Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Help me pick out a new graphics card
InfusedEMP
Member UncommonPosts: 43
in Hardware
My graphics card just died so I need to buy a new one. I've been using this card since 2012:
This is my motherboard:
This is my case:
I figure I'm better off asking here than going it alone since I really don't know what I'm looking at when it comes to graphics cards. My biggest concern in finding one is that it have an HDMI port and the ability to connect at least 3 additional displays like my current one does. I run a 3 display system and also have a projector attached. All of my displays are 1080p max resolution. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Comments
I would normally say wait because AMD is due to replace the 580 very soon: they just announced the 5500, which isn’t quite as fast, and the 5700 is a good deal faster but outside the budget by a bit. Which leaves that 5600 gap to be filled any time now.
but your current card is broke, and the 580 will still be a nice card even when the 5600 finally releases
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
The Radeon RX 570 and 580 are both architecturally very similar to your old Radeon HD 7870, which allows a cleaner comparison on performance than you'd get when comparing wildly different architectures. You can reasonably expect an RX 580 to typically be a little over double the performance of your old card.
Another card that should be on your radar is the Radeon RX 590, which is basically a higher clocked version of the RX 580. It's technically a new die, but it's really just the same die ported to a slightly better process node, which allows it to clock higher. Whether it makes sense to get an RX 580 or 590 depends a lot on the price. But here's one for the same $180 as the RX 580 that you just linked:
https://www.newegg.com/powercolor-radeon-rx-590-axrx-590-8gbd5-dhd/p/N82E16814131744
Reviews say that particular SKU is loud, though.
At the moment RX 580 is best option. Its only serious contender at that price range is GTX 1650 Super which is a bit slower, but it's well priced and uses a lot less power.
The GTX 1050 Ti can handle games at 1080p though.
The 1050 Ti isn't even close. The RX 590 is more than 50% faster. The RX 570 is 30% faster.
The difference in performance between the GTX 1660 verse the RX 590 is incredibly close where it's practically non-existent. The buying choice would be down to thermals and price. The GTX 1660 draws less power, thus makes less noise to cool. But it's also more expensive. Is $30 worth it? Maybe not.
Also be sure to check the cooling fin layout and if its compatible with your case. One of the cards linked to blows out the side instead of the back of the case.
Second, Nvidia GPUs being more energy efficient depends on which cards you're comparing. For the Polaris cards that we've mostly been recommending, yes. If the comparison is to Navi, then AMD and Nvidia are close to even on energy efficiency.
Finally, if AMD cards being too inefficient is a problem, you can readily scale them back in Radeon WattMan. Scale back the clock speed on the top p-states and you might give up something like 10% of your performance, but save 20% or 30% of the power. That probably sounds confusing as stated, but it's simple and straightforward to do once you have the driver UI in front of you. It's also something that you can easily switch back and forth whenever you like, or even have it change the clock speeds and voltages on the basis of which game is running.
But in reality anything that is Nvidia, and Asus is pretty good.
https://www.newegg.com/asus-geforce-gtx-1650-super-tuf-gtx1650s-o4g-gaming/p/N82E16814126358?Item=N82E16814126358
^ Not sure it's the best but under $200, but 128-Bit memory
AMD eh never going back.
Different board partners can take the same GPU chips and put different coolers on them or different monitor ports. They also have the option to redo the PCB entirely and have different power circuitry and so forth. They have to get AMD or Nvidia to sign off on whatever they do, so they can't just do absolutely anything they please. But in that sense, what matters is not which board partner you're dealing with, but which particular SKU you get. The only place that the board partner matters directly is if you need warranty service after the RMA period ends.
XFX, and Sapphire make S***** graphics cards that sometimes don't even last 3 years before failure, and worst of all the warranty is horrid.
Stick with Nvidia, and a reputable company ASUS, or EVGA.
Needing good multi-monitor support could rule out a lot of particular SKUs. As of a couple of years ago, if you plugged three monitors into an Nvidia GPU, it would have to keep the GPU clocks up at all times rather than being able to clock down at idle. Since a GPU is idle most of the time, that would lead to Nvidia GPUs using a lot more power and making a lot more noise than AMD GPUs that are equivalent on performance. I'm not sure if they fixed that at some point, but it was the driving reason why I went with AMD for the GPU in my latest build.
Regardless, since the original poster just had an AMD GPU last more than 7 years, I don't think he's worried that all AMD GPUs will die within three.
Displays
Maximum 5 Outputs
Interface
PCI-Express 3.0
Resolution
Output
Build quality Asus is back buIlding AMD hardware now, and AMD has had a lot of top tier AIB providers for a while now - PowerColor, Sapphire, Gigabyte, etc.
The wars between Nvidia and AMD are weird to me, both seem to be pretty stable and AMD is way more budget friendly.
...but pushing them just out of sheer brand loyalty is a bit much, and that’s what I push back against.