Upgrade Graphics Card

Aswerty

So my NVIDIA 8800GT (512MB) graphics card is fried and I need an upgrade. I'd want to get something in the sweet spot of not being too expensive but being a reasonable upgrade. The computer is 8.5 years old but it was fairly top of the line when I built it.

I'm just using it for oldish games such as Skyrim, Fallout, and Crysis which my 8800GT ran fine.

I've two main worries. This first is making sure not to buy a card that has power requirements too much beyond the current one (I have a 630W PSU I could swap in but I'd prefer avoid the hassle of that). The second worry is that the mother board is quite old and that there isn't any compatibility issues with the new card.

• RAM: 7GB DDR2 (3x2GB and 1x1GB)
• SSD: 128GB (Windows 10 64-bit)
• Motherboard: ASUS P5K
• Audio: Intergrated
• PSU: 550W
• GPU: NVIDIA 8800GT
• CPU: Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo
• WiFi Card: A cheapo TP-LINK
• Fans: 2x120mm
• Optical Drive: DVD+RW
• Peripherals: Mouse, Keyboard, External HDD

The SSD and PSU are very recent additions. The RAM sticks are a mish-mash of older and newer (I don't think either of the original 1xGB sticks survived). The PSU heatsink/fan have also been replaced.

I was thinking something along the lines of a GTX 750 TI (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IB9P1KG) but I'm a bit out of the loop since the last time I looked at cards was 8.5 years ago since any more recent builds I did just used integrated graphics (i.e. work builds).

SterlingArcher

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01M8M5T4T/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1481643717&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=gtx+1050+4gb&dpPl=1&dpID=51g4HVFF5BL&ref=plSrch
Thats the ti version. If it's too much a stretch.

a regular gtx 1050(around 100 pound) is still better than the 750ti. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01M7RRV7R/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1481644192&sr=8-9&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=gtx+1050

Xenoronin

The 1050TI will bottleneck. The 750TI would be a decent option if you can find it cheap enough.
It may have been fairly high end at the time, but it's still a machine that's almost a decade old at this stage. The latest gen of graphics cards can just go way faster than that dual core can handle.

If it is still doing you well enough then no reason to upgrade, but I wouldn't advise anything past the 7XX GTX series, or the 2XX AMD cards.

SterlingArcher

Xenoronin wrote: »

The 1050TI will bottleneck. The 750TI would be a decent option if you can find it cheap enough.
It may have been fairly high end at the time, but it's still a machine that's almost a decade old at this stage. The latest gen of graphics cards can just go way faster than that dual core can handle.

If it is still doing you well enough then no reason to upgrade, but I wouldn't advise anything past the 7XX GTX series, or the 2XX AMD cards.

His gpu is toast.

https://youtu.be/KSskxzAIMnw

Digital Solitude

I'd get a 1050, when the price is so close. Can be carried forward when you upgrade the CPU in time.

SterlingArcher

Digital Solitude wrote: »

I'd get a 1050, when the price is so close. Can be carried forward when you upgrade the CPU in time.

Was my thinking to.

Xenoronin

True enough. The second hand market is also an option. There are loads of cards flying around these days due to the newer cards being a decent upgrade.

Aswerty

Thanks for the responses.

So in terms of bottle-necking, I take it this might just mean that I can only push the 1050 to a certain point (e.g. 70% capacity) before the CPU hits capacity? But before that point the 1050 should be equal or better than the likes of the 750?

If that's the case then it makes sense to go with it for when/if I upgrade the CPU considering the price is similar to the 700 series.

Finally, comparing the 1050 and 1050Ti, the difference looks to be on-board memory of 2GB vs 4GB. Is the Ti worth it for what look to be a €30 difference?

I must say at a 75W draw the 1050 looks to be pretty power efficient which means I shouldn't need to worry about my PSU.

Digital Solitude

You won't have to worry about the PSU, the vast majority of single card setups nowadays will run no problem on a 500w PSU.

TerrorFirmer

An E8400 with a GTX1050 or GTX750Ti would be like bicycle wheels on a Ferrari. 'Reasonable upgrade' would be something like a GTS250 or 450 for €20 2nd hand. It's an upgrade while costing little.

I understand Skyrim and Fallout are older games but spending anything more than €20/30 would actually show zero return. The whole machine as it is is only worth about €80-100.

You could get an entire 2nd hand machine twice as fast as that build for around €120 on Ebay, carry over your SSD and get a GTX750 for €70 2nd hand and you have a PC that's about 400% faster for less than €200.

It just doesn't make any sort of financial sense to buy a GTX750Ti or GTX1050 for that machine unless you literally planned building a new one in a month or two and bringing it over.

