Looking for a low budget Graphic Card with 1 GB memory

starhunter5

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I am looking for a low budget Graphic Card with 1 GB memory [or 2 GB]
My motherboard has 2 PCIe 2.0 slots, I have see that a lot of cards use PCIe 2.1 or PCIe 3.0 - I am not sure if they will work in my PCIe 2.0 slot or not?
and I am not sure which would be better - AMD Radeon or Nvidia GeForce ?

My main interest is gaming and while I do some online play, the games I play online or more like Dawn of the Dragon and Dragon Fable [I might try some others with better graphics, tho]
My offline gaming are
RPGs [Morrowind, Oblivion, Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning and Fate]
Space Exploration Games [Master of Orion, Galactic Civilizations, and Endless Space]
Civilization 3, and 4 [Would like to try Civ 5

I am more concerned with Game Play than I am with graphics at the highest setting

I am looking at spending upto about $100 or so [less would be good as I only make about $8 per Hr]

So I am Looking for a Good inexpensive Video Card [and while my Monitor can not handle higher than 1600x900, who knows what the future will bring]
 
Solution
Do NOT look at hwcompare stuff!
That is theoretical and does not relate to benchmarks in any possible way.

I myself have HD 6850.

HD 7770 is a newer card, it produces less heat and costs less power too.

You want to compare the two cards? here you go! Do so in benchmarks -

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/536?vs=539

I some games HD 6850 is better while in some games 7770 is better.
In the same way HD 7850 is better than HD 6850.

Also, FYI, HD 6850 costs $140.

@OP - Please be cautious with this guy's advises. He has not got enough knowledge with video cards.


Sorry mate, I posted just about 30 seconds after you, so didn't saw your post.
 
Mar 24, 2013
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no matter what pci-e version you have .they all are backwards compatible so if you have a pci-e 2.0*16 then you'll be absolutely fine with all its above versions .and if we talk about graphics card of mid range then currently AMD has taken the lead so if you are buying a card in 150$-100$ or below range then amd's graphic cards will give you best price =performance ratio .i also think that a radeon hd 7770 will be the best deal for you and you also get far cry 3 and 3d mark with this card .go with this card ....if you're less in budget then buy this card and sell the game and 3dmark software you get with this card to get some money back .good luck ...
 

starhunter5

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NewEgg.com says that is a PCI Express 3.0 x16 - Will it work in a PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot?
 


Hopefully its going to be higher than 450W .. Otherwise 7750. But seriously, if 7770 is available for that price, its not wise to go for 7750. Hopefully he would have a good PSU.
 


I guess not. $100 is his maximum budget. He is wishing for something even lesser than that. 7790 might prove to be too much on his budget.
 

starhunter5

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My Computer can handle the Watts needed:
Intel Core i5-2500K - 3.30 GHz [3.70 GHz]
Corsair Vengeance Desktop Memory Module 4 GB, PC3-12800 [2x]
Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5\" HD
Lite-On IHAS124-04 Internal DVD Writer
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 [750 watts] V2 Power Supply
Rosewill CHALLENGER-U3 Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Benq ET-0008 G2000WD LCD Monitor [Max Display: 1600x900]

as for the budget, that is a ballpark figure as I still have to save the money [may have a bonus coming in july - do not know yet]
Thanks for the help
 

Oh my!
Your system deserves a GTX670 or Radeon 7970 LOL

 


seriously does. man.. spent all that cash on good stuff and skimped on the gpu... kills me when i see that.

yes, your psu is more then enough for pretty much any gpu you stuff onto the motherboard.
 

bretmh

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Nov 28, 2012
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HD 7770 best bang for the buck dude for that price. You will get more out of it than any other $100 card

sig.jpg
 


Roflmao .. You have done very similar mistake as me. :D
I too chose the best CPU out there at my time, and almost everything top notch, but skipped on GPU coz I didn't realized its need at that time. :/

Man there is not a single GPU made on earth which will bottleneck a 2500K. Take my word for that!
I would HIGHLY recommend waiting for a while, for a month or two, and buy a GTX 770 for that rig! Don't go for BS cards right now or you would be left lamenting like me. My card is slightly powerful than you, and I know how it works.
 

starhunter5

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While the system may deserve it, my problem is being able to afford it
since I built this system I now work at walmart and make about $8 per hr, and we may get a bonus in june or july, but it is by no means a certain that we will. and I have other things that I need to do with the money. I am just hoping that I can get a Graphic Card with this money. [I also need a CPU cooler even before the Graphic Card]
 

starhunter5

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This was no mistake, after I put the basic system together, I had to change jobs and I am just now getting back to the point where I can consider getting a Graphic Card.
 

starhunter5

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luckiest charm said:HD 7770 mate.

I would suggest waiting for a month or two more though. But depends on you.  

Well, I will not have the money until next month at the earliest
 

hemantgta

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May 25, 2012
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hey buy a evga gtx 550 ti 2gb ddr5 superclocked which is 100$ exact at bestbuy.com

its 39%more powerful than a hd 7770

u will not regret.

check this site for proof :
http://www.hwcompare.com/11894/geforce-gtx-550-ti-vs-radeon-hd-7770/