Core 2 Duo E8600 Graphics Card

[a_load_of_barnacles]

I would like to get a cheap graphics card to run videos more smoothly and maybe accelerate some VMs. Maybe some very light basic gaming too (Minecraft, etc), no Call of Duty or anything. I also want to keep it cheap, well under 50 dollars would be great. An older GPU would also be fine, nothing too fancy.

Specs:
Dell Inspiron 530
Core 2 Duo E8600 3.3 GHZ
6 GB DDR2 RAM

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Buying new a GT 710 or GT 720 should be under $50.

Buying used you might find something a little better, like a GT 730 http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_sop=15&_nkw=gt+730&rt=nc&LH_BIN=1

 

[clutchc]

The GT 730 DDR5 64 bit cards should fit the bill for you. You can find them cheapest used on ebay. But basically, you can use just about any card you find that fits a PCIe x16 slot.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Yeah I forget there are different models of the GT 730. See http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-730/specifications

The one in the 3rd column is the good one clutchc is referring to, it has the highest memory bandwidth along with more CUDA cores and higher clock speeds.

 

[a_load_of_barnacles]

Yeah I forget there are different models of the GT 730. See http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-730/specifications

The one in the 3rd column is the good one clutchc is referring to, it has the highest memory bandwidth along with more CUDA cores and higher clock speeds.

So something like this then?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KFA2-GeForce-GT-730-Video-Card-PCI-E-2-0-x16-64-Bit-1GB-GDDR5-/351956167604?hash=item51f238ebb4:g:q5sAAOSw44BYeW7V

And this will help accelerate things like streaming 1080p video, correct? It struggles a bit now with that...

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Yeah I forget there are different models of the GT 730. See http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-730/specifications

The one in the 3rd column is the good one clutchc is referring to, it has the highest memory bandwidth along with more CUDA cores and higher clock speeds.

So something like this then?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KFA2-GeForce-GT-730-Video-Card-PCI-E-2-0-x16-64-Bit-1GB-GDDR5-/351956167604?hash=item51f238ebb4:g:q5sAAOSw44BYeW7V

Yes exactly. GDDR5 64-bit.

 

[a_load_of_barnacles]

Yeah I forget there are different models of the GT 730. See http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-730/specifications

The one in the 3rd column is the good one clutchc is referring to, it has the highest memory bandwidth along with more CUDA cores and higher clock speeds.

So something like this then?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KFA2-GeForce-GT-730-Video-Card-PCI-E-2-0-x16-64-Bit-1GB-GDDR5-/351956167604?hash=item51f238ebb4:g:q5sAAOSw44BYeW7V

Yes exactly. GDDR5 64-bit.

Great! Thanks a bunch. Something like this would take a lot of weight off the CPU (when watching 1080p videos, etc.) then just with the integrated graphics on the motherboard, right?