Looking to Upgrade my AMD R7 200 Series

s2397 · Feb 19, 2018

Hello! I'm not very knowledgeable on computers, only basics. I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card.

Computer Specs

Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
AMD FX-4300 28 °C
Vishera 32nm Technology
RAM
8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 803MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. GA-78LMT-S2 (Socket M2) 34 °C
Graphics
2048MB ATI AMD Radeon R7 200 Series (XFX Pine Group) 31 °C (I believe I have an AMD 240)
Storage
931GB TOSHIBA DT01ACA100 ATA Device (SATA) 28 °C
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NSC0 ATA Device
Audio
AMD High Definition Audio Device

Mainly, I pretty much only play Sims 4 (occassionally Planet Coaster, which my computer doesn't handle incredibly well) and would like to upgrade to something a bit better and more reliable for future D.LC, expansions, etc. My budget is around $200 but I'll buy whatever is best for what I need. What would you suggest?

If there is anything else I need to provide, please let me know. Thank you!

hang-the-9 · Feb 20, 2018

This is a bad time to be looking for a new video card. Unless you need one now, I would wait. Card that cost $100-120 are in the $160 and up range now. You will be paying about $200 now for a card that was $150 a few months ago.

For a good upgrade over your 240 this will be good for $100 https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Radeon-2GB-GDDR5-Graphics-Cards/dp/B071XWKSW6?tag=bom_tomshardware-20&ascsubtag=THUS50281519156869780&SubscriptionId=AKIAJLYKPRLXUSF4GDIQ&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&th=1

Pretty much everything else is at 25% or higher prices than they should be.

dontlistentome · Feb 20, 2018

Your FX CPU might struggle a bit here and there, but an R7 240 is underpowered for gaming especially at 1080p, which I'm going to assume is the target resolution. For Planet Coaster I'd want a 1050 at least, a 1050 Ti if possible under your budget. Prices are ridiculously inflated, so it might take a while, or it might not even be possible.

One alternative is a used card, but you might not be interested in that. Something like a GTX 960 or AMD HD 7850 or 7870, if reasonably priced, would be a very large step up from what you have. This assumes your power supply can handle it.

The RX 550 and GT 1030 would both be upgrades from what you have, but might be better suited to 720p with Planet Coaster. These cards are the minimum acceptable for the here and now, they won't take you into future gaming. Buy one of these if you want new only, and you understand you'll need to upgrade once prices come down.

s2397 · Feb 22, 2018

hang-the-9 :

Thanks so much for the response! I definitely don't need it right away so I will wait for prices to drop first.

s2397 · Feb 22, 2018

dontlistentome :

Your FX CPU might struggle a bit here and there, but an R7 240 is underpowered for gaming especially at 1080p, which I'm going to assume is the target resolution. For Planet Coaster I'd want a 1050 at least, a 1050 Ti if possible under your budget. Prices are ridiculously inflated, so it might take a while, or it might not even be possible.

One alternative is a used card, but you might not be interested in that. Something like a GTX 960 or AMD HD 7850 or 7870, if reasonably priced, would be a very large step up from what you have. This assumes your power supply can handle it.

The RX 550 and GT 1030 would both be upgrades from what you have, but might be better suited to 720p with Planet Coaster. These cards are the minimum acceptable for the here and now, they won't take you into future gaming. Buy one of these if you want new only, and you understand you'll need to upgrade once prices come down.

Thanks for the reply! Would you recommend me upgrading my processor by any chance as well?

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Looking to Upgrade my AMD R7 200 Series

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