My GPU just died, need advice on replacement.

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
R

rsnider

Distinguished
May 16, 2011
14
0
18,510
My HD 6870 just died so I'm looking at a few different replacements and would like some input. First of all, this is what I currently have:

  • CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 555 BE OC'd to 4.0 GHz (locked cores are unstable, so it has to stay X2)
    MB: Asus M4A88T-V EVO/USB3
    RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (4x2GB)
    SSD: Crucial M500 240GB
    PSU: BFG 550W
    GPU: XFX Radeon HD 6870 (dead, running on iGPU for now)
As you can see, my system is very dated but I'm not looking to replace the MB and CPU at the moment because it still works fine for what I do. I use it for 3D engineering modelling and occasionally playing older games. I realize it's never going to run new AAA releases on high (or even medium) settings at 1080p60, but I would like to squeeze out a little more performance with a newer GPU if I can. Since everything else is so old, I don't want to spend very much on the GPU (<$100).

The GPUs I'm looking at are:

  • ASUS GeForce GTX 750 Ti ($69 after $30 rebate)
    GIGABYTE Radeon RX 460 ($89 after $10 rebate)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 ($99 after $25 rebate)
I've seen some benchmarks that say the GTX 750 Ti is better than the HD 6870 but I've also seen some that say the HD 6870 and GTX 750 Ti are on par. If I'm going to be spending money, I would like to at least get some increase in performance.
The GTX 1050 seems to have the best performance overall as well as the best performance/dollar, but I don't think I would ever be able to fully utilize the 1050 with my CPU, so it seems kind of like wasted money.
The RX 460 seems to be right in the middle, but at only $10 less than the GTX 1050, it seems silly not to just go with the GTX 1050. The EVGA GTX 1050 has the added bonus of a lifetime warranty, whereas the others are only 3 years.

I'm having a hard time making up my mind. Any opinions or advice would be really helpful.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
R

rsnider

Distinguished
May 16, 2011
14
0
18,510
I just learned that newer video cards are not always compatible with legacy BIOS motherboards. Does anyone know if the GTX 750 Ti, GTX 1050, and RX 460 video cards will work with an Asus M488T-V EVO/USB3 motherboard (non-UEFI)?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jwcrellin

jwcrellin

Reputable
Dec 3, 2016
1,416
39
5,740
Rx460 would be excellent in your build or even the rx470 would be better if you can find some change in you couch. Remember, this gpu will be with you for several years and probably into a new build when you upgrade your motherboard, cpu and ram.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

dontlistentome

Glorious
Sep 5, 2016
5,979
19
43,415
It's a bit complex, because 'get some increase in performance' is not determined solely by the videocard selection. It could be that a 2gb 750 Ti gives you a chance to play games that a 1gb 6870 does not allow. Further more, it could be that stepping up to a 1050 won't make any difference to your dual core system. The requirements of the games you run as well as the need for more than a dual core CPU are big factors.

The question of taking this card along to a future build is not relevant in my opinion, unless you have that build scheduled. That's because if a new build isn't even on the horizon, then buying something now for it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

rsnider

Distinguished
May 16, 2011
14
0
18,510


Even though my motherboard has legacy BIOS instead of UEFI? Searching the forums, it seems a lot of people have problems getting legacy BIOS motherboards to detect GTX 7xx video cards and up. Apparently it was enough of a problem that MSI introduced a GTX 750 Ti with a switch on the video card for changing between legacy BIOS and UEFI. The RX 460 seems to be one of the few new cards that consistently works with legacy BIOS motherboards.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

rsnider

Distinguished
May 16, 2011
14
0
18,510
Well I ended up getting none of those cards. After searching google for "video card repair", I decided to give the oven method a shot. My HD 6870 lives on to render another day! How do I mark this thread as solved?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
salerhino

salerhino

Reputable
Mar 16, 2016
1,263
0
5,660


Just to tell you, it may fix it, but it will last for couple of weeks mostly.
Best answer is selected with the link in each message(reply) box, choose one, it will mark it as the best answer, and thread will be marked with "solved" aswell.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom