Budget GPU under $150 can increase if needed

Evil Mastermind

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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487154&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150730&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
Both of these look nice then again I am not really that smart...
 

Epicness937

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of those cards the 380 is more powerful by a bit however it is slower but the 960 in nvidia optimized games outperform the 380 and both of these cards will outperform a 950 370 and even a 270. however if you find a good cheap used r9 280 a 280 is about as powerful as a 960 if not just a BIT more
 

ar2uro

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although sometimes a tiny bit risky, buying used is also an option. You could get a 960 or 280 within your budget, or save some cash and buy an older card that still might run well. (bought a 60$ 6970 for my sis.)
 

Epicness937

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used cards a gamble but they if you get it right your in luck but remember when buying off ebay ONLY BUY FROM TRUSTED SELLERS
if you dont it is a huge risk but when people sell older hardware you can get really good prices. iv seen a gtx 760 for under 100$ so thats one option
 

RTW970

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The used ones I gave were from Amazon which is far more reliable than EBay imo as more of them allow returns etc. But yeah you still wanna be careful. The R9 380 is definitely better by a small margin than the GTX 960 but consumes more power is is a bit louder from what I've heard. A 280 is also a good option but they are hard to find as AMD has discontinued production of the 200 series. This means that if you find one (most likely used), it will be possibly more expensive because they are now more rare to find. If you have good power Supply, I suggest getting a used R9 380 from a reliable supplier and if you have a lesser PSU, than get a GTX 960. The last thing you have to consider is that the GTX 960 can be overclocked much more than the R9 380 can so you might be able to get a performance on par and just possibly better than the R9 380 (not too sure though).
 

Jayhawker32

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I agree with Epicness, look on Ebay and see what you can find or in your local area on craigslist. Gamers generally take good care of their components so I feel much safer buying a used graphics card.
 

Jason_119

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I don't think craigslist is a good idea at all for computer parts lol, not very good advice dude. Where's the return policy once the dude takes off with your money? Please don't give people advice like that.

If you buy used most trusted sellers and stores on Ebay have at least some sort of guarantee or return policy, that way if it's toast you can return it, same goes for Amazon. Check for the return policy first before even considering it. I've received plenty of both working and doa items from both, and I've yet to get burned because I bought from sellers who offer returns. For the love of god don't buy one from a stranger across town in a coffee shop lol.
 

Jayhawker32

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I recommended Craigslist because often times local computer stores advertise on there.
 

Epicness937

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cragslist is a good idea WHEN THEY ACCEPT RETURNS if not NEVER buy used same with ebay
 

Pandaswed

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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127884&cm_re=msi_4g-_-14-127-884-_-Product Recommended
its not $150, its 179.99, SUPPORTS DX12
thatd be your best bet. I mean youc ould go lower with DDR3, but keep in mind DDR3 is shit, and you do not want that type of memory interface (hency why xbone cant play in 1080p no matter what lie microsoft makes up)
Because you said Assassins Creed I recommended a 4GB GDDR5 Card, you will not get the performance you seek from just a 2GB at 150$ because youll also need a good cpu to help with the latency caused by using your system ram to help with processing graphics.


If you like Nvidia this I can recommend around your budget. 169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127904&cm_re=msi_2g-_-14-127-904-_-Product
Although its not 256bit like the MSI 2G r7 370.
It has massive clock speeds
Effective Memory Clock
6650 MHz
Boost Clock
1317 MHz
CUDA Cores
768
SUPPORTS DX12

The counterpart the MSI 2G R7 370. does not have as impressive of clocks.
plain 1000 core clock, and 5600mhz memory clock. the benfit is the 256bit memeory set and the 1024 cores instead of just 768.
but when we think about speed and cores, it really all depends and I don't know enough to know what cores do in terms of GPU's but i do know more is better.


