Bewildered by GPU Choice

Heckler

Hi,

So it seems my GTX460 has finally given up the ghost. BSOD with an nvlddmkm.sys error. Have uninstalled the driver and tried updating but no joy. Can run the PC with no GPU driver installed but as soon as I reinstall I get the BSOD again.

The rest of the system is an Asus P8P67 pro MB, an i5 processor and 8 gigs of RAM.

I've been meaning to upgrade the GPU for a while now anyway as I've been getting back into gaming a bit but the choices have me boggled.

Could anyone recommend something around the 3-400euro mark that would be suitable for gaming some of the more modern games (FPS type games usually, Battlefield and the like). I don't need to run things on Ultra high settings and I only have a bog standard LG monitor.

I've mostly had Nvidia cards so would probably prefer the same again.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

EDIT:https://www.komplett.ie/components/graphics-cards/#price/175-350/brand/feature/sorting/Popularity/page/1

For example here the ASUS strix GTX1050 ti seems ok. But for 30 quid more the GTX1060 could be better but the Strix is 4gb and the 1060 is 3gb. I don't know which is better. Just using these two as examples.

Skerries

I'd recommend going for the 6gb 1060

have a look here

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#sort=price&c=373

https://skinflint.co.uk/?cat=gra16_512&asuch=gtx+1060&asd=on&bpmin=&bpmax=&v=e&hloc=uk&plz=&dist=&mail=&sort=p&bl1_id=30#productlist

TerrorFirmer

Just a word of warning as well, for games like Battlefield 1 online and the upcoming BF:V, your i5 won't cut the mustard too well, framerate won't hold steady.

I'd say a 2nd hand i7-3770 (about 150) + a GTX1050Ti 4GB (about 170) is a better overall upgrade than just a card.

If you've a 2500k/3570K, then a decent overclock should be fine and invest solely in a card.

K.O.Kiki

Heckler wrote: »

For example here the ASUS strix GTX1050 ti seems ok. But for 30 quid more the GTX1060 could be better but the Strix is 4gb and the 1060 is 3gb. I don't know which is better. Just using these two as examples.

The amount of VRAM is meaningless in this situation, what actually matters is the CUDA core count, memory interface size, and core/boost clocks.
https://www.windowscentral.com/nvidia-gtx-1050-ti-vs-gtx-1060-which-gpu-should-you-buy#spec
The 1060 3Gb will ALWAYS be faster than the 1050 Ti 4Gb, usually by 50%.

The Gigabyte Windforce 1060 3Gb will do you fine for 1080p gaming.

Heckler

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Just a word of warning as well, for games like Battlefield 1 online and the upcoming BF:V, your i5 won't cut the mustard too well, framerate won't hold steady.

I'd say a 2nd hand i7-3770 (about 150) + a GTX1050Ti 4GB (about 170) is a better overall upgrade than just a card.

If you've a 2500k/3570K, then a decent overclock should be fine and invest solely in a card.

Thanks for the advice all. I have a 2500k but its not overclocked. Is that a fairly straight forward process that can be done through UEFI BIOS ?

Also If I went for an i7 is the socket size is the same as for the i5 ?

Heckler

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

The amount of VRAM is meaningless in this situation, what actually matters is the CUDA core count, memory interface size, and core/boost clocks.
https://www.windowscentral.com/nvidia-gtx-1050-ti-vs-gtx-1060-which-gpu-should-you-buy#spec
The 1060 3Gb will ALWAYS be faster than the 1050 Ti 4Gb, usually by 50%.

The Gigabyte Windforce 1060 3Gb will do you fine for 1080p gaming.

That windforce 1060 looks good. Don't want to spend a fortune as I don't really do that much gaming.

Heckler

So I went for the windforce 1060 in the end.

Thanks for all the help guys !

TerrorFirmer

Heckler wrote: »

Thanks for the advice all. I have a 2500k but its not overclocked. Is that a fairly straightforward process that can be done through UEFI BIOS ?

Also If I went for an i7 is the socket size is the same as for the i5 ?

If you YouTube your motherboard model you'll probably find an easy step by step video guide. For something like BF1 online, or upcoming BF:V, you'll have a bad time with the 2500K at stock speeds.

An i7-2600, i7-2700K, 3770 or 3770K are all compatible with your motherboard and will be better, in that order - but will cost in that order, ranging from about €80 to €150.

Heckler

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

If you YouTube your motherboard model you'll probably find an easy step by step video guide. For something like BF1 online, or upcoming BF:V, you'll have a bad time with the 2500K at stock speeds.

An i7-2600, i7-2700K, 3770 or 3770K are all compatible with your motherboard and will be better, in that order - but will cost in that order, ranging from about €80 to €150.

Thanks for that. I'll look into upgrading the proc in the future. 150 seems ok for an i7 ? thought they would be costing in the 3-400 range ?

TerrorFirmer

They're older i7's, but still decent. Your socket type is 1155. Since then there has been Socket 1150, 1151 (Skylake), 1151 (Kabylake) in the common consumer motherboards.

A 3770K with a decent overclock would still perform the same as popular 2018 processors. An i7-2600 is slower, but at stock speeds it's still capable of holding 60fps in all popular games as long as you've a decent card. The 2500K you have now, at stock speeds, can't do that in some CPU heavy titles.

Heckler

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

They're older i7's, but still decent. Your socket type is 1155. Since then there has been Socket 1150, 1151 (Skylake), 1151 (Kabylake) in the common consumer motherboards.

A 3770K with a decent overclock would still perform the same as popular 2018 processors. An i7-2600 is slower, but at stock speeds it's still capable of holding 60fps in all popular games as long as you've a decent card. The 2500K you have now, at stock speeds, can't do that in some CPU heavy titles.

So the card is on the way. If I was to take the plunge and upgrade the mobo and proc what would be a good choice that wouldn't break the bank ? Or would upgrading the proc alone be good enough given that it would have to be an older i7 what with the socket type ?