What Matters in a GPU?

Vladamir Blackthorne · 01-10-2015

I'm planning on swapping out a 1x2 RAM card in my PC for a 1x4 and adding a low-profile GPU to it. It's the only way I can possibly afford to game on PC for now. But I don't need a semi-killer $300 GPU to play most modern games, right? What matters when choosing a GPU? Mainly the VRAM, right? I mean, a dollar more and I break the bank for me, so it's either this, with 2gb VRAM , or nothing...

Toxicturn · 01-10-2015

Posted by Lazerlatte

I'm planning on swapping out a 1x2 RAM card in my PC for a 1x4 and adding a low-profile GPU to it. It's the only way I can possibly afford to game on PC for now. But I don't need a semi-killer $300 GPU to play most modern games, right? What matters when choosing a GPU? Mainly the VRAM, right? I mean, a dollar more and I break the bank for me, so it's either this, with 2gb VRAM , or nothing...

Nope. VRam has little to nothing to do with performance - no worries, common mistake. Obviously you'd like more, but it doesn't directly impact performance. The nVidia naming scheme is GTX NXM N=generation, X=skew, M is normally a 0 but some mobile GPUs slightly better then one skew but worse than the next highest skew are labeled 5 for the M digit. For Nvidia it's not really worth buying anything under the 50 skew (I.E. 750, 650, etc..) because you lose out on some of the bang/buck at that point. You should be able to play most games with a 750 or higher, you won't need to spend 300$ on a card unless you want to max out or close to max out more demanding games.

It's explained here (though he uses an AMD card as an example):
[YOUTUBE]watch?v=sph6cjJeRdI[/YOUTUBE]

I suggest you pay a little extra and buy a 750 or preferably even a 750Ti for the best performance at the low end price range (~100$ for the 750 and ~130$ for the 750Ti)
If you're willing to pay more it may be worth investing in a 760 or wait a little longer for the 960 to come out (which is soon...ish? Apparently?)
750: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-027-_-Product (100$ w/MIR)
750Ti: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814487025 (130$ w/MIR)
760: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-556-_-Product (195$ w/MIR)

Here's a graph of performance for the 400-700 series:
http://img2.timg.co.il/forums/1_174083838.jpg (Unsupported image host)

Unfortunately I'm not as familiar with AMD cards, they are often times a bit less expensive than competing nVidia cards but their performance varies and they're known to get a bit hotter than nVidia cards; again, varying by card.

Your best option to gauge which card to buy is to look up benchmarks for current generation cards, and pick the one with the best price/performance for the games you'd like to play. Youtube has many videos with benchmarks so look there if you need help.

Also: Ensure that the graphics card you pick fits in your case. If your case is small, I'd skip out on the 760 completely unless you can find a Mini ITX version or something.

Vladamir Blackthorne · 01-10-2015

Well now the question is, can I just plug that 750 in my Optiplex 780 and go without a higher wattage power supply, and do I really need an extra 2gb RAM that would come from that 1x4 card (I have 4gb RAM btw)...? I have the room AND extra cords coming out of my PSU that I assume are for whatever you would want to plug into the PCI slots... But I am not sure if I really have any wattage to spare....

Toxicturn · 01-10-2015

Posted by Lazerlatte

Well now the question is, can I just plug that 750 in my Optiplex 780 and go without a higher wattage power supply, and do I really need an extra 2gb RAM that would come from that 1x4 card (I have 4gb RAM btw)...? I have the room AND extra cords coming out of my PSU that I assume are for whatever you would want to plug into the PCI slots... But I am not sure if I really have any wattage to spare....

I'd definitely say the RAM upgrade is worth it, however whether or not you have enough wattage is definitely a concern. Check how many watts your PSU is capable of supplying and tell me whether or not the extra cables coming out look like this:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/attachments/pcie6-2-jpg.57637/ (Unsupported image host)
(PCIE power connectors)

or like one of these:
http://cdn.overclock.net/3/3c/350x700px-LL-3caee271_molex_extension.jpeg (Unsupported image host)
(Molex female and male connectors)

If it's one of the latter you may be able to use the card, if it's the prior you can definitely use it. All depends on the wattage of your PSU at this point.

