What GPU should I get?

[Ca11um]

I am looking to upgrade the GPU in my computer...I currently have a 2gb GTX 960 Palit and it is a great card; it plays most of the games that I want to play on medium or high settings, but a few games (like FH3) are a little laggy because my card doesn't have enough VRAM. I would like to upgrade to a graphics card that is equally as good or better than the GTX 960, but it must be 4gb or more, and as cheap as possible (don't mind buying a used one). Here are my PC specs:

- AMD FX 6350 processor
- Gigabyte micro ATX motherboard
- 2GB GTX 960 Palit GPU
- Windows 10 Home

 

[Darla Starch]

I'm working under the assumption of a ~$200 budget, so the route I'd personally go is a GTX 1050Ti.

~$300, 6GB GTX 1060. Small versions of this exist since I'm assuming the mATX motherboard was dictated by case design.

$400+, I'd go find a used GTX 970 and use it as a temporary card until the GTX 1100-series is released.

 

[Ca11um]

I'm working under the assumption of a ~$200 budget, so the route I'd personally go is a GTX 1050Ti.

~$300, 6GB GTX 1060. Small versions of this exist since I'm assuming the mATX motherboard was dictated by case design.

$400+, I'd go find a used GTX 970 and use it as a temporary card until the GTX 1100-series is released.

My currently graphics card is great and it plays 99% of all the games I have, but I recently purchased FH3 and it runs pretty good but I keep getting a "low video memory" message because my GPU only has 2gb of VRAM and the game requires 4gb.

I have a 2nd PCI slot but because it's only a Micro ATX motherboard, my current graphics card is covering both slots. To keep the cost down even more I could possibly buy another 2gb graphics card, then use a flexible PCI riser to relocate the 2nd PCI slot and have 2x 2gb cards linked together. I have no experience doing this though, so I have no idea how well it would work.

 

[sesselpupser]

My currently graphics card is great and it plays 99% of all the games I have, but I recently purchased FH3 and it runs pretty good but I keep getting a "low video memory" message because my GPU only has 2gb of VRAM and the game requires 4gb.

I have a 2nd PCI slot but because it's only a Micro ATX motherboard, my current graphics card is covering both slots. To keep the cost down even more I could possibly buy another 2gb graphics card, then use a flexible PCI riser to relocate the 2nd PCI slot and have 2x 2gb cards linked together. I have no experience doing this though, so I have no idea how well it would work.

That's not quite how it works, if you SLI two 2GB cards you don't end up with two GPUs with double the memory, you instead get two GPUs with the same amount of memory they had before, each rendering different frames. If 2GB was too little before it'll still be too little after.

SLI isn't worth it because it never really worked properly and is only ever better than (and even then it has issues) a single card solution when you're using a pair of the best cards on the market, just because there isn't a single card that'll perform better.

In addition, you can't SLI on a motherboard that doesn't support it and if you've got an mITX (if your card is blocking the only other PCIe slot you've got it's not mATX because those have four slots) then there's no reason to suspect the motherboard is going to support it.

I got decent frame rates at 1080p playing FH3 with my old Asus Strix 960 2GB, what resolution are you playing at? I never had a low memory warning, either - maybe your settings are too optimistic?

 

[Ca11um]

That's not quite how it works, if you SLI two 2GB cards you don't end up with two GPUs with double the memory, you instead get two GPUs with the same amount of memory they had before, each rendering different frames. If 2GB was too little before it'll still be too little after.

SLI isn't worth it because it never really worked properly and is only ever better than (and even then it has issues) a single card solution when you're using a pair of the best cards on the market, just because there isn't a single card that'll perform better.

In addition, you can't SLI on a motherboard that doesn't support it and if you've got an mITX (if your card is blocking the only other PCIe slot you've got it's not mATX because those have four slots) then there's no reason to suspect the motherboard is going to support it.

I got decent frame rates at 1080p playing FH3 with my old Asus Strix 960 2GB, what resolution are you playing at? I never had a low memory warning, either - maybe your settings are too optimistic?

I was playing at the highest resolution (1920x1080) because if I put it any lower then it put it in window mode which I didn't like...The game automatically put all my settings on low and it still came up with the "low video memory" message. Since then I played around with the settings and I can easily play on medium/high settings. There are a few lag spikes here and there but nothing major. I've noticed that I have to get my settings just right though, because if I set them too high then my game just freezes completely after a while.

I googled it and it seems that a lot of other people are having the same problem and there's no way to disable the message. From what I understand, the game likes you to have 4gb of VRAM, so if you have less than that (like my 2gb) then the message will keep on popping up and there's nothing you can do about it. The only way to get rid of it is to upgrade to a 4gb GPU.

