GPU Upgrade for older system. Which one to choose?

[larsen1864]

Hello there,

I'm going to take the old PC (FX 6300, 16GB RAM) of my mate, but I want to switch the graphics card (my old HD 7790). I could get my hands on several used ones:

1) HD 7950 3GB for 90$
2) Geforce GTX 670 OC 2GB for 100$
3) Geforce GTX 680 OC 2GB for 125$
4) Radeon R9 280X 3GB for 150$

*(as reference a new Geforce 1050ti 4GB costs about 170€/210$)

**(the prices here in Germany for used computer parts may widely differ from the ones you have in anglophone countries, so I converted Euro in Dollar)

Since I don't want to spend too much money to upgrade this old chap, I'm seriously considering one of the cards above. The margin above would easily allow me to buy a additional SSD drive just for comfort.

What's your opinion?

 

[Alan Caldwell]

R9 280X > GTX 680 > GTX 670 > HD 7950.

 

[neiler0847]

Interesting challenge. I would place all of these cards in the same class. That's good news, because it means you can't really make a bad choice. Dollar for dollar, I like the GTX 670. Only having 2GB of VRAM is a small concern, but the FX 6300 CPU will constrain you to B-titles anyway.

 

[coozie7]

I'd opt for one of the AMD cards, just for the extra memory, performance is broadly the same for all 4 cards, but probably the GTX680 would just come out on top.

Do bear in mind AMD cards of that age MUST have a good cooler, and be in a case with good airflow, exactly which cards do you have in mind?