• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Looking for input on what gfx card to get

Muggins

Muggins

Muggins

Associate
Joined
8 May 2014
Posts
6
I am to all intents and purposes, a n00b when it comes to hardware, so I apologise in advance for any hand-holding that may be required.

I'm looking for a decent entry level card to stuff in my pc, it's currently running on the APU for its gfx needs (I had to replace my old machine and the new one is pretty minimalistic as I was poor when I got it) and I figure there's probably a way to give it some more grunt without breaking the bank. Anything I thought relevant will be included below, but let me know what, if anything else is needed.

Power Supply : 500 Watt (not sure on the specifics beyond that)
Motherboard : Gigabyte F2A55M-HD2
CPU/APU : AMD FM2 A8 6600K APU Quad Core CPU 3.9Ghz (turbo 4.2Ghz) Black Edition
RAM: 12gb (again, not sure on specifics, can dig around if needed)


So yes, your collective expertise on how I might improve this would be gratefully received. :)
 
Hello, do you happen to have a set/flexible budget figure in mind ?

Also, what are you doing with your computer ? Gaming (if so what games and what resolution), general purpose computing, graphics/video work ?

It's always easier to give advice when we have some criteria :)
 
Thanks for the responses so far :)

As to the budget, I'm pitching the ideas to my folks as they may get me a new card for my birthday as I'm saving money to go to uni and have little to spare, so I dunno what the budget will be sadly =/ let's call it £100-£200 for ball park figures.

I use it to game, but I'm not fixated on the idea of running everything at max, I just want it running comfortably, I play a few mmos and that's about as graphically intensive as I get at the moment. I will be going to uni to do some art and design followed up by game design which will involve some time in maya etc, so that will be a factor down the line too. But as I said, I'm looking for middle of the road competency for the most part :)
 
There are a few options you can go for:

Middle-of-the road version:
Radeon 270X
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-326-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1982

This will work well for any gaming scenario, being able to play all modern titles at 1080p, with more or less all settings turned to high. It also supports OpenCL, which may come in handy when working with Maya and other graphics design software.

Cheap version:
750TI
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-248-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1854

This will again run all modern titles, but is not as fast as the 270x. You will get a good gaming experience anyway. Other benefits are a small form factor design and low power consumption. This has CUDA processing, but I doubt you will use such a card for compute purposes.

High end
AMD 280
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-347-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1842
AMD 280X
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-160-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1842

These are enthusiast-level cards, and will breeze through modern games at 1080p, and the 280x can even play some games at 1440p. They do require more power and may be limited by your CPU. They also work well at productivity tasks, such as AutoCAD, Photoshop etc.

I would recommend either the 750TI or the Radeon 270x. Given you do not have very specific needs, middle-of the road is always best. You won't lose out on much performance either.
 
By the way, all options I listed should run well with your current power supply, apart from maybe the 280X, which isn't suitable with your current system anyway. Just to be on the safe side, can you take a look at the brand on your PSU (model number if possible too)?
 
I can't find anything that tells me the specifics about the psu, I assume that's going to be an open the tower and look sort of thing?

Also, thanks for all your help so far, given me some good ideas :)
 
A-520 ATX switching power supply unit

There may have been a little logo that said ace, but I couldn't see that properly from where I was looking, not sure if that's any use at all =/
 
That looks like a very weak PSU. If you want to get a 270X, you will need to invest in a better unit, since yours will not have the right connectors, and even if you use adapters, most likely not give it enough amperage.

You should aim for a 430W-500W PSU, such as one of these:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-034-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2463

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-003-SF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2463

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-059-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2462

The 270X Vapor-X card I linked earlier uses 2x PCI-Express (PCI-E) 6 pin connectors. You can use 2x4 pin to get a PCI-E 6 pin, but you need to have at least one 6 pin cable coming from the PSU directly.

Generally speaking, a good power supply extends the life of your system, and has to be considered as an investment.
 
I could cannibalise my old tower's psu, dunno if it would be worth it though... apparently that is an evo labs pentium p4 e-750br.

Otherwise, thanks again, I'll look at the suggested items - guess I have to find some more money from somewhere lol =/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom