Question Good cheap GPU for my utterly ancient system?

[AndyTheDrifter]

I have a very old PC from early 2012 (2500k, Radeon 7970). I primarily play older and indie games, and it meets my needs just fine, so I'm not looking to do a new build right now unless I absolutely have to. I just realized that my GPU fans are dead. Is it possible for me to buy a new cheap GPU (>$200US) that's (1) at least as good as my current 7970 and (2) compatible with my old motherboard? It's a Biostar TZ77XE3, and I seem to have a "2 x PCI-E 3.0 x16 Slot".

https://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/eol/introduction.php?S_ID=581#specification

The power supply was upgraded in 2019, and is a CORSAIR RM750x.

I was looking at the RX 580 for $150 from Best Buy, but I'm completely open to other suggestions. I should also mention that I would prefer not to buy secondhand. Thanks!

 

[7medd]

psu?

 

[AndyTheDrifter]

psu?

I upgraded it in 2019. It's a CORSAIR RM750x. Thanks!

I should also mention that I would prefer not to buy secondhand.

 

[7medd]

That is a good PSU it will run anything you need.
Now the 580 will suit your needs.. There is also the Nvidia equivalent , the 1660 not super which is newer and costs a bit more .

 

[The Historical Fidelity]

I have a very old PC from early 2012 (2500k, Radeon 7970). I primarily play older and indie games, and it meets my needs just fine, so I'm not looking to do a new build right now unless I absolutely have to. I just realized that my GPU fans are dead. Is it possible for me to buy a new cheap GPU (>$200US) that's (1) at least as good as my current 7970 and (2) compatible with my old motherboard? It's a Biostar TZ77XE3, and I seem to have a "2 x PCI-E 3.0 x16 Slot".

https://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/eol/introduction.php?S_ID=581#specification

I was looking at the RX 580 for $150, but I'm completely open to other suggestions. Thanks!

I would say buying new for $200 or less you are left with only a 8 GB RX 6600. The only problem is that it is a pci-e x8 interface however your CPU will be a bottleneck long before it saturates a pci-e 3 x8 interface so I’d honestly say get the RX 6600 and eventually, when you get a cpu upgrade, it’ll be a sweet setup. (IE the rx 6600 with a 2500k cpu will be a good upgrade and, since your 2500k will be holding it back some, if you ever get a new cpu, the rx 6600 will deliver a free performance boost due to not being held back anymore. Which is always nice!)

You can also get a GTX 1650 / 1660, or an Intel A380 but they are too limited in VRAM to be of use today. The RX 6600 will provide the longest lifetime relevance of all the less than $200 new cards.

ASRock AMD Radeon RX 6600 Challenger D Dual-Fan 8GB GDDR6 PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card - Micro Center

Get it now! Two fans that provide strong cooling performance and make your gaming rig stay cool. Its optimized for delivering excellent gaming experience with stylish and streamlined design. Designed to avoid PCB bending. The fancy outlook makes the graphic card more legendary in visual.

www.microcenter.com

PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 6600 Fighter Dual-Fan 8GB GDDR6 PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card - Micro Center

Get it now! Based on AMD RDNA 2 architecture, the PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6600 graphics card features 28 Compute Units, 32 MB of all new AMD Infinity Cache and 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory, is engineered to deliver ultra-high frame rates and ultimate 1080p gaming experience.

www.microcenter.com

Used I would say a RX 5700 xt is a good price, 8GB vram, with a full pci-e x16 interface. Or an RX 580-90 if the price is right (rx 5700 xt is better than RX 580-90 so only get 580-90 if price reflects the delta in performance).
Another used thought is the 8GB GTX 1070 / 1070 Ti / 1080 depending on price.

All pci-e interfaces are compatible with the previous generations. So if you are buying new they will all be pci-e gen 4 but work seamlessly with pci-e gen 3 motherboards.

Hope this helps!

 

[AndyTheDrifter]

Ooh, that's all a good point. I can get the XFX Speedster Radeon RX6600 from Amazon for $230, and it comes with The Last of Us Part 1 for free (I know I won't be able to play it now, but it will be nice to have in the future). I know my 2500k will bottleneck the RX6600, but if I'm spending around $200 anyway, it would probably make more sense to get the more future proof card in the RX6600 over the RX 580, right?

 

[The Historical Fidelity]

Ooh, that's all a good point. I can get the XFX Speedster Radeon RX6600 from Amazon for $230, and it comes with The Last of Us Part 1 for free (I know I won't be able to play it now, but it will be nice to have in the future). I know my 2500k will bottleneck the RX6600, but if I'm spending around $200 anyway, it would probably make more sense to get the more future proof card in the RX6600 over the RX 580, right?

I totally agree!

 

[Avro Arrow]

You can find replacement GPU fans for cheap on eBay:
eBay - GPU Cooling Fans For Sale