Vladamir Blackthorne · 01-10-2015

I don't have enough money for both a GPU and RAM upgrade. GPU is priority for me, though.

As for my PSU, it's 255 watts. And if these numbers here mean what I think, the total power usage of my PC as-is, running stock hardware, is about only 90 watts. Also I only have a male Molex connector. Is uh... that bad? Shouldn't there be a female too?

Toxicturn · 01-10-2015

The 750 and 750 Ti both recommend a 300 Watt power supply. You may be able to run them with 255 watts but I can't recommend trying. In the end it may be better to save up and build a whole computer down the line.

Skill · 01-10-2015

look at benchmarks. VRAM isn't really the best way to determine performance.

Best low end GPU is probably the GTX 750 or the radeon r7 250

Posted by Lazerlatte

I don't have enough money for both a GPU and RAM upgrade. GPU is priority for me, though.

As for my PSU, it's 255 watts. And if these numbers here mean what I think, the total power usage of my PC as-is, running stock hardware, is about only 90 watts. Also I only have a male Molex connector. Is uh... that bad? Shouldn't there be a female too?

There's no way your computer is only drawing 90 watts under load. Get a multimeter and see how much its drawing from the wall, I guarentee its 150+

Crono · 01-10-2015

Posted by Lazerlatte

Shouldn't there be a female too?

UNLIKE ONLINE GAMES THEY'RE MOSTLY FEMALE

fp4 · 01-10-2015

Posted by Crono

Much like online games, no. I've never seen a PSU have female molex connectors, only male.

u have it backwards.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi..._connector.jpg rekt

Crono · 01-10-2015

Posted by fp4

u have it backwards.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi..._connector.jpg rekt

I JUST WOKE UP LEAVE ME ALONE

Vladamir Blackthorne · 01-10-2015

Wait so I have a female Molex connector then? Not like it matters at this point.

fp4 · 01-10-2015

You are going to want to just buy a case and a power supply, transfer your current computer to it then install a proper size GPU.

To get the most value out of your money you're going to be wanting to buy used though.

hosler · 01-10-2015

Ddr5 ram and lots of it.

Crono · 01-11-2015

is not the size of teh vram iz how u're use it ; - )

MBK · 01-11-2015

VRam will make alot of difference in the near future...So it would be ebst to also take account the ammount of VRam ur GFX has.

01-10-2015	1
Vladamir Blackthorne Leg hair. AND RICE! Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Do you really wish to know o.o Posts: 2,803	What Matters in a GPU? I'm planning on swapping out a 1x2 RAM card in my PC for a 1x4 and adding a low-profile GPU to it. It's the only way I can possibly afford to game on PC for now. But I don't need a semi-killer $300 GPU to play most modern games, right? What matters when choosing a GPU? Mainly the VRAM, right? I mean, a dollar more and I break the bank for me, so it's either this, with 2gb VRAM , or nothing...

01-10-2015	6
Toxicturn Registered User Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 192	The 750 and 750 Ti both recommend a 300 Watt power supply. You may be able to run them with 255 watts but I can't recommend trying. In the end it may be better to save up and build a whole computer down the line.

01-10-2015	12
fp4 maymay ambassador Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 1,508	You are going to want to just buy a case and a power supply, transfer your current computer to it then install a proper size GPU. To get the most value out of your money you're going to be wanting to buy used though.

01-10-2015	13
hosler Banned Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 1,059	Ddr5 ram and lots of it.

01-11-2015	14
Crono :pluffy: Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Sweden Posts: 5,945	is not the size of teh vram iz how u're use it ; - )

01-11-2015	15
MBK Registered User Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 1,379	VRam will make alot of difference in the near future...So it would be ebst to also take account the ammount of VRam ur GFX has.