[SOLVED] Graphics card for budget build - how low to go

justinbower

Prominent
Jan 23, 2019
67
3
535
I'm making a new budget build that will do a little light gaming (not competitive, I don't give a flip about fps, or playing on max settings, etc, just dad gaming after hours once in a while). I currently have
  • AMD Ryzen 5 2600x ($129 at Microcenter)
  • AsRock B450M Pro4 ($59 at Microcenter)
  • 16 gb pc3200 TForce Vulcan Z DDr4 ($60, Newegg)
  • 500gb Crucial P1 NVMe M.2 SSD ($60, cna't remember where)
  • 3 TB traditional hard drive (free, existing drive)
  • Corsair CX650 PSU (free, existing 1 year old PSU)
So at ~$310 on the build so far, I'm pretty happy on cost control. But the one thing I'm lacking is a graphics card. I was initially hoping the Rx 570s would diminish in cost under the $100 mark, which is where I want to keep a new card. So far no dice. I've followed some on ebay but I really don't want someone's mining card that they're rode hard and put away wet, as the saying goes. And I'm unlikely to get into overclocking, so we're talking about stock speeds.

How much lower down the GPU chart can I go before the integrated video is a better option, and the card is redundant? Is it always better to have a card just for the extra dedicated memory? Any thoughts? I really do want to keep this build under $500, and I still need a case, so I'm pretty firm on that $100 goal for the card.
 
Solution
I honestly don't even know much about games have been made in the last 5-10 years.

You know Red Dead Redemption and Battlefield!

I know you want to stay around $100, but at $130 and $160, you get a lot of additional bang for the buck over a $100 card (it's kind of the sweet spot on the budget end). GPUs around $100 and under aren't usually good values.

PCPartPicker Part List

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 8 GB GAMING Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $129.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-21 13:04 EDT-0400


PCPartPicker Part List

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4 GB WINDFORCE OC...

DSzymborski

Titan
Moderator
I'm making a new budget build that will do a little light gaming (not competitive, I don't give a flip about fps, or playing on max settings, etc, just dad gaming after hours once in a while). I currently have
  • AMD Ryzen 5 2600x ($129 at Microcenter)
  • AsRock B450M Pro4 ($59 at Microcenter)
  • 16 gb pc3200 TForce Vulcan Z DDr4 ($60, Newegg)
  • 500gb Crucial P1 NVMe M.2 SSD ($60, cna't remember where)
  • 3 TB traditional hard drive (free, existing drive)
  • Corsair CX650 PSU (free, existing 1 year old PSU)
So at ~$310 on the build so far, I'm pretty happy on cost control. But the one thing I'm lacking is a graphics card. I was initially hoping the Rx 570s would diminish in cost under the $100 mark, which is where I want to keep a new card. So far no dice. I've followed some on ebay but I really don't want someone's mining card that they're rode hard and put away wet, as the saying goes. And I'm unlikely to get into overclocking, so we're talking about stock speeds.

How much lower down the GPU chart can I go before the integrated video is a better option, and the card is redundant? Is it always better to have a card just for the extra dedicated memory? Any thoughts? I really do want to keep this build under $500, and I still need a case, so I'm pretty firm on that $100 goal for the card.

Well, for one, the CPU doesn't have any integrated graphics, so the integrated video here will never be the preferable option.

What kind of games are you referring to as dad gaming? Can you be a bit more specific? Because obviously you will inevitably care somewhat about FPS because I'm not sure what games are going to be pleasant at 20 FPS.
 

justinbower

Prominent
Jan 23, 2019
67
3
535
Well, for one, the CPU doesn't have any integrated graphics, so the integrated video here will never be the preferable option.

What kind of games are you referring to as dad gaming? Can you be a bit more specific? Because obviously you will inevitably care somewhat about FPS because I'm not sure what games are going to be pleasant at 20 FPS.

Ahh, well that certainly answers that. As for what games, I honestly don't even know. It's been a long time since I even had time for games (I still have Age of Empires III loaded on my old machine...I think Red Dead Redemption 2 and Battlefield 1 are titles I'll likely pick up, but again, if I can't play at highest settings, it's not likely to concern me. I don't foresee playing any multiplayer, certainly not to any great degree. I'd probably be just as happy hosing Y wings again in the original Tie Fighter as I would being amazed by modern graphics.
 

DSzymborski

Titan
Moderator
I honestly don't even know much about games have been made in the last 5-10 years.

You know Red Dead Redemption and Battlefield!

I know you want to stay around $100, but at $130 and $160, you get a lot of additional bang for the buck over a $100 card (it's kind of the sweet spot on the budget end). GPUs around $100 and under aren't usually good values.

PCPartPicker Part List

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 8 GB GAMING Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $129.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-21 13:04 EDT-0400


PCPartPicker Part List

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4 GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $159.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-21 13:04 EDT-0400
 
Solution