Spec me a budget graphics card?

[super-saint]

My guys

My son has a budget PC with an integrated graphics card ... he is looking to play newer games (obviously at lower settings) but was wondering if a new graphics card would help.

Any suggestions greatly received

His spec;
Win 10 Pro (X64)
3.9 Gigahertz AMD A6-6400 APU with Radeon HD graphics
Gigabyte F2A68HM-HD2 board
7370 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory

 

[ov_sjo]

Most likely. The AMD RX480 and Nvidia GTX1060 are the current 'budget' performers.

 

[Quartz]

What is your budget? £110 will get you a GTX 950 or 750 Ti, and £130 will get you a GTX 960.

 

[eddiew]

Just going to toss this in; check the PSU before you commit to a card. If you bought a budget pre-built, you want to be sure it's not using some absurdly tiny wattage before adding another 120W of GPU

 

[HeX]

Most likely. The AMD RX480 and Nvidia GTX1060 are the current 'budget' performers.

480 and 1060 are 'Mainstream' not budget.

Going to want to look at the 950/960/750Ti or the new R460 when it comes out.

 

[super-saint]

Thanks guys for quick response

Good point on PSU! - I will check that out later

Ideally was looking for a card less than £100

 

[RanxZy]

If you don't need the card to be new you will get a lot more performance for your money going used under £100. I would aim for 280 or 280x ideally. Definitely need to check PSU first though.

 

[ov_sjo]

480 and 1060 are 'Mainstream' not budget.

Going to want to look at the 950/960/750Ti or the new R460 when it comes out.

At a third of the price of a flagship card, i'd call it fairly budget.

 

[Lokken86]

If you don't need the card to be new you will get a lot more performance for your money going used under £100.

Yep.

Something like a HD 7970 or 7950 can be had for £60-80 ish. Your son would be blown away why the difference coming from integrated and you, an overnight legend.

 

[Quartz]

If the PSU is an issue, then the GTX 750 Ti should be the top of the list

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x MSI GeForce GTX 750Ti "Low Profile" 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (N750 TI-2GD5TLP)= £89.99

Total: £98.69
(includes shipping: £8.70)
​

​

 

[AllBodies]

I wouldn't go for a 750 Ti at this point. Its performance per £ is now rubbish.

Most likely you want an AMD RX 460 when that releases (today I think) if buying new.

If buying used you want to look for AMD R9 380X/280X cards or an Nvidia GTX 970 if you're lucky.

 

[HeX]

At a third of the price of a flagship card, i'd call it fairly budget.

You can call it what you like, the fact is they are mainstream cards.

If the 480 is 'budget' then what is the 470? or the 460?

 

[Quartz]

I wouldn't go for a 750 Ti at this point. Its performance per £ is now rubbish.

Yes, reviews indicate that the RX 460 trounces the 750 Ti, but the 750 Ti doesn't require a beefy PSU. If the 'budget PC' in the OP were to require a new PSU to cope with a GPU, then that's an extra £50 or so. You'd need to compare GTX 750 Ti for £90 vs RX 460 + PSU for £150. Various articles (including AMD's product web page) indicate that the RX 460 could operate off motherboard power alone but review samples seem to come with a power connector.

 

[Lokken86]

Honestly OP I would forget about the 950 and the 460. Second hand you will get a card twice, three times faster.

 

[~>Dg<~]

secondhand get a 780 / 780 ti/ 970 /290

all for just over a hundred quid.

 

[Panos]

secondhand get a 780 / 780 ti/ 970 /290

all for just over a hundred quid.

I agree with DG. 290 > 970 > 780Ti > 780 in that order for the money.

It will serve well for years especially the 290, since is has better Vulcan & DX12 support.

 

[Quartz]

secondhand get a 780 / 780 ti/ 970 /290

all for just over a hundred quid.

Agreed, unless you need a new PSU too.

 

[jbh110tdi]

Yep.

Something like a HD 7970 or 7950 can be had for £60-80 ish. Your son would be blown away why the difference coming from integrated and you, an overnight legend.

My lad is using my old 7950 and it still performs well considering its an old card.

I agree with DG. 290 > 970 > 780Ti > 780 in that order for the money.

It will serve well for years especially the 290, since is has better Vulcan & DX12 support.

my mates 780ti Ghz model pretty much wipes the floor with my 970..

 

[AllBodies]

my mates 780ti Ghz model pretty much wipes the floor with my 970..

I doubt that very much, all other components being equal. Unless you have a mini-970 which doesn't clock at all.

The 970 is either equal or above the 780 Ti in all games these days. Kepler aged VERY badly (coming from someone who had a GTX 780 till very recently)

 

[Artery]

Going cheap, go second hand, easy choice.