best GPU for i3 2100 3.10 Ghz

mrigank_2 · Jul 11, 2017

I have a Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz, 3.0 gb ram ,i am using Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1 and my system model is Inspiron 620s.
So can somebody tell me which is the best GPU and also other things which i might require.
Any answer is appreciated
And i am only a 14 year old boy so i dont have that much knowledge of computer only the basics.
So please bare with me.

kraelic · Jul 11, 2017

I'd say a 1050 gtx low profile would suit you

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GTX-1050-2GT-LP/dp/B01N6NI5X6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499795145&sr=8-1&keywords=1050+low+profile $119

https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Geforce-Profile-Graphic-GV-N105TOC-4GL/dp/B06WWLWWJM/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1499795220&sr=8-6&keywords=1050+low+profile $150

Does your monitor use VGA and no other option? need to get a Display Port to VGA adapter
https://www.amazon.com/Benfei-DisplayPort-Adapter-Converter-Gold-Plated/dp/B017Q8OCSY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1499796723&sr=8-4&keywords=display+port+to+VGA

shrapnel_indie · Jul 11, 2017

Unless you want lower end, like the GTX-1050 or 1050Ti, or RX-460 or 560... which might be the best fit.... or jump to a GTX-1080, 1080Ti, Titan X or Titan Xp (i3 would be the bottleneck) The rest of the current playing field (the 1060s the 470, 570,480, 580s) are ridiculously overpriced or out of stock.

That leaves the GTX-1050Ti or maybe the Rx-560.

[edit]
If you have one of those Bestec PSUs in that PC, I strongly suggest you save up some more money and replace it First! They are weak on delivery of rated power, and they tend to die and take other parts with them,. (You'll have to open the case and find the label to know for certain,)... This is advisable BEFORE you get a new GPU. You can't afford to go cheap, like the manufacturers who used that power supply did. It will cost you in the long run.

Please open the case, find the label on the PSU, and tell us the model number, and brand. Power rating isn't enough.

photonboy · Jul 11, 2017

1) I agree on the GTX1050 or GTX1050Ti depending on the budget.

Most PSU's should be fine with either of these cards. (avoid AMD as they are much more power hungry)

2) As said, it appears to be low-profile but I'd still take the case side off to ensure you have the proper x16 slot for the card. You likely do.

When you do so look at the PSU rating. Worst-case (with fans, HDD's, but WITHOUT graphics card) is about 150W. That means a 250W PSU should be BARELY adequate but may work fine. A 300W should be fine.

(It's hard to know the actual, sustained draw that a power supply can handle so I prefer not to go over 80% load)

Look at the PCIe picture (yellow slots, though could be any color): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express

3) You'll still need to investigate games you buy to see what the minimum CPU requirement is. Your CPU is a little weak so you will have to avoid some of the more demanding titles.

kraelic · Jul 11, 2017

Op has a Dell Inspiron 620s

Slim desktop, limited to half height cards. Probably a 240W PSU also small form factor.

To use anything larger, move the guts into a ATX or Micro ATX tower, get a decent 550W PSU possibly get a 1060 GTX level with I5 2500 or 1080 GTX level with I7 2600. Do not a K chip for this OEM board. Starts to add up quick here. Seeing OP is 14, I don't think he has that kind of coin.

I don't think Dell updated the boards for Ivy Bridge.

photonboy · Jul 11, 2017

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-ti,4787-6.html

With slight overclock, I believe about 75W is the maximum draw for the card. Add that to the 150W from above, and it appears about 225W... so I would recommend a 300W+ PSU be used only with the GTX1050Ti.

If you get the low profile card, AND don't overclock further it's probably using no more than 60W, so if your system realistically used 140W + 60W = 200W a 250W PSU would be okay. I don't like to push things that close so you can do what you want with that information. In other words, I still recommend a 300W+ PSU.

*update: the GTX1050 only seems to pull about 10W less. If possible, I'd buy the GTX1050Ti if there's no power or budget issue as there's 4GB of video memory which MAY help you in some games even at this performance level, and games are getting more demanding of memory usage as time goes on

shrapnel_indie · Jul 11, 2017

photonboy :

Exact power draw is unimportant in a desktop as long as you have a power supply that can deliver and isn't a piece of junk, and the ability to keep it cool.

shrapnel_indie · Jul 11, 2017

kraelic :

With a SFF case, yeah, the 1/2 height cards are best.. leaving pretty much the 1050Ti as the best choice.

I believe I've seen those junk bestec PSUs in the format for the SFF cases... it's better to make sure than cause a larger loss.

photonboy · Jul 11, 2017

shrapnel_indie,
Your point escapes me. It's important to provide a good estimate so you know whether the power supply is sufficient or not. Yes, "exact" power isn't necessary if he had a 450W PSU and we're guessing at 200 to 250W range of usage, but it's ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT to give a good estimate when the PSU is borderline in delivering the power you need.

mrigank_2 · Jul 11, 2017

one more thing i dont want to overclock anything.
i need a GPU which does not bottleneck and is not very power hungry.

shrapnel_indie · Jul 11, 2017

photonboy :

My point boils down to the age of the machine. It's practically old enough to hold a clunker of a PSU like this one... obviously not in that form factor though. AND/OR... it could be a model that claims 350W delivery, yet can barely deliver 190W without problems.

