Need advice for replacing the graphics card

dragz

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Sep 5, 2014
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Hi, I'm in trouble, A while back I put together a budget pc to enjoy the occasional gaming

core i3 2100
Evga 550ti OC
2x4Gb ram
Cooler Master GX 450

sadly the graphics card went poof last week and the warrenty period is over so it need to be replaced. My current options are GTX 750 GDDR5 1GB or the r7 260X GDDR5 2GB. I've used nvidia cards till now but will it be an advantage if I choose the AMD card because of the extra (2GB) vram? Since the good falks here tomshardware put together a 4th gen i3 with a GTX 770 I assume my CPU can handle the r7 260X

I know its wise to build a new pc all together but I'm planning till DDR4 become common. May be in the middle of next year.
 
Solution
GTX 750 Ti or R7 260x will do. Probably the R7 260x since it is a bit cheaper although consumes a bit more power.

To answer your other questions. There really is no benefit of having 2GB VRAM unless you are running multiple displays, high resolutions or simply running games that need that much VRAM (Watch Dogs at 1080p while running on medium-high graphic settings). Anyway, other than that, 1GB VRAM is enough for now.

DDR4 isn't much beneficial over DDR3 if you're just basing your decision on just RAM solely. Your current config is not bad so there really isn't any need to build a new computer unless you want to have the best gaming experience meaning multiple monitors and eye candy graphics.

Cats869

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Aug 16, 2014
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GTX 750 Ti or R7 260x will do. Probably the R7 260x since it is a bit cheaper although consumes a bit more power.

To answer your other questions. There really is no benefit of having 2GB VRAM unless you are running multiple displays, high resolutions or simply running games that need that much VRAM (Watch Dogs at 1080p while running on medium-high graphic settings). Anyway, other than that, 1GB VRAM is enough for now.

DDR4 isn't much beneficial over DDR3 if you're just basing your decision on just RAM solely. Your current config is not bad so there really isn't any need to build a new computer unless you want to have the best gaming experience meaning multiple monitors and eye candy graphics.
 
Solution

Cats869

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Aug 16, 2014
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Quad Core Processor like the i5 will definitely be good. DDR4 is unnecessary for the time being unless you will be doing heavy workstation work like video editing and the such. There is really barely any difference between DDR3 and DDR4 when it comes to gaming.

You can probably upgrade your processor to an i5-2500k or a little less in the future if you prefer. That way, you can get even better graphics card (once you have a better power supply as well) since you won't have a slower processor that may bottleneck your graphics card a bit.
 

dragz

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Sep 5, 2014
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Thanks you for the fast response, I thought of DDR4 to make the build future proof (I'm planning to build it next year, july - august mostly). Prices will come down eventually and there are certain motherboards comes with 5 year warranty.For now I'll go with just a graphics card, Back to my original question, will it be an advantage if I choose the AMD card because of the extra (2GB) vram?
 

Cats869

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Aug 16, 2014
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Just quoting what I said earlier.



You will want 2GB of VRAM when you get a better card like the R9 270x or higher however as those GPUs can utilize the RAM better.