So in terms of bottle-necking, I take it this might just mean that I can only push the 1050 to a certain point (e.g. 70% capacity)

In terms of bottlenecking in the very latest games the GPU usage would be more about 20% or lower. In some hardware friendly games it would be slightly better (Overwatch maybe, but you'd still be hard limited to about 25-30fps in most cases due to CPU ceiling so unless playing at 1440p/4k ultra, it wouldn't be remotely near capacity as pressure would be on CPU).

The only way with your setup that it would be anyway worthwhile would be if you were running Skyrim, modded, at 4K res or something. At normal 1080p gameplay the CPU is just too much of a titantic bottleneck.

Aswerty

Thanks for the info TerrorFirmer, it sounds a bit more realistic. From a quick look the GTS 250 seems a bit of a better pick price wise if I'm buying second hand, the 450 seems to be more like the €40-50 mark.

It's hard to comprehend how old my current gaming rig is. I still think I built it not too long ago but I built it just before my 21st and I'm half a year off 30 now. That 8.5 years is probably closer to 9 years.

I considered just doing a new build but I can't justify the spend at the moment. I already dropped about €150 into it on a new PSU, SSD, and a few other bits and pieces. Once the new GPU goes in it'll be good for another 2 - 3 years (I hope). I'm not all that fussed with playing the newest games but a little upgrade over what I have wouldn't be a bad thing. So I might stretch for the 450 but I guess it'll just depend what's available for what price.

TerrorFirmer

The GTX460 is much faster again and that does also go for 20-50 depending on where you get it. Here for example for 40, but I'm sure he'd take 30. It would still be fairly bottlenecked but at that price point it's not really much of a concern.

I had an E8400 build in 2008 myself, it was the dual core champion back then

TerrorFirmer

This is also a huge upgrade and only €20 with a two year warranty

Digital Solitude

Fairly showed the rest of us up Terror :pac:

Aswerty

I had an E8400 build in 2008 myself, it was the dual core champion back then

I still remember all the articles explaining how it was by far the best bang for your buck with the lower end chip being a fair bit less powerful for not much cheaper and the higher end chip being quite a bit more expensive but the performance jump not really matching the price.

But back on topic...

I'd sooner avoid the like of Adverts.ie so I went ahead and bought the 260 you linked to, so that was €20 + €5 P&P.

I might have to end up doing the PSU swap I mentioned in my opening post since the 260 can draw up to a whopping 180W. I think I'd be fine with my 550W PSU but I think I'd feel a bit more comfortable with the extra capacity the 630W would give me.

So I guess that's a wrap. Big thanks for all the help guys and even though the newer cards might not have been a great option in the end I think I have a much better understanding of the modern GPU landscape now. Maybe in a year or so I'll reclaim my work computer for gaming purposes and install something with a bit more oomph. But until that day I'll be playing 8 year old games on medium settings; living the dream.

TerrorFirmer

The original PSU would be fine with the GTX260 assuming it has the necessary connections for the card. The build isn't power hungry, GTX260 aside.

K.O.Kiki

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

The original PSU would be fine with the GTX260 assuming it has the necessary connections for the card. The build isn't power hungry, GTX260 aside.

You just reminded me of this:

tl;dr
AMD HD 4870/4850 beat the pants off the GTX260 in price, power draw & performance.

Got outsold anyway.

You can get a 1Gb HD4870 cheap though; here's one for €30

Digital Solitude

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

You just reminded me of this:


tl;dr
AMD HD 4870/4850 beat the pants off the GTX260 in price, power draw & performance.

Got outsold anyway.

Marketing heh? "Arite geese" put me off that video immediately Too late for an accent like that

TerrorFirmer

I've actually gotten a few cards for Christmas - 8800GS, X1950Pro, HD3870, HD4890. And through it all, the primary game I played was COD4. Wonder if the remaster has the same requirements? I refuse to buy IW just to get the remaster, but my heart does yearn for it...but curious to know how it differs from the original release.

For a time I actually played COD4 on a Pentium D and 8800GS...ran pretty OK.

ShadowHearth

Wow, first of all respect for still being able to run games on that thing. I don't know how far are tablets and phones power wise, but I bet not far. :pac:

I kmow you already sorted, but damn, I am pretty sure you would be able to buy second hand system on adverts for 200-300eu, which woukd be few times faster then this. I bet you would keep it for 15 years then.

DVD-Lots

Or he could just try baking the old card, depending on how fried it was already? :pac::D

Worked for me a while back anyways......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwOA0haf0fY

K.O.Kiki

DVD-Lots wrote: »

Or he could just try baking the old card, depending on how fried it was already? :pac::D

Worked for me a while back anyways......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwOA0haf0fY

A used GPU is cheaper than a new oven...

Skerries

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

AMD HD 4870/4850 beat the pants off the GTX260 in price, power draw & performance.

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have 2 of those 4870's knocking around from a previous build, great cards at the time