 

[HuskyGT]

Not sure of your budget, but I would definitely try out the GTX970. I had one and it was a fantastic card. However, most games are pushing beyond 3.5gb video memory and take in mind that the 970, despite it's advertised as a 4gb card, it does behave a bit weird when over 3.5gb usage. I myself experienced this and had to upgrade to a 1070.

If you don't mind waiting a bit, I would wait until the prices drop down. They are already, but cards are still almost $200 above their regular price. If you really want performance for your buck, look for a GTX1070. It's "only" $100 more than the 1060 6gb, but it performs WAY better. You won't want any other card.

Remember, prices are only getting better, so you might even score a great deal.

 

[Ca11um]

Not sure of your budget, but I would definitely try out the GTX970. I had one and it was a fantastic card. However, most games are pushing beyond 3.5gb video memory and take in mind that the 970, despite it's advertised as a 4gb card, it does behave a bit weird when over 3.5gb usage. I myself experienced this and had to upgrade to a 1070.

If you don't mind waiting a bit, I would wait until the prices drop down. They are already, but cards are still almost $200 above their regular price. If you really want performance for your buck, look for a GTX1070. It's "only" $100 more than the 1060 6gb, but it performs WAY better. You won't want any other card.

Remember, prices are only getting better, so you might even score a great deal.

I'm not in any rush to upgrade my graphics card...Like I said, my GTX 960 Palit plays 99% of my games just fine; I only have problems playing FH3. I was looking forward to playing it especially since I payed like £40 for the game, and I still can, but I get a few lag spikes now and then which sometimes leads to the game crashing. Plus I keep on getting a "low video memory" message that pops up every 5 seconds, and it's really annoying. All my other games run fine with the 960.

This is just a budget build because I really don't have tonnes of money to build a really good setup, so the computer is actually pre-built; the only things I've changed is the CPU heat sink, added an extra Hard-Drive, and I upgraded it to Windows 10.

 

[Nexus]

If your 960 is powerful enough for your needs and you don't want to spend too much money, perhaps buy a used 4GB variant. Alternatively, you could get a used 4GB R9 380. Cheaper than a 1050Ti, and a bit more powerful too (though more power-hungry).

Anything more powerful than that will probably be bottlenecked by your CPU, unfortunately.

 

[Ca11um]

If your 960 is powerful enough for your needs and you don't want to spend too much money, perhaps buy a used 4GB variant. Alternatively, you could get a used 4GB R9 380. Cheaper than a 1050Ti, and a bit more powerful too (though more power-hungry).

Anything more powerful than that will probably be bottlenecked by your CPU, unfortunately.

Eventually everything will be replaced with better stuff any way...I did have plans to build a new custom PC but I had to spend that money on more important things, so I never got around to doing it. I would still like to rebuild/upgrade my PC, but since I don't have all the money at once I was thinking about upgrading it bit by bit. Preferably starting with the GPU, but if I need to upgrade my CPU and motherboard first to be able to run a better GPU, then I will do that. My current PC specs are:

- Gigabyte motherboard (not sure what model)
- AMD FX 6350 CPU
- 2gb GTX 960 Palit
- 8gb RAM
- 2x 1tb hard-drives
- Windows 10

 

[Nexus]

Eventually everything will be replaced with better stuff any way...I did have plans to build a new custom PC but I had to spend that money on more important things, so I never got around to doing it. I would still like to rebuild/upgrade my PC, but since I don't have all the money at once I was thinking about upgrading it bit by bit. Preferably starting with the GPU, but if I need to upgrade my CPU and motherboard first to be able to run a better GPU, then I will do that. My current PC specs are:

- Gigabyte motherboard (not sure what model)
- AMD FX 6350 CPU
- 2gb GTX 960 Palit
- 8gb RAM
- 2x 1tb hard-drives
- Windows 10

It's not worth upgrading your CPU because it's on a dead platform now (and the AMD FX series is quite dated), so your best bet would be to start from scratch and build a new Ryzen/Coffee Lake PC. Unfortunately, that means getting a new motherboard and DDR4 RAM, as well as a new CPU.

 

[Ca11um]

It's not worth upgrading your CPU because it's on a dead platform now (and the AMD FX series is quite dated), so your best bet would be to start from scratch and build a new Ryzen/Coffee Lake PC. Unfortunately, that means getting a new motherboard and DDR4 RAM, as well as a new CPU.

That's what I mean. Everything will be upgraded eventually. For example: I'll upgrade the CPU and motherboard first, but everything else will stay the same. Then later on I will upgrade something else like the GPU, then the power supply, and so on. It will all be 100% replaced and upgraded at some point, just not all at once.