This 750Ti has low ammount of steam processors also made by msi
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127783 at 129.99
boost = 1137 MHz (Gaming mode) SUPPORTS DX12
normal = 1059 MHz (Gaming mode)
128bit,
640 cores.
5400mhz mem clock



this one is older and i think i had a card like this doesn't have external power support so your motherboard needs to be good ;D
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127784 119.99 pretty much same specs as above
actually after double checking, exactly the same specs as above but is 10$ cheaper. and only has 1 fan rather than 2 for cooling. DOES NOT SUPPORT DX12


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202165 Recommended
sapphire r7 370 129.99
it has 1024 cores
256bit
965core clock
5400mem clock
SUPPORTS DX12













and a EVGA GTX 142.99 DOES NOT SUPPORT DX12
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487028
640 CUDA Cores
2GB 128-Bit GDDR5
PCI Express 3.0
Boost Clock
1268 MHz
mem clock 5400

only thing is its low cuda count
 

SlightlyEdible

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1) Go AMD. Nvidia's not looking to swell with DX12.
2) Get an AMD 300 series card. Only the 300 series and Maxwell series of cards are DX12 compatable
 


You can always get a return done if the item is not as described. If they say it works but crashes, you can request a return, if they say no, you can open an eBay case and they will refund you the money more often than not.

The "no returns" thing is mostly for those that just changed their mind about the item and want to send it back if it's in good working shape. I sell maybe $5,000 a year on ebay, always with no returns but never had a bad rating because of it, and always took back things that did not work for some reason.
 


I'd rather buy a video card from craigslist than ebay. If you meet them to get the card in person, you can either test it in their system or in yours. If you get it from ebay you have no way to test it first.

If you just buy the card without testing, then you are taking a chance though.
 

SlightlyEdible

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Clock speed doesn't mean anything when you're comparing COMPLETELY different architectures.
Let's summarize.
A GTX 750ti isn't DirectX 12 compatible. It can achieve a good overclock. It will struggle with 1080p gaming, as even a PS4 is more powerful than it.
A GTX 950 is Direct X 12 compatible, though Nvidia doesn't see any performance gains from DX12. In DX11, Nvidia's drivers have less CPU overhead than AMDs. The card can achieve a good overclock, like the 750ti, and it has a great watt/performance ratio
A R7 370 is DirectX 12 compatible, and greatly benefits from DX12 leaving the 950 far behind. In DX11, it is still the faster card than the 950, though it isn't as power efficient. An overclocked GTX 950 can beat out a R7 370 at stock speeds, but the 300 series are decent overclockers (not as great as Maxwell though), making an 370 OC beat out a 950 OC.
 

whtfish

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When I was in a similar boat a few months ago, I went for a used R9 270X 4GB on ebay (paid $129.99 at the time). The 4GB was probably excessive for my purposes, but I hoped maybe it would help future-proof my lan-party box a smidge.

I have purchased several used CPUs, and now this GPU, and I always steer toward sellers with supremely positive ratings, and thankfully have not been burned. I also sold a gently used card on there once too (a Radeon 7950 when I needed some extra $ a few months before I got my R9 290). I guess you just have to weigh the pros and cons of doing craigslist and inviting someone in to your house if you want to test it before plunking down the $. Personally I preferred trying my luck with high-rated ebay sellers that provide a refund or exchange policy for defective merchandise, but I can see the merits to an in-person transaction too.
 

rderubeis

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Im currently still using my gtx 760 sc with my i5 6500 and im still able to play new games on high settings. I know im gonna eventually gonna need to upgrae, but im hoping i can still get some good time out of my gtx 760sc even if i have to lower my settings to medium or low later on. What you guys think. As of now i can still play rise of the tomb raider, gta5, and other games on high settings with no issues. I just dont have money to upgrade gpu for a while. I know people still purchase the gtx 750ti as budget cards. On a side note i only play at 1080p and i do not plan to play at a higher res anytime soon. So is there even a need to upgrade? I was told if im not going to play higher then 1080p, and if i dont care about playing at max settings then ill still be fine for a bit with my 760 sc