[SOLVED] Cheapest 1440p GPU's (but it's NOT for Gaming)

Dylan Beckett

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Jul 12, 2021
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Hi

I may have to concede at some point and just buy a new GPU for my new 12th Gen i7 12700K build.

I'm planning on trying to limp by with an integrated gpu or 2010's gpu (see my related thread if curious) - but I'm debating about buying something new instead - except I don't want to spend the crazy money for what little you get these days!

I have said that I don't want to buy a new one - and I still prefer not too - but curious what's the cheapest I can get away with for a GPU that can do 1440p - NOT FOR GAMING, but just for Office, Browsing/Youtube etc, and most importantly Music Production on my DAW (most likely Ableton Live).

I plan on having 16-32gb RAM and nvme's etc Windows 10 and of course PCIE 4.0 for gpu.

It would be nice if I could get one that can do the higher refresh rates on new monitors but not absolutely essential?
120hz at least might be nice for Movies/TV etc?

Please include the full Brand/model number etc and current price as I'm not up on video cards like you guys.


Cheers!
 
Solution
24 FPS for films is still common. Shows are likely being recorded at higher frame rates, but not necessarily distributed.

Tech enthusiasts often have their videos at 60FPS, up to 4K, on youtube.

But no, no general move towards higher refresh rate video. (The ISPs are already not happy with the amount of video streaming they have to handle) They barely tolerate 4K on demand, and even then most providers have it compressed way more than something like a 4K blu-ray.

HD770 should be more than enough for anything non-gaming, and even some light gaming. I think I saw a video recently of running Battlefield 5 off of it, wasn't pretty, but it was playable at 720p.

7970 is also more than capable of high resolution and high refresh rate...

Dylan Beckett

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Jul 12, 2021
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With current pricing I'd stick with the iGPU. It will support high resolution, but you will miss out on high refresh rate (which shouldn't be a big deal if you are not gaming, unless you can justify the high refresh rate.)

Hi MrN1ce9uy

I really just don't know if the on board gpu OR old discrete gpu will even work ok at 60hz for the non gaming stuff I want to do?

The problem is it really affects what Monitor I buy now because I might want to get a better GPU in the future and also be able to use the higher refresh rates if possible - so I kind of need to know what I can make work now and in the future.11

If I knew for sure that I had a gpu solution NOW that I knew would work ok for 1440p (either one of the two crappy ones I have now, or a new budget gpu) - that would give me the confidence to spend the money on a New Monitor knowing I won't be disappointed. That and I might want to get a better GPU a few years from now and start gaming again (if the market ever goes back to normal?)

I really don't want to waste money on a new 60-75hz ONLY monitor - only to need to upgrade monitor and gpu both at once in the future. Plus I'd like a new Monitor now that's half decent.

cheers
 

joeldf

Commendable
Oct 11, 2021
49
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1,545
Hi MrN1ce9uy

I really just don't know if the on board gpu OR old discrete gpu will even work ok at 60hz for the non gaming stuff I want to do?

The problem is it really affects what Monitor I buy now because I might want to get a better GPU in the future and also be able to use the higher refresh rates if possible - so I kind of need to know what I can make work now and in the future.11

If I knew for sure that I had a gpu solution NOW that I knew would work ok for 1440p (either one of the two crappy ones I have now, or a new budget gpu) - that would give me the confidence to spend the money on a New Monitor knowing I won't be disappointed. That and I might want to get a better GPU a few years from now and start gaming again (if the market ever goes back to normal?)

I really don't want to waste money on a new 60-75hz ONLY monitor - only to need to upgrade monitor and gpu both at once in the future. Plus I'd like a new Monitor now that's half decent.

cheers
Honestly, the 60hz shouldn't be an issue with anything you are doing that isn't gaming. You really won't notice a difference.

And, for movies/TV, unless you really like that fake looking soap opera effect on actual films, you don't need high refresh for that either.
 

Dylan Beckett

Respectable
Jul 12, 2021
248
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2,245
Hi Joeldf

Honestly, the 60hz shouldn't be an issue with anything you are doing that isn't gaming. You really won't notice a difference.

For 60hz - the main thing I'm worried about is DAW use (music production)


joeldf said:
And, for movies/TV, unless you really like that fake looking soap opera effect on actual films, you don't need high refresh for that either.
If I watch highest quality 4K movies/TV (admittedly probably on 2k screen [would that be scaled/downsampled then - eg better still with 4k source than 2k?]) - what percentage of those these days would be at 120hz or higher than 60?

I got the impression that higher than 60hz is or was becoming the new standard?
And don't you think it will inevitably happen with Youtube videos too - higher refresh rates?

cheers
 

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
24 FPS for films is still common. Shows are likely being recorded at higher frame rates, but not necessarily distributed.

Tech enthusiasts often have their videos at 60FPS, up to 4K, on youtube.

But no, no general move towards higher refresh rate video. (The ISPs are already not happy with the amount of video streaming they have to handle) They barely tolerate 4K on demand, and even then most providers have it compressed way more than something like a 4K blu-ray.

HD770 should be more than enough for anything non-gaming, and even some light gaming. I think I saw a video recently of running Battlefield 5 off of it, wasn't pretty, but it was playable at 720p.

7970 is also more than capable of high resolution and high refresh rate. Might have to use DVI, but even 1080p 144hz is likely doable. 1440p 60hz should be well within its capabilities, in fact looks like 4K 60hz through display port. HDMI is likely limited to 60hz 1440p as well. 4K was a little new back then so HDMI support would be back to 24hz.
 
Solution
Integrated graphics should be able to display 4k @ 60hz.
Plan on using displayport for your monitors.
DP most easily supports very high resolutions.
HDMI will be limited to 60hz unless you have a hdmi 2.1 capable graphics card which will be an expensive nvidia 3000 series card.
Your 12700K will include UHD770 graphics which is some 2x faster than a discrete GT730 card.
 
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elefante72

Distinguished
Jul 20, 2009
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18,510
Hi

I may have to concede at some point and just buy a new GPU for my new 12th Gen i7 12700K build.

I'm planning on trying to limp by with an integrated gpu or 2010's gpu (see my related thread if curious) - but I'm debating about buying something new instead - except I don't want to spend the crazy money for what little you get these days!

I have said that I don't want to buy a new one - and I still prefer not too - but curious what's the cheapest I can get away with for a GPU that can do 1440p - NOT FOR GAMING, but just for Office, Browsing/Youtube etc, and most importantly Music Production on my DAW (most likely Ableton Live).

I plan on having 16-32gb RAM and nvme's etc Windows 10 and of course PCIE 4.0 for gpu.

It would be nice if I could get one that can do the higher refresh rates on new monitors but not absolutely essential?
120hz at least might be nice for Movies/TV etc?

Please include the full Brand/model number etc and current price as I'm not up on video cards like you guys.


Cheers!

There are a couple of clarifications in your ask. There are no (To my knowledge) any commercial video on YT or the like above 60 Hz progressive so a 2k monitor that can push 60 Hz is fine, along w/ a graphics card. You do not need to push 144 Hz for 2D applications. Your rig for audio production is way overboard, but I get that. My cousin is using Ableton on an 6 year old Dell laptop w/ i5, and the graphics card isn't going to affect that app.

Since you are not looking for gaming at 3D a professional card will do you just fine. For instance I have multiple trader desktops running 3 4k monitors at 60 Hz on a Radeon Pro WX2100 which you can pickup on ebay used for well under $100. These will run THREE 2k monitors (1440) at 144 Hz no problem w/ AMD FreeSync, but you do not need that for what you are doing. The nice thing about the Pro cards is the drivers are SUPER stable (they come out every 3 months) and they support Pro cards for much longer (5-7 years or more) than casual consumer card and DX12. A 2100 will support 3 DP monitors, if you need 4 a 3100 will support. The bonus on these is they are not good for crypto so people don't blow them out and they take no special power and consume a max of 35W.

A WX3100 can do reasonable 1080p gaming (not a 2K/144)and if you are looking for something for a year while the chip shortage abates that you can ALSO flip for a similar price after supply comes up there you are. A 3100 goes for $100 more than a 2100 tho but the resale prices have been about the same for years thanks to LTS (long term support) from AMD. I personally use a WX2100 for my main desktop (as I trade) and it has the latest AMD Ryzen 7 and 32Gig and comes in well under 100W while running if energy efficiency is your thing. But I also understand gaming is not gonna happen on this.

HTH.