the older Nvidia cards prices don't seem to drop a lot more even with the newer cards out, surely its just redundant stock

pandem0nium · 18 Nov 2016 at 12:29

I'd look out for a 7950,7970,280,280x.

meldarthx · 18 Nov 2016 at 14:54

470 is also on sale right now for 149......460 will fps - what is resolution will he be playing at?

davecarter · 18 Nov 2016 at 15:38

Quite low I think as he only has a 19" monitor, probably 1280 x 720

maonayze · 18 Nov 2016 at 15:45

Go for the 470. It isnt that much behind the 480 and at that resolution it should fly.

Saying that, would you be able to run that card (or any modern card) in that board without a bios flash. I am guessing that you cannot get updates for that board anymore.

Maybe an older card would be best, after all. Hmmmmm tricky.

davecarter · 18 Nov 2016 at 17:21

maonayze said:
Go for the 470. It isnt that much behind the 480 and at that resolution it should fly.

Saying that, would you be able to run that card (or any modern card) in that board without a bios flash. I am guessing that you cannot get updates for that board anymore.

Maybe an older card would be best, after all. Hmmmmm tricky.

Yes that was my concern its an asus board , has the pci express interface changed to prevent newer cards running?

The last card I had in it was a GTX560ti which was fine but that was 5 years ago

AWPC · 18 Nov 2016 at 17:24

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-18r-gi.html
£109.99 as part of the Black Friday deals but Nvidia & gives good results on recent games @ 1080 or lower resolution.

TheMorningStar · 18 Nov 2016 at 18:59

a 470 will probably be severely CPU bottlenecked in many games. I had a PhenomII @3.6ghz with a 7950 and I'm bottlenecked in cs:go and sw:bf on low. I wouldn't go beyond this kind of gfx power. Nvidia may be better on that system as they have a lower CPU overhead.

AllBodies · 18 Nov 2016 at 19:51

Go for an Nvidia card. It's been shown a few times Nvidia are far better on very weak CPUs because AMDs drivers are less CPU efficient (this is not a problem at all on a good CPU though).

And the best new Nvidia card for £100 ish is the GTX 1050.

davecarter · 18 Nov 2016 at 23:14

Cheers all I think the GTX 1050 is the best bet

Poneros · 18 Nov 2016 at 23:24

Here's the thing: People look at theory and have no practice. Old systems (99% chance) won't accept the newest cards (Polaris/Pascal). So you have to look at older than that.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 18 Nov 2016 at 23:26

Poneros said:
Here's the thing: People look at theory and have no practice. Old systems (99% chance) won't accept the newest cards (Polaris/Pascal). So you have to look at older than that.

Yeah,compatability is another problem - something like a GTX750TI or GTX950 should be fine with a Core2 based system from what I gathered.

davecarter · 19 Nov 2016 at 11:35

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
Yeah,compatability is another problem - something like a GTX750TI or GTX950 should be fine with a Core2 based system from what I gathered.

There are you tube videos of a GTX1050 plus q6600 combo but yes it would be a gamble, no harm in trying can always send it back if it doesnt work.

r7slayer · 19 Nov 2016 at 11:45

davecarter said:
There are you tube videos of a GTX1050 plus q6600 combo but yes it would be a gamble, no harm in trying can always send it back if it doesnt work.

Ask in the CS section if its compatible and about sending back if not. Should ensure less risk?

davecarter · 19 Nov 2016 at 11:56

r7slayer said:
Ask in the CS section if its compatible and about sending back if not. Should ensure less risk?

Ill do that thanks although I Have just established the motherboard has the ancient nforce 650i chipset so I think a GTX 750ti might be a safer bet

nashathedog · 19 Nov 2016 at 12:34

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/clearance/graphics-cards

There's a few possibles there but I'd phone in as some of these prices still need adjusting. For example the 120 quid 750ti is the new price so offer 90 maybe? Offer 60 or 70 for the 7850? I ran a 1600x900 screen with one for ages and it did a great job at that res.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 19 Nov 2016 at 13:39

Shop around for the GTX750TI - retailers will still have them for around £100.

Terrorfirmer · 19 Nov 2016 at 16:35

Please tell me the Q6600 is overclocked heavily?

It doesn't have a hope of running any of the games you've mentioned without being overclocked to 3.4-3.6Ghz, unless you find 15-20fps acceptable - and even at heavy overclocked speeds it will still struggle with FO4/BF1, though GTA V should be OK.

Anyone who claims they're running BF1 on a Q6600 at 2.4Ghz above 30fps is 100% lying.

The last game I tried on a Q6600 at stock was Battlefield Hardline 64p online, and I got about 20fps with a HD6870 - this is a game that's not nearly as intensive on the CPU as BF1 or Fallout 4.

If it's not going to be very heavily overclocked, it's far more economical just to pick up a cheap Dell i5 on Ebay for £120 and add a GTX750 to that.

I can't believe people in this thread are talking about cards like the RX470 and RX480 - cards which generally need 4th or 5th gen i5's @ 3Ghz+ to run at 100% usage....not an ancient 10 year old CPU running at 2.4Ghz.