[SOLVED] How to remove MSI AMD R9 380 graphics card?

YourBreadstick

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Aug 8, 2013
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Hello! I was wondering if anyone could help me. I should point out that I'm not as good with computers as I wish I could be, so please bare with me!

A couple of years ago a friend has helped me build a PC:
Corsair Air 240
Corsair CX600
Corsair Vengeance LPX 8gb
Intel Core Skylake Processor i5-6500/3.2 GHz
Asus H170 Plus Motherboard
MSI AMD R9 380 (8 GB, PCI-E 3.0, GDDR5, 512 Bit, DVI-I, HDMI)

(I hope I've written out the above list correctly)

A few years ago, I was playing Sims and all of a sudden my screen went black. Since then I've just been relying on the integrated graphics and it's been fine. I've never been a gamer or anything, but like many people I've enjoyed playing sims since being a child. I havent even tried launching it using the integrated graphics card because 1. It probably isn't good enough and 2. I dont want to risk something happening with the integrated graphics too.

From reading other forums I've come to the conclusion that my GPU simply must have died. Sad but that's okay - I'm happy to buy a new graphics card. Nothing too fancy or expensive as it would mainly be to play sims once in a while.

The problem is that I have no idea how to remove this damn GPU so it's been attached to the motherboard all this time. I know it's a stupid thing to ask about but I thought that's better than trying to figure this out myself.

So I guess I'm wondering about:
  1. Is there anything else i can do apart from getting a new GPU?
  2. How do I remove this thing?
  3. What's a decent graphics card that I could buy as a replacement?

Thank you in advance!
 
Solution
Well, the inexpensive GT 1030 should be more than enough for the Sims, I believe, though it's a lesser-performing GPU than your R9 380.
GT 1030 sorted by price - UK
WARNING: some GT 1030 cards have DDR4 (or SDDR4?) listed as their VRAM type rather than GDDR5 - you want one with GDDR5. Avoid DDR4/SDDR4.

If your case has good airflow, you might consider a fanless GT 1030 - but that's a personal preference of my own for lowering noise levels.



That said, the best price performance in the low end range would be the RX 570. It goes a little over your £100, but has equal or slightly higher performance than your old R9 380
RX 570 sorted by price - UK

The first one on that list is a Sapphire Pulse - and Sapphire's cooling...

Mrgr74

Reputable
BANNED
Hi Breadstick,

No worries! We got your back. Removing the GPU is simple. <--click here.

Before you throw out your GPU, make sure it's actually bad. :) Let a friend test it or take it into a repair shop to have them check. I'd suggest you do this before you buy a new one just to make sure there isn't something either wrong with you motherboard or an otherwise simple fix. :)

If your GPU IS bad, whats your budget?
 
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Removing the card should be straight forward. Remove the power cord from the gpu. Check on the right side of the pcie slot to make sure there is not a snap in tab, like memory snap in tab. If there is one just press it down with your thumb. Then with hands on each side of the gpu gently rock back and forth as you pull it slowly out. For a replacement card what kind of gaming are you going to do?
 
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YourBreadstick

Honorable
Aug 8, 2013
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I managed to get it out!

I will try and get the graphics card tested to see whether it works or not but for now I am happy to buy a new budget graphics card. Maybe something under £100? I won't be doing any gaming tbh, just Sims 3/4 once in a while so I don't want to spend a lot.
 

King_V

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Ambassador
Well, the inexpensive GT 1030 should be more than enough for the Sims, I believe, though it's a lesser-performing GPU than your R9 380.
GT 1030 sorted by price - UK
WARNING: some GT 1030 cards have DDR4 (or SDDR4?) listed as their VRAM type rather than GDDR5 - you want one with GDDR5. Avoid DDR4/SDDR4.

If your case has good airflow, you might consider a fanless GT 1030 - but that's a personal preference of my own for lowering noise levels.



That said, the best price performance in the low end range would be the RX 570. It goes a little over your £100, but has equal or slightly higher performance than your old R9 380
RX 570 sorted by price - UK

The first one on that list is a Sapphire Pulse - and Sapphire's cooling solutions are generally quite good.
 
Last edited:
Solution

Mrgr74

Reputable
BANNED
Well, the inexpensive GT 1030 should be more than enough for the Sims, I believe, though it's a lesser-performing GPU than your R9 380.
GT 1030 sorted by price - UK
WARNING: some GT 1030 cards have DDR4 (or SDDR4?) listed as their VRAM type rather than GDDR5 - you want one with GDDR5. Avoid DDR4/SDDR4.

If your case has good airflow, you might consider a fanless GT 1030 - but that's a personal preference of my own for lowering noise levels.



That said, the best price performance in the low end range would be the RX 570. It goes a little over your £100, but has equal or slightly higher performance than your old R9 380
RX 570 sorted by price - UK

The first one on that list is a Sapphire Pulse - and Sapphire's cooling solutions are generally quite good.

I second @King_V suggestion for the Sapphire Pulse. I've owned several sapphire GPU's over the years and they have never let me down.
 
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King_V

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The extra RAM is nice - though I assume that @YourBreadstick is using a 1920x1080 @ 60Hz monitor (or possibly lower resolution), which may not be an accurate assumption. It seems, though, that when I go to that link, it actually shows up as £120.99, but with a VAT-Inclusive price listing of £145.19. Not sure what's going on there.

The ASRock cards do tend to have noisier coolers, though. Also, for some reason, when I click on it, it shows up as

While I'm still a fan of the Sapphire, it's worth noting that, as of today, there's also the MSI Armor version (4GB) available after shipping for £118.41 - not sure I'm a fan of the original Armor style coolers (no personal experience, but have heard mixed opinions), but it's still kind of hard to deny that it's a good price for the card.
 
The extra RAM is nice - though I assume that @YourBreadstick is using a 1920x1080 @ 60Hz monitor (or possibly lower resolution), which may not be an accurate assumption. It seems, though, that when I go to that link, it actually shows up as £120.99, but with a VAT-Inclusive price listing of £145.19. Not sure what's going on there.

The ASRock cards do tend to have noisier coolers, though. Also, for some reason, when I click on it, it shows up as

While I'm still a fan of the Sapphire, it's worth noting that, as of today, there's also the MSI Armor version (4GB) available after shipping for £118.41 - not sure I'm a fan of the original Armor style coolers (no personal experience, but have heard mixed opinions), but it's still kind of hard to deny that it's a good price for the card.
I don't know how much shipping would be, and if there is any kind of import tax, but U.S. Newegg has the card for $139.00 us.