At 14, knowing if the PSU needs to be dumped for another good PSU will save more money than having the thing (PSU) choke and kill other parts, including itself, requiring replacement.

photonboy · Jul 11, 2017

Having said that, it looks like the PSU should be replaced as I Googled and the PSU doesn't sound like it's good quality.

Quality aside it only has about 213W on the 12V rail (used for CPU and Graphics Card) which it may or may not reliably supply.

FORM FACTOR appears to be TFX. This one might work fine:
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/HtPfrH/fsp-group-power-supply-fsp30060sgv

$60 350W-> https://pcpartpicker.com/product/sFjG3C/seasonic-power-supply-ss350tgmretail

Other TFX: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/power-supply/#t=11&sort=price&page=1

*If it's not TFX please correct me*

photonboy · Jul 11, 2017

mrigank_2 :

1) First, whether a GPU is a "bottleneck" in the system usually depends on several factors. The CPU, game and game settings (i.e. resolution) are among them.

Some games will have a CPU bottleneck and some will have a GPU bottleneck when pairing the i3-2100 + GTX1050Ti so I wouldn't worry too much about that. The GTX1050Ti is frankly the best card for you (unless it's too expensive).

2) I think the TFX 300W PSU I found is ideal for your setup. I've discussed the power usage and there seems to be no issue, but unfortunately the lower-quality 250W model you have is probably a problem.

3) Not clear if you are in the USA or not, but the price for both PSU and GPU should be a little over $200USD with tax/shipping.

kraelic · Jul 11, 2017

Either card I linked should be fine 2GB or 4 GB, depending on your budget. Might need the adapter if your monitor is only VGA. If DVI is an option and you have the DVI cable use that, or if HDMI is on your monitor use HDMI cable.

You might see some better performance with a ram upgrade after that, 2x 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3

photonboy · Jul 11, 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f31tbbrEJEc

There's a few videos like this which give you a ROUGH idea of how well a game might play. I don't recommend GTA5 though as it will hit a major CPU bottleneck.

shrapnel_indie · Jul 11, 2017

photonboy :

Google-Fu comes up with this: 250w TFX power supply, model: D250PD-00 - Dell rebranded.

photonboy · Jul 11, 2017

kraelic :

Forgot about VGA.
If the monitor ONLY has a VGA input then you can't get any of the newer NVidia cards. You MUST have one with either a DVI-I (not DVI-D) or VGA output. The DVI-I simply has both sets of DVI and VGA outputs, so to use VGA you use the VGA->DVI adapter.

Unfortunately, if you only had VGA for the monitor you'd need an ACTIVE adapter though I think they can be found for as little as $10 (that support up to 1920x1200, 60Hz).

I believe THIS is a compatible DP->VGA adapter: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5135

photonboy · Jul 11, 2017

I agree on the DDR3 upgrade as 3GB is a bit problematic for games (okay for basic browsing).

I looked for another 3GB stick but they are no longer available. 2x4GB 1333MHz kit is ideal
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#s=301333&sort=price&Z=8192002&page=1

But we're adding $50USD more to the build so this is approaching $250 or more now.

Note that some of the memory is a lot taller than others so make sure it fits.

jays2pence · Jul 11, 2017

rx570

kraelic · Jul 11, 2017

Dell did the oddball 2 GB and 1 GB for 3GB, in asynchronous dual channel. Never seen a 3GB stick. Even swapping the 1GB for another 2GB should help. 4GB minimum for gaming, 8GB recommended, 16GB is nice to have. Would be weird to have a 4GB GPU with 3 GB system RAM.

So for penny pinching 300W TFX PSU, 1050 2GB, find a 2nd 2GB DDR3 that matches check cpu-z to get the ram speed, 1066 or 1333, will show as 533 or 667.

Or 350W SeaSonic TFX PSU, 1050TI 4GB with 8GB 1333 DDR3

shrapnel_indie · Jul 11, 2017

jays2pence :

Issues:

Overpriced and/or out of stock - http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ethereum-effect-graphics-card-prices,34928.html
Power draw may be too high for application
Card height is an issue at full-height.

jays2pence · Jul 11, 2017

gtx 960

kraelic · Jul 11, 2017

jays2pence :

Again, not available in low profile.

Half height is a requirement in the OP's case.

mrigank_2 · Jul 12, 2017

my res is 1366*768 and i am living in India

photonboy · Jul 12, 2017

There's no better brand new card for about $150USD than a GTX1050Ti, especially considering the low-profile considerations.

I'm not aware of any low-profile cards giving this level of performance since it's a question of GPU efficiency thus cooling potential which is limited in low-profile cards.

best GPU for i3 2100 3.10 Ghz

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