What is the best compatible graphics card for my PC?

maxraj · Feb 13, 2015

What's up guys? After I take a Q9400, what is the best graphics card for me? My psu was bought more than a year ago.

I can only upgrade to a quad core processor then save some for a compatible graphics card for medium settings gaming.

My PC Configuration is:
Motherboard: XFX X-G31
Processor: Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8GHz
RAM: 3GB DDR2 (Max 4GB in 2 slots)
GPU: Gigabyte HD 5770 1GB GDDR5
PSU: Corsair VS 450
Resolution: 1366x768

Calculagator · Feb 13, 2015

The limiting factor is really your budget. While your CPU will limit performance, a better gpu will still give better performance. Decide what you want to spend and then look at the relevant section of this article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html
For medium settings, the R9 270 is a great performer. You can also get some great deals on used HD 7870s.

Your PSU will be able to handle pretty much any single GPU if it has the appropriate connectors.

Calculagator · Feb 13, 2015

Also, at your resolution, An R7 250x would be able to handle most games at medium settings. It's probably the best bang for your buck on the low end.

Raiin · Feb 13, 2015

i wouldnt get anything higher than a 750ti or r9 260x/270

maxraj · Feb 13, 2015

Calculagator :

Thanks! It's good to know that my PSU can handle any card. It has only one 6-pin connector. If it can handle an HD 7870 OC Edition, then I will try to get it or else go for an R7 260x 2GB, 750 Ti or sth like HD 7850 to play in high settings. Depends on how much I can manage and I also don't wanna take any risk in pushing my PSU to its limit. My current GPU needs 108 W I guess. If you can get me a list of real-world graphics card power consumption, it will be a great help. Thank you!

Btw, what's the use of a memory bus and memory size in graphics card? What difference does it make in gaming as in having 2gb memory and more memory bus as well?

Raiin · Feb 13, 2015

maxraj :

Calculagator :

Thanks! It's good to know that my PSU can handle any card. It has only one 6-pin connector. If it can handle an HD 7870 OC Edition, then I will try to get it or else go for an R7 260x 2GB, 750 Ti or sth like HD 7850 to play in high settings. Depends on how much I can manage and I also don't wanna take any risk in pushing my PSU to its limit. My current GPU needs 108 W I guess. If you can get me a list of real-world graphics card power consumption, it will be a great help. Thank you!

Btw, what's the use of a memory bus and memory size in graphics card? What difference does it make in gaming as in having 2gb memory and more memory bus as well?

if you dont wana push your Psu then the 750ti is perfect is doesnt need any Pcie Power connectors and it uses Very little power.

Calculagator · Feb 13, 2015

Here are some data points for total system power consumption with different gpus installed. Your system may be more or less efficient, but it shouldn't be too far off.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU14/838
GPU memory has a lot of uses, but the greatest memory hog is Anti-Aliasing and related technologies. Gaming at 1080p requires around 1GB of RAM. With "ultra" setting and high levels of AA, that increases to between 2 and 3 GB for many games. Since your screen has only about half as many pixels, you don't realistically ever need more than 1GB.
Since you only have 1 6-pin, you would need to purchase/use an adapter so that you can have either 2 6 pin connectors or 1 8 pin, depending on the card.

maxraj · Feb 14, 2015

Raiin :

maxraj :

if you dont wana push your Psu then the 750ti is perfect is doesnt need any Pcie Power connectors and it uses Very little power.

Yeah, I am targetting that! Anyways, thanks!

maxraj · Feb 14, 2015

Calculagator :

I opened that page, but I am confused of Furmark scores? What does it mean? Thank you

Just to be clear, a GTX 750 Ti or R7 260x can give me high settings in my resolution, right? As a conclusion, which one if not these should I go for?

Raiin · Feb 14, 2015

maxraj :

Calculagator :

I opened that page, but I am confused of Furmark scores? What does it mean? Thank you

Just to be clear, a GTX 750 Ti or R7 260x can give me high settings in my resolution, right? As a conclusion, which one if not these should I go for?

the 750ti is better than the r7 260x

Calculagator · Feb 14, 2015

maxraj :

Furmark is just a program that forces the gpu to work at 100%. The numbers here represent how much power the entire system is drawing while running full blast.

Calculagator · Feb 14, 2015

Here are benchmarks comparing the GTX 750ti with the R7 260X so you can see performance comparisons in different games.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1130?vs=1044
Here is how the HD 7870 compares to the 750 ti
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1130?vs=1034

maxraj · Feb 15, 2015

Calculagator :

From the chart, it seems R7 is better in medium settings while the GTX 750 Ti performs better in high settings gaming using very little power. Thanks! I think I will go for whichever comes in less price

Raiin · Feb 15, 2015

maxraj :

those are old benchmarks, the 750ti is very much faster than the 260x, they go for around the same price, the 750ti goes as low as 140$, while the 260x goes for around 110-130$.

Calculagator · Feb 16, 2015

Raiin :

Would you mind sharing your source for this info? I have been unable to confirm your claimed performance differences. Both anandtech and Tom's show that the 750ti is better at some games and worse at others. Overall, it is probably the better performer, but it costs more too

maxraj · Feb 16, 2015

If I get an R7, will I be able to play games with mantle? It's quite intriguing! If AMD offers mantle which is a new thing for playing modern games with more FPS, then I will surely go for an AMD card. Let me know. Thank you!

maxraj · Feb 17, 2015

Calculagator :

Does R7 260x, HD 7000 Series support Mantle gaming? If it does, I can get very good FPS with even old processors. If it's not worth it, then I can go for GTX series. Let me know. Thanks!

Calculagator · Feb 17, 2015

Yes, mantle is supported (if you play the few games that support it). It could make a difference sometimes, but I wouldn't make it your deciding factor.

maxraj · Feb 17, 2015

Calculagator :

What's the difference between Mantle and DirectX 12? What's the benefit of DirectX 12? I can have both, right?

Raiin · Feb 17, 2015

maxraj :

Direct X12 is only available with Windows 10 and even then there is no games that support dx12 yet, it might be a few years before we see Dx12 games as the norm.

maxraj · Feb 18, 2015

Raiin :

maxraj :

Direct X12 is only available with Windows 10 and even then there is no games that support dx12 yet, it might be a few years before we see Dx12 games as the norm.

Hmm! I also heard that cards that are DirectX 11 will support DirectX 12. Thanks

What is the best compatible graphics card for my PC?

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