[SOLVED] Graphics card to resurrect this re-purposed desktop, or am I crazy?

[bradenthefirst]

I built the PC below several years ago for work, mainly Office products and accounting software. I recently replaced this with a new desktop, so I would like to set this one up for the kids to play Minecraft and Roblox on. The integrated Intel HD4600 graphics can handle Word and Excel, but not much else.

What is the best entry-level card to make online games like Roblox playable on this machine? Is it possible? Would love to spend $75 or under on a very basic card, but one that is a big improvement from the on-board graphics.

Is this possible? Am I tilting at windmills and should give up?

Thanks!


PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i3-4330 3.5 GHz Dual-Core Processor |-
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-H81M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard |-
Memory | Kingston HyperX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600 Memory |-
Storage | Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive |-
Case | Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case | $74.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply | Corsair CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | $64.99 @ Newegg
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Full 32/64-bit |-
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $139.98
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-26 11:41 EDT-0400 |

 

[jay32267]

I'd be looking at one of the three cards at the very bottom of this list.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

I think if you go higher than that your CPU will slow you down.

Although any of those three should be way faster than the integrated graphics.

 

[Barty1884]

Is this possible? Am I tilting at windmills and should give up?

Certainly possible. I'd suggest looking to the used market here. While you might be able to get a stronger GPU than makes a lot of sense paired with the balance of the hardware, pricepoint is what's going to matter.

I'd suggest a used RX470 or RX570 (even a 480 or 580 if found for the right price).
CPU will be the limiting factor here, but a used x70 should be achievable for ~$60 in most markets via Craigslist etc

New, you could look a t a 550/560, or a 1030 (DDR5), but the absolute cheapest you're likely to find them new, would be >$80 for a significantly weaker GPU vs a 470 or 570.

 

[King_V]

Agreed with the above in general.

If you're using a 720p monitor with this machine, you can go with a GDDR5 (NOT the DDR4 variant) of the 1030, or a 560. A 1080p, and you'd probably want to consider an RX 570.

However, given the pricing these days, it's really hard to go with anything less than an RX 570. Lesser cards are only slightly less money (or sometimes the same, or MORE money).

Used, you can probably do better on pricing.

Right now, the cheapest (new, with full warranty, mind you) RX 570 4GB is $119.99
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#c=392&sort=price&page=1

With rebates and discounts, I've seen one model or another go as low as $109.99, and once, even $99.99. I was considering snapping one up then even though I didn't have something I could think of using it on at the time.

It gets a little bit weird, though, trying to figure out where to put in money, and where to draw the line, on an old system like that. I'm kind of going through that same conundrum myself right now on a hodge-podge of parts I have for an FX-6300 CPU.

 

[hang-the-9]

Minecraft is harder on the CPU than it is on video cards, if a newer video card still causes issues with that program going to a higher spec i5 may help.