[SOLVED] Best video card under $150?

[alphacoyle]

Just need a bit more than my igpu can provide. New build using 10gen intel, had hoped would be enough, but even playing goat simulator with my child it gets laggy in split screen with lots of action. 1080p and 4gb max are fine. Nvidia is first choice, and low power draw is desirable, but whatever provides the most for the money. Thanks.

 

[Phaaze88]

A 2nd hand RX 570 or 580. You won't get any retail cards that are good at that price.
If you go the 2nd hand route, make sure you have the option to return it and get your money back if something goes wrong; extra insurance.

 

[Turtle Rig]

Hey Phaaz88 how much does a RX 560 go for I think he can even buy that and get his 60fps on a 60hz display ya know. 💯🙉✝👌👶🏽

 

[RTX 2080]

If you can go a bit above $150, a Nvidia GTX 1650 is a good bet: it's very efficient at 75 watts, it doesn't even need a 6 pin power cable.

The RX 5xx cards are older and less efficient in comparison.

 

[Phaaze88]

Hey Phaaz88 how much does a RX 560 go for I think he can even buy that and get his 60fps on a 60hz display ya know. 💯🙉✝👌👶🏽

I'm seeing 90USD and up... holy crap.

I take back part of what I said earlier - I missed the low power recommendation.
A 2nd hand RX 570.
The GTX 1650 costs too much for what it offers, even if it can be had for under 150USD.

 

[RTX 2080]

I'm seeing 90USD and up... holy crap.

I take back part of what I said earlier - I missed the low power recommendation.
A 2nd hand RX 570.
The GTX 1650 costs too much for what it offers, even if it can be had for under 150USD.

That's true, but he's not looking for the best value, just good efficiency and enough power to run goat simulator for $150.

 

[Phaaze88]

he's not looking for the best value

I see I'm not the only one who overlooked something...
The RX 570 also fits the OP's requirements if they're willing to check the 2nd hand market for it.

whatever provides the most for the money. Thanks.

 

[alphacoyle]

A 2nd hand RX 570 or 580. You won't get any retail cards that are good at that price.
If you go the 2nd hand route, make sure you have the option to return it and get your money back if something goes wrong; extra insurance.

There are new RX570 for under $150. And GTX1650 for that too. Is one significantly better than the other?

 

[Quanticriver]

you may be able to find a vega 56 for that price it can OC to better than 1070 performance if you can handle the thermals

especially now that the drivers have matured

also it requires a quality PSU with atleast 600W

 

[alphacoyle]

New? One's I'm seeing are a lot more expensive.
Also, does the hard drive affect gaming performance? I just built this and put a 2tb seagate barracuda with the thought of maybe adding an ssd later on, but this pc stays on 24/7 so faster boot time doesn't matter.

 

[Quanticriver]

no, forgot to mention, 2nd hand

Gaming wise the only thing ssd affect are loading times

 

[RTX 2080]

There are new RX570 for under $150. And GTX1650 for that too. Is one significantly better than the other?

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1650-vs-AMD-RX-570/4039vs3924

 

[King_V]

If going with new, and in the US, pretty much you're going to have to go with RX570. Going for a GTX 1650 gives you less performance, and costs more.

Checking with the US prices today (new, with warranty) from PCPartPicker:

• The cheapest RX 570 4GB is $130
• The cheapest RX 570 8GB is $145
• The cheapest GTX 1650 GDDR5 is $150
• The cheapest GTX 1650 GDDR6 is $160
• The cheapest GTX 1650 Super is $160
• The cheapest RX 580 is $170 (this one happens to be an 8GB model, though 4GB models exist, bizarrely, for more money)

Performance, from lowest to highest:

• GTX 1650 GDDR5
• GTX 1650 GDDR6
• RX 570 4GB
• RX 570 8GB
• GTX 1650 Super
• RX 580 8GB

Now, in terms of power consumption under full load:

Card	Watts
GTX 1650 (GDDR 5 or 6)	75
GTX 1650 Super	100
RX 570 (4 or 8 GB)	150
RX 580	180

 

[Phaaze88]

There are new RX570 for under $150. And GTX1650 for that too. Is one significantly better than the other?

Check this out:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm7oyg_s-8k


Here's an updated 1650 with GDDR6 Vram:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Go1NCKmo0A

 

[Third-Eye]

Only buy the GTX 1650 if you need the fastest available low profile card that does not require PCIE power cables.

