Video Card advice please

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huxtable

83 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 4

Topic # 198935 28-Jul-2016 19:40

Hi,

Earlier this year I upgraded my 10 year old PC, to a really nice (by comparison at least!) rig, as follows:

Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Intel B150 DDR4 mATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Intel Skylake Core i5-6500 3.20Ghz, 6MB, LGA1151 Processor
Corsair CMK8GX4M2A2400C14R Vengeance LPX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4-2400 CL14
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 64MB 6Gb/s SATA3
Already had a 128GB SSD from a few years ago (Win 10 installed), and a 620W power supply.

I couldn't afford to upgrade my Video Card at the time, so still have my Gigabyte GeForce 650 Ti 1GB GDDR5.

Although I'm trying not to get caught up in the hype, I'm really keen to get No Man's Sky on PC (don't own a PS4), and I would surely have to upgrade my Video Card to get a decent experience. I can't afford to spend much on the card. Unfortunately these days I can't keep up with how Video Cards compare to each other, so would love some recommendations.

Please recommend some video cards that would be a decent step up from my 650Ti 1GB. Happy to buy second hand. I would prefer to spend less than $200 if possible. If someone could take the time to suggest a couple of picks in different price brackets, best "bang for buck", that would be even better. Thanks.

ludez

903 posts

Ultimate Geek
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Inactive user

Reply # 1600330 28-Jul-2016 19:59

HD 7970, gtx 680,gtx 770,r9 280x if same price as 7970.
670 would be ok also.

huxtable

83 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 4

Reply # 1600346 28-Jul-2016 20:59

Thanks Ludez - that gives me a good starting point, cheers.

PhantomNVD

2489 posts

Uber Geek
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Reply # 1600350 28-Jul-2016 21:13

Here my go to comparison chart, regularly updated and very good at comparisons between the majour vendors:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gpus,4380.html

*edit for spelling

huxtable

83 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 4

Reply # 1600358 28-Jul-2016 21:33

Cheers, good reading.

How about this R9 380? $260 new from CL, where I've bought my last couple of systems from & loved...

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=26204

Brumfondl

988 posts

Ultimate Geek
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Reply # 1600360 28-Jul-2016 21:38

Save your money for a while and get an 8GB RX480. Currently around $500 but definitely the best bang for your buck out there at the moment.

toejam316

680 posts

Ultimate Geek
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Reply # 1600386 28-Jul-2016 22:59

Or consider waiting for the RX 470 4GB - that'll cover you well and truly if you're only gonna be targeting 1080p. Rumours say it'll hit around $149 USD, which will put it probably around $250-$300 local.

huxtable

83 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 4

Reply # 1600391 28-Jul-2016 23:18

Cheers guys, but not particularly interested in waiting long at all, and anything over $300 is simply out of my price range unfortunately (I'm not enough of a gamer to justify it).

dickytim

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Reply # 1600432 29-Jul-2016 06:16

I have a GTX960 4gb SC version that I got for $330 from PB a while back, it is the compact one and is very good.

I mostly play games that are about a year old and it is handling all the ones I have at full resolution.

Previously I have a GTX750Ti 2gb SC version which go second hand for around $100 that was quite a good little card. Not for full resolution at 1080p on the latest games but it did the job.

jhsol

86 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 21

Reply # 1601605 31-Jul-2016 12:45

huxtable:

Cheers guys, but not particularly interested in waiting long at all, and anything over $300 is simply out of my price range unfortunately (I'm not enough of a gamer to justify it).

If you can afford to wait 1-2 months wait for the 1060 (Nvidia) or 480 (ATI) to drop. This will push the prices of the Nvidia 960 & 970 and ATI 280x, 290, 290x downwards.

Trademe has roughly the following prices for 2nd hand:

280x ($175 - $225)
290 ($200-$300)
290x ($200-$300)
960 ($200-$300)
970 ($280-$350)

It will also force the new prices of old stock of the 960/970/380x/390/390x down to most likely around the $300-$400 mark).

Performance is roughly 280x->960/290->290x/970 with blows being traded depending on the DX11 (nvidia advantage) to DX12 (ati advantage).

Nvidia has the crown for lowest power consumption however (so if cool and quiet is your goal or you are not confident with your PSU grab a 960/970). Any of these cards will play 1080p at high/ultra settings (once again depending on the game).

huxtable

83 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 4

Reply # 1603427 3-Aug-2016 11:14

Really appreciate the feedback from everyone. It helped me get a better understanding of how cards compare.

I actually made a bit of an impulse buy on Trademe, hoping it was a decent move ; picked up a Vapor-X HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB for $180... From the research I did it seemed a massive improvement over my 650Ti. Hoping it wasn't a mistake!

Brumfondl

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Reply # 1603435 3-Aug-2016 11:29

The greater RAM on the card will help for starters. I'm sure you'll enjoy it :)

jhsol

86 posts

Master Geek
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Reply # 1603439 3-Aug-2016 11:40

huxtable: Really appreciate the feedback from everyone. It helped me get a better understanding of how cards compare.

I actually made a bit of an impulse buy on Trademe, hoping it was a decent move ; picked up a Vapor-X HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB for $180... From the research I did it seemed a massive improvement over my 650Ti. Hoping it wasn't a mistake!

The R9 280X is a rebadged 7970, so @ $180 is a decent price for what you got. You will find it will good for 1080p @ high (if not ultra) on most games.