[SOLVED] Buying a New GPU for Light Gaming

[Palador]

Hi, everyone.

I had a problem with my computer last year which I discussed in this thread.
I was finally able to send the motherboard and CPU with a friend when he traveled and he was able to test them and discovered that both are working perfectly fine. I have tried the PSU, admittedly not in as powerful a computer, but it still works fine. As the GPU seems to likely have been the problem case and as it was already giving problems, I will trying getting a new one and hope that that does it. The way I see it, the only other option could be the RAM, but I somehow think that's unlikely.

Anyway, I'm looking for a new GPU. My former one was the Asus Radeon HD7770 2GB. I can't say I do much gaming. I just play World of Tanks (SD client) and perhaps a bit of FIFA. I also do a bit of video and audio editing, but nothing too serious or intensive either.

Here are my system specs:
Ryzen 3 1200
MSI B350 PC Mate
2 x 4 GB Patriot Signature DDR4 RAM 2400 MHz
XFX TS 550 (Bronze)
PNY 120 GB SSD
Seagate 1 TB HDD

I'm using an LG E2042c monitor which is 20" 1600 x 900 and apparently has a refresh rate from 56 to 75 Hz. It only has only a D-SUB connector, so I have DVI-I (Dual-Link) and DVI-A adapters to D-SUB.
My operating system is Windows 7 64-bit, which I'm planning to keep for now.

My PC case is not very large. The HD 7770 (which is about 8.3") fit, but I don't think I'll be able to get a card much larger than that into the case. (Technically, it should be able to hold a 9.5" card, but it's a pretty poorly made case and mounting such a card would probably cause difficulty in the wiring between the HDD and the GPU, especially for the wiring).

I will be buying a GPU through my friend in Spain, so I've been browsing around on Amazon.es and here are some things that I found:

GT 1030 2GB: €74.99
RX 550 4GB: €99.99
RX 560 2GB: €113.82
RX 560 4GB: €126.45
GTX 1050 2GB: €131.45
RX 570 4GB: €139.90
GTX 1650 4GB: €141.54

By the way, all of these are single-fan units, at least according to the pictures. Some of the details in the specs page as far as the dimensions are concerned seem off as a single fan unit is listed as 24 cm while a double-fan unit is put at 16.5 cm. I've decided to use the pictures as my evidence but I'm not sure if that's a wise policy.

Just saw this too for dual-fan: GTX 1050 2GB: €113.57

I guess I just need some advice on what you all think are good deals and what I really need. I also need to take into account my PSU as I'm not sure how well the RX 570, for instance, would work on it. As a volunteer worker, price is quite a factor and while I can probably go up to around €150, I would probably prefer something cheaper as the more I can save, the better. It's not like I'm particularly into playing the latest games either and if anything I'm trying to cut back on my gaming at present.

Any advice is appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

I'd go for the RX 570. Fastest out of the bunch and best value for performance per dollar. Your PSU is plenty as long as it doesn't go bad anytime soon, and it could do that no matter which card you choose.

 

[cryoburner]

You would also likely need an active adapter to connect any of those monitors to a VGA D-SUB connection, since graphics cards released over the last few years no longer support analog connections. The DVI-D ports don't have the pins for analog, only digital, and the cards no longer have the hardware onboard to convert a signal to analog. Are you sure your monitor doesn't have something like a DVI-D or HDMI port on the back? An active adapter that converts the signal shouldn't cost much though.

As for those options, the RX 570 would be that fastest, with the GTX 1650 a bit behind it (by around 10-15% in most games), but with significantly lower power draw and heat output under load. Either could be a few times as fast as your current card when not limited by CPU performance and would be decent upgrade options.

An RX 560 or GTX 1050 wouldn't offer much more than half the performance of an RX 570, so they might not be worth considering seeing as a lot more performance can be had for just a little more. And an RX 550 or GT 1030 would not be worth considering at all, as they wouldn't be much faster than what you already have.

 

[Palador]

You would also likely need an active adapter to connect any of those monitors to a VGA D-SUB connection, since graphics cards released over the last few years no longer support analog connections. The DVI-D ports don't have the pins for analog, only digital, and the cards no longer have the hardware onboard to convert a signal to analog. Are you sure your monitor doesn't have something like a DVI-D or HDMI port on the back? An active adapter that converts the signal shouldn't cost much though.

Ah okay. So I would need to get an actual adapter. That shouldn't be a problem.
If I may ask, what would something like this do? Should it work as well or is it for outputting from D-SUB to HDMI?
And no, the monitor only has a D-SUB port. I'm not sure why these monitors are still locked in the past in this country while TVs are about as modern as you can find anywhere, but I guess people use TVs more than computers here.
Do you think the RX 570 or GTX 1650 would have any issues with running on Windows 7?

It bothers me that the details in the spec sheet and the pictures don't match up on some of these cards. I suppose I need to Google them to make sure that they're actually what they show/say they are.

Part of me is actually not sure if I want to upgrade my card. I mean, the old card isn't working so I kind of have to buy a new one, but if I don't really use it much it seems a bit pointless.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

That cable won't work. It's a pointless cable because it does not actively convert the signal from digital to analog. You need an active converter like this.

I don't forsee any issues with those cards running on Windows 7.

You could buy a Ryzen 3 2200G and then sell your R3 1200. Should be cheaper if you can actually sell your CPU. Then you won't need a GPU or a converter.

 

[cryoburner]

You could buy a Ryzen 3 2200G and then sell your R3 1200. Should be cheaper if you can actually sell your CPU. Then you won't need a GPU or a converter.

While that also might be an option, it would be a side-grade on the CPU side of things, since the Ryzen 2200G isn't much faster than the 1200, and on the graphics side of things it might actually be a slight downgrade from an HD 7770. The DDR4-2400 ram might also limit the performance of the integrated graphics a bit further.

Another option might be to consider a card on the used market, though be careful about not getting a "fake" card (an older, slower card modified to appear as a newer one) as some of those are floating around.

 

[Palador]

Yeah. Though from what I've seen used graphics card are not all that much cheaper and probably not really worth the risk factor.

Hmm...just saw the RX 570 was bumped up to around €170...quite a jump.