cheap graphics cards for low end gaming / how good do I really need?

groaning_pigeon

Prominent
Jan 25, 2018
7
0
510
Howdy people,

I'm fairly new to gaming and building computers. I'm also on a very tight budget and don't really care about quality (around 30 fps on the absolute lowest settings sounds fine to me!). Problem is, i have no idea how to shop for a GPU, and would really like to know what kind of GPU specs i'd need to run modern casual games, at low setting, with minimum 30 fps.

CPU: FX-6300
MB: GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3 R2
RAM: 4GB
PSU: real old one, 450w (if that means anything)

(TL;DR) I just want to know what kind of graphics card specs (the core clock and memory stuff) I'll need to play real average games at low settings. Any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks!
 
Solution
A 1050 is ideal for you. It's the goto entry level 1080p gaming card. Since you are willing to compromise on settings and framerate, you should be able to play most everything at 30fps or higher. It does not use a 6 pin pci-ex connector either. Yes 2gb is standard for entry level cards today.
I’ll just give you my two cents...

I have a Pentium G4560 and a gtx 1050 (regular, not Ti) that isn’t oc’ed in anyway paired with a XXXX x 900p monitor. In rocket league, uncapped, I get 150fps average (although the monitor only hits 60) at highest settings. The results are similar, getting at least 60 FPS in First person shooters. Anything graphically intense, for instance, the Witcher or far cry primal, will be slower than expected. Assuming you are using 1080p, expect somewhat less FPS.
 


I have about 120$ I'm willing to spend currently. Sadly my power supply is nearly as old as I am and it has no extra cables (just the 20+ pin connector, sata power, and 4pin cpu) so if any card requires extra power cables ill need to cut into my 120$ budget for a new psu.
 


All the 1050's I'm seeing online have at least 2GB of memory and a core clock of at least 900Mhz. would you say those specs are a standard today?
 
A 1050 is ideal for you. It's the goto entry level 1080p gaming card. Since you are willing to compromise on settings and framerate, you should be able to play most everything at 30fps or higher. It does not use a 6 pin pci-ex connector either. Yes 2gb is standard for entry level cards today.
 
Solution