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Help with finding a reasonable graphic card and maybe other stuff
Hi all, I'm not really computer savvy and I was wondering if anyone could help me pick a graphic card for my 2 year old pc. Some of the specs are: Processor: Intel Core i7-3770 (Ivy Bridge) (77W) 3.4 GHz | Memory: 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 (runs at PC3-10600 with Sandy Bridge processors) | Graphics: GeForce GT 630 (2 GB) (Default). I'll also provide a link to my pc specs incase I forgot something: http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03697153. Again, I'm not really tech savvy and was just hoping I could get a graphics card to up my gaming performance (or maybe I need other upgrades, any suggestions are welcomed). Current games I play right now are FFXIV:ARR and Tera. Thanks in advance for the advice.
Comments
I play FFXIV on a R7 260X 2GB @ 1080P and it works fine.
Does it lag for you?
I was thinking no more than 200$ for the graphic card atm. Just incase I needed other upgrades as well.
Well during the free log in they had back in April I think it was, I was running the game fine and could do stuff like Odin and S ranks (which usually have quite a few people there) with no lag. Granted my settings were low, but still ran smoothly. However, I returned recently and have been getting consistent stuttering and really low fps sometimes hitting 5 fps during large scale fights which used to give me no lag before. So, I'm just trying to think of what could've caused the change over that 1-2 months since I haven't touched my settings at all. But my card was fell below recommended settings so I was thinking of upgrading it anyway if all my other specs are ok.
I would look at a gtx960 for the $200 price range. A gtx 970 would give you the biggest bang for the buck but it's about $350
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_960_g1_gaming_4gb_review,22.html
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
Thanks for the suggestion, where would you recommend to buy one? Amazon? Newegg?
I'm in Canada and personally buy everything from NCIX.com
Prices are always competative and they're local for me.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
After looking on newegg, I think I found two that might fit within my budget.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127843&cm_re=gtx-_-14-127-844-_-Product
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127860&cm_re=gtx-_-14-127-844-_-Product
The second comes with batman (which I kind of take or leave) and is 40$ more but I'm wondering if the 4GB is that much more than the 2GB in the first one. Let me know what you all think.
I think the amount of gpu memory actually used (if there is an unlimited amount available) is about 3GB or so for high end, max settings games. $40 for an additional 2GB doesn't sound like a bad deal. It's debatable whether it will make a difference to you in your particular games, but it probably won't hurt.
just get 2 x nvidia GTX 980TI in SLI
that should be sufficient for all 2015 games
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Before you rush off to buy something, it's very important that you check on your power delivery and airflow. If you buy a new card that your rig can't otherwise handle and promptly fry it, it will be your own fault for not checking.
For power delivery, look at the power supply and get as much information on it as you can. The exact brand name and model is a start, but whatever specs you can find are good, too.
For airflow, how many case fans are there, how big are they (80 mm and 120 mm are the most common sizes), where are they, and do they blow air in or out of the case?
Companies like HP never fail to come up with creatively odd things in their specifications. Today's highlight is:
"Must select one of the following options:
GeForce GTX 680 (2 GB)"
So basically, to buy that computer, your choice was Nvidia's top of the line, or else some low end card that was slower than integrated graphics. But nothing in between.
If the rest of the rig was built around being able to handle a GTX 680, you'll be fine. But I'm somewhat skeptical that they'd use the same case and power supply regardless of which video card you get.
Open up the case and look at the power supply. Don't just try to find documentation online. Find the exact brand name and model, and record as many specs as you can. Most power supplies will have a table of how many amps they can deliver on which rails; transcribe that here as best as you can.
If you don't do that, then you're blindly guessing as to what your power supply can handle. Asking someone else to blindly guess for you isn't meaningfully different.
And don't sink a bunch of money into a computer that you're going to replace in a few months, anyway.
I wholeheartedly agree with you Quiz. Excellent advice good job