 

[King_V]

@alphacoyle
Ok, so, in addition to what I posted about today's prices above, I've stumbled across this deal:

GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1650 DirectX 12 GV-N1656EAGLE OC-4GD 4GB 128-Bit GDDR6
Now, it requires the EMCDPFK28 code to knock off another $20, and you'd be dealing with a $30 mail in rebate, but, the net cost after rebate becomes $109.99. It does require a single 6-pin connector, and Gigabyte lists it as being an 85W part. The Core Clock is shown on Gigabyte's page as 1815, a reasonable jump over the reference clocks.

While I generally prefer the RX 570 4GB, and that card has gone down as low as $109.99 (or once even $99.99 around the Christmas shopping season), I haven't seen an RX 570 under $129.99 since the pandemic. So, in this case, that deal for the 1650 GDDR6 gives you the best bang/buck currently.

That's for new, of course. I didn't know if you were considering used or not.


EDIT: I was actually looking for used RX 570 cards, but, used, and with shipping, the prices were getting a little higher than I'd like to pay. For a net of $119.26 after NJ sales tax and after the rebate, I figured I'd get one of these myself for a lower-end system I'd pondered putting together. I probably could've gotten a used RX 570 for around $80 ish or so, but the extra money for a lower-power-draw card, with full warranty, was hard to turn down. And, I am NOT an impulse buyer.

 

[King_V]

@Quanticriver - you've seen the Vega 56 for below $150? Where??

@Turtle Rig - the RX 560 generally isn't worth it, as it performs well below the RX 570 and even below the 1650 GDDR5, but is priced equal to (or higher - that's madness!) than the RX 570.

 

[Quanticriver]

@King_V keep an eye on ebay

was able to find this one in 5 mins
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Radeon-RX-Vega-56-8GB/293703561049?hash=item446218af59:g:Dv4AAOSwwY9fQxYw

 

[DSzymborski]

The obvious issue here is that we still don't know what the power supply is. Without that information, it's impossible to give a real answer, which is why all the 470/570/480/1650/1650 Super answers are coming with a whole smorgasbord of ifs, ands, and buts.

 

[King_V]

@King_V keep an eye on ebay

was able to find this one in 5 mins
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Radeon-RX-Vega-56-8GB/293703561049?hash=item446218af59:g:Dv4AAOSwwY9fQxYw

Well, true, but the story gets a little different when you realize that, even if $150 were the current bid, the absolute minimum I could bid for it would be $152.50. Plus $14.90 shipping. There's 2 days left.

The story changes when you look at Sold Items for Vega 56, and ensure that you eliminate the "for parts or not working" ones. Once all that and shipping are accounted for, looking at the recently sold ones, we're talking at least $230.

 

[hang-the-9]

I would try to stretch for a 1650 Super, considering the CPU is a new one, may as well have a modern part that is decent for gaming. No-one sticks to a single game for long, once you get some gaming card power people tend to want to try out other games because the can, and eventually will hit a limit at the very low end.

 

[alphacoyle]

I would try to stretch for a 1650 Super, considering the CPU is a new one, may as well have a modern part that is decent for gaming. No-one sticks to a single game for long, once you get some gaming card power people tend to want to try out other games because the can, and eventually will hit a limit at the very low end.

Yes, I am liking the 1650 Super from what I'm reading on it. Oh, and my PSU is a 500w Super Flower Leadex3, has 6 & 8 pin for GPU.

 

[hang-the-9]

Yes, I am liking the 1650 Super from what I'm reading on it. Oh, and my PSU is a 500w Super Flower Leadex3, has 6 & 8 pin for GPU.

That is a pretty good quality power supply, will run just any card up to the high end stuff.

 

[DSzymborski]

Yup, that power supply is an extremely positive development. You don't want to go 2080 Ti or anything like that due to the total wattage, but you have a real quality PSU in there.

 

[punkncat]

I was absolutely underwhelmed by the performance of a 570 based on all the reviews and "heard this" manner of performance expected.
You will see ~45FPS out of that card at 1080P, and 50's at 720, based on settings of course and as relayed via Furmark. I am sure there are likely "better" cards out there than the version we picked.

A 1050ti isn't going to perform much different than the above.
Based on factors that we don't know I think I would consider used 9xx series, used 580, or see if you can luck up on the well suggested 1650.