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Would it make a difference?

AshB1989

AshB1989

AshB1989

Associate
Joined
11 Aug 2015
Posts
480
Hi guys,

I'm new to the whole computer building and what not and need some advice.

I recently built my own computer with the help of you guys, but at the time I didn't bother with a gfx card. However, that has now changed. I'd like to buy a new gfx card, which I'm hoping will improve my gameplay of games like Battlefield and WoW. I've played on a friends computer and his screen is massively better and I'm guessing that's down to the gfx card?

I currently have a Phillips 234E monitor and I think Asus H81M-PLUS Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard.

With that in mind, could you recommend a cheap gfx card that will be supported by my motherboard and improve my gameplay.

Thanks in advance.
 
Glad to hear you are getting more into PC gaming.

Could you also post about what PSU and CPU you are using? Also what's your budget/how much you want to spend?

Also you could consider putting the full spec of your PC in your signature like many of us here do (myself included), that way you wouldn't have to write the spec of your PC everything you ask for advice. But do note that you can have more than 4 lines for your signature, as it is forum rule.
 
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This is my current build - not entirely sure how to whack it in my signature though.

Intel Core i5-4460 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail
CP-535-IN

Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1)
HD-055-CR
1

Asus H81M-PLUS Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard
MB-582-AS

Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX318C10FWK28)
MY-172-KS

SuperFlower FX 450W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply - Black

BitFenix Neos ATX Tower WhiteSilver




I don't really want to spend any more than £50 if I'm totally honest, but I'm aware that wont get me a lot.
 
With a budget of £50 I'd be looking at the used market, personally. You won't get anything remotely worthwhile new for that price, whereas you might be able to pick up something like a GTX 660 or HD 7850 used for around that figure, which are still decent cards.
 
AshB1989 said:
This is my current build - not entirely sure how to whack it in my signature though.

Intel Core i5-4460 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail
CP-535-IN

Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1)
HD-055-CR
1

Asus H81M-PLUS Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard
MB-582-AS

Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX318C10FWK28)
MY-172-KS

SuperFlower FX 450W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply - Black

BitFenix Neos ATX Tower WhiteSilver




I don't really want to spend any more than £50 if I'm totally honest, but I'm aware that wont get me a lot.
Click to expand...
If looking at new, I honestly say that you should look at a 750TI...but they around £75-£80 minimum. IMO you'd best looking at 2nd hand, and you should be able to find something like a HD7850.

You have a very good quality PSU, and for your system, it should have no problem with any graphic card with power-consumption up to 225W or 250W even.
 
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I think 2nd hand the R7 260X/R7 360 are solid options from the red team around your budget. Perhaps something like a 650ti/660 from the green team?

R7 260X and the 650ti look to have gone at around the £55 mark in the last month (after checking sold listings at the well known you know where).

Something else to consider is if at some future stage you plan on a new monitor you may well consider an getting adoptive-sync screen(assuming you can get one with feature you want and at a price you find acceptable), the r7 260x/r7 360 supports adaptive-sync it though freesync.


edit: forget the R7 360, its a rebrand of the R7 260 and not the 260X as I had thought.
In order of perf: R& 260/R7 360 < 650ti < R7 260X < 660 (but priced around 60-70)
 
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Around your budget I'd certainly look at a used card. Any used card (even getting a "normal" deal) will blow any new card out of the water
 
Not really. All graphics cards these days will use a pci express port on your motherboard, and be powered by pci express power cables which your psu will have (usually two, depending on the power needs of the card). Usually the limits are whether the cpu is fast enough to feed the card, and whether the PSU can provide enough power. Yours would allow you to put in a 200 quid gpu and be fine, so your budget will keep you within bounds anyway.

As the others have said, really you need to look at a used card. Something like a used 7950 would not be miles away from your spend limit, but would offer great performance
 
AshB1989 said:
Do I have to be careful what I buy for compatibility issues ?
Click to expand...
Nah, not with a modern setup like yours. Any card will work fine. Just make sure that whatever you buy doesn't have more than one PCIe power connector, as I believe the PSU you're using only has a single 6+2 pin cable. Cards like the GTX 570 are dirt cheap and would likely suit your needs, but unfortunately require both a 6-pin and an 8-pin.

/edit/ Actually, no, I'm wrong, it has two 6+2 PCIe cables. You could certainly look at the 570 and 580 as well, although they're somewhat limited by their VRAM. I used a GTX 570 for a few months last year though, and in terms of raw performance they're pretty okay. Around the same as a 750 Ti.
 
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AshB1989 said:
Do I have to be careful what I buy for compatibility issues ?
Click to expand...

Yes, You only have a 450 watt psu so nothing that wants more than that in total (it will let you know in the cards details how much your overall requirement is), I'd also consider game development trends with the move to DX12 which is at hand, For your budget I would look at a secondhand AMD card rather than an Nvidia. I'd also try and extend the budget a little if possible, Although a 7850 is a good option as it is an older chip that's still in use in the 300 series. However a slightly slower 260x is free-sync compatible which may be a good option if you upgrade your monitor at any point in the future as it would help with the limited performance ability and you can get some cheap free-sync monitors.

I wouldn't go with an old Kepler as we will see game dev's using things like Async more and more, Nvidia managed to block it in Tomb Raider's PC release but as soon as Pascal hits they'll want it used to boost Pascals attractiveness over Maxwell and Kepler which do not do it well, at that point theres a high chance of finding that any older low end Nvidia offering really can't cut it. AMD do do Async well so they will benefit more than older Nvidia cards in games using it. It's not worth the risk of having an okay performer for the next 6 months and then seeing performance plummet after that.
 
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nashathedog said:
Yes, You only have a 450 watt psu so nothing that wants more than that in total (it will let you know in the cards details how much your overall requirement is)
Click to expand...
Looking at manufacturer specs for recommended PSU wattage is a bad idea. They're usually massively overstated, especially on the AMD side. Even the 260X comes with a recommendation for a 500W PSU for example, which is absolutely absurd.

power_peakairi4.gif


There aren't many single GPU cards that I'd have a problem running on a 450W Super Flower unit, and even fewer at £50, especially considering the OP isn't going to be overclocking his CPU either.
 
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