Low, low-mid or almost-mid-range Graphics Card for three monitors?

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Tim_1974

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May 6, 2016
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So, I'm running an A8-3850 with integrated HD 6550D graphics but my mobo only supports two outputs. I need to add a third monitor, so am looking at graphics cards. Question is, do I go for a cheap GT 730 (£45), a R7 250 (£60) or a half-decent R7 360 (£80). Other specs: 8Gb RAM, Samsung Evo SSD, Xonar Audio, 500w PSU with 6-pin power cable.

I do some gaming (mildly addicted to Diablo III) but have a PS4, so this isn't a gaming rig. I use my PC as my main media device for HD video. No CAD or photo editing, but I do often encode video while watching HD movies. I'll occasionally be running all three screens at 1080p.

Apart from Diablo III, will I notice a difference between the three cards? It seems a waste to spend £45 on something barely better than what I already have, but more than that seems a bit steep for just extra monitor support. Help me make my mind up (and persuade me I need the R7 370:))!

 
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oobymach

oobymach

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Jul 11, 2015
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Diablo 3 isn't very demanding but I would go for a gt740 at the minimum and maybe the 750ti or r7 250 if you're interested in faster encoding, with nvidia cards the more cuda cores the faster it can encode (provided your software makes use of them).
 
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shanetemple14

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Nov 2, 2014
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for you the r7 370 would be overkill considering the 4gb of ram however if you want to spend that bit extra for the 370 instead of a 750ti go ahead,but i urge you not to get the lower GT series cards,very outdated and restricted,at least the 750ti or 370 will let you play current games at reasonable settings at decent fps
 
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k1114

k1114

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May 2, 2010
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Did you check to make sure your mobo supports running both igpu and dgpu at the same time? Most modern mobos do but better safe than sorry. A 730 is not hardly better than a 6550D, it's more than double the performance if you are talking about the right version.
 
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Tim_1974

Commendable
May 6, 2016
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1,510
So, I've bought the R7 360 for a tad over £75. Reason? The on-sale XFX Double Dissipation model I found is £14 less than the best price I could find for the 750 ti. I guess what it came down to is that I wanted a new-ish card that will run Diablo 3 RoS at max but is as cheap as possible. There's obviously a lot of love for the 750 ti, but at current prices there doesn't seem much point. If you really want more than the R7 360, why not spring the extra for a GTX 950?

TBH, if I wasn't so old-skool with Diablo I'd probably just buy it for the PS4 and get a cheap-as-chips second hand HD 6450 and Dual Graphics it with the IGU, then buy a serious gaming rig if my kid is into that sort of thing when older. But I've been playing Diablo since '97 (anyone remember 3dfx Voodoo graphics cards?) and I don't think my aged brain could handle not madly clicking around the screen when mobbed!

Thanks for the advice, as no-one picked the winner I can't award any as the solution (sorry!).
 
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