[SOLVED] need quick help choosing a graphics card

[venetskiiviko12]

after two-ish years my PC is finally nearing completion, all I have left is the graphics card. along with everything else, I don't wanna go with the newest most powerful stuff but I don't want to completely cheap out either, but most importantly I wanna get something that wont cause a bottleneck in my system.

my current three choices are a GTX960 2GB, GTX780 3GB and GTX960 4GB (sorted by price low to high).

according to every source I've checked the 780 is the most powerful but since it's also the oldest I'm wondering about the driver support and optimization for certain newer games as well as software for higher end 3D render work.

my current setup:
i5-4590s
RX550 4GB
12GB DDR3 1333MHz
ZM600-LXII 600w (has 2x 6+2 PCI-E pins)

OH and another important part, I don't know what type of power connectors any of these cards require which is why I mentioned the pins on my power supply, if you help me here you should definitely take the power connectors into consideration because I just bought this PSU yesterday and I can't buy another one

 

[Lutfij]

How old is that PSU in your build? IMHO, even if the PSU was brand new, I'd opt for a new reliably built 650W unit while buying a GPU. I'd pick the GTX960 4G variant, provided you can ensure the GPU wasn't used for mining. Make and model of your motherboard? Your primary limitation with your above listed build will be your ram, since they seem to not be in dual channel mode, considering you have 1x8GB and 1x4GB stick of ram...? Stick to 8GB or 16GB, provided your motherboard supports those capacities.

Out of curiosity, how much are you paying for the GPU's? Source/site of the GPU's listings?

 

[venetskiiviko12]

How old is that PSU in your build? IMHO, even if the PSU was brand new, I'd opt for a new reliably built 650W unit while buying a GPU. I'd pick the GTX960 4G variant, provided you can ensure the GPU wasn't used for mining. Make and model of your motherboard? Your primary limitation with your above listed build will be your ram, since they seem to not be in dual channel mode, considering you have 1x8GB and 1x4GB stick of ram...? Stick to 8GB or 16GB, provided your motherboard supports those capacities.

Out of curiosity, how much are you paying for the GPU's? Source/site of the GPU's listings?

the PSU was launched in Q4 2019
https://www.zalman.com/EN/Product/P...ry3=-99&searchKey=&searchWord=ZM600-LXII#none

once again, I can't just get a new one, it took me a lot of time and my first full time minimum wage paycheck to get here.

motherboard: GA-B85-HD3, rev 2.1 I think

the ram is a problem indeed, I have 2x4GB 1600MHz sticks with a single 1333MHz 4GB

prices: 960 2GB $140 (400gel for me), 780 and 4GB 960 are both $162 (500gel)

as I know these cards are usually cheaper but it's as good as it can get for me, prices for GPUs are pretty high here

 

[Flayed]

the PSU was launched in Q4 2019
https://www.zalman.com/EN/Product/P...ry3=-99&searchKey=&searchWord=ZM600-LXII#none

once again, I can't just get a new one, it took me a lot of time and my first full time minimum wage paycheck to get here.

motherboard: GA-B85-HD3, rev 2.1 I think

the ram is a problem indeed, I have 2x4GB 1600MHz sticks with a single 1333MHz 4GB

prices: 960 2GB $140 (400gel for me), 780 and 4GB 960 are both $162 (500gel)

as I know these cards are usually cheaper but it's as good as it can get for me, prices for GPUs are pretty high here

That PSU has 3xIDE connectors? In 2019? Wtf?

 

[Udyr]

That PSU has 3xIDE connectors? In 2019? Wtf?

They're called MOLEX connectors and are common in many PSUs

 

[Flayed]

They're called MOLEX connectors and are common in many PSUs

If they are molex connectors why does it say IDE in the specs page for the PSU?

S-ATA / IDE Cable (S-ATA Connector 2ea + IDE Connector 1ea)

 

[Eximo]

Because Molex is the common lexicon, even though it is technically wrong. Molex is a connector technology, and not even the right one for the 4-pin. That is actually an AMP connector, though the pin styles are a close match to Molex.

Older AT connectors were the original Molex: P8 / P9 connector, Molex 90331
ATX/PCIe/EPS("P4") Molex Mini-fit Jr. 39-28-1203
"Molex" AMP Mate-n-Lok 1-480424-0
"Floppy" AMP 171822-4 (Also known as the Berg connector)

But yes, SCSI and IDE drives of the era tended toward the larger 4-pin connector until SATA drives came along. Also a good period where hard drives had both SATA and Molex power as options. IDE power is a common label to see, P4, Being the weirdest because it was only called that because Pentium 4 motherboards were the first to have it when the full ATX standard was introduced.

Fun fact: Molex Micro-Fit is what Nvidia is using for their 12-pin.

A fun topic to see how lexicon and language develop.

 

[venetskiiviko12]

Because Molex is the common lexicon, even though it is technically wrong. Molex is a connector technology, and not even the right one for the 4-pin. That is actually an AMP connector, though the pin styles are a close match to Molex.

Older AT connectors were the original Molex: P8 / P9 connector, Molex 90331
ATX/PCIe/EPS("P4") Molex Mini-fit Jr. 39-28-1203
"Molex" AMP Mate-n-Lok 1-480424-0
"Floppy" AMP 171822-4 (Also known as the Berg connector)

But yes, SCSI and IDE drives of the era tended toward the larger 4-pin connector until SATA drives came along. Also a good period where hard drives had both SATA and Molex power as options. IDE power is a common label to see, P4, Being the weirdest because it was only called that because Pentium 4 motherboards were the first to have it when the full ATX standard was introduced.

Fun fact: Molex Micro-Fit is what Nvidia is using for their 12-pin.

A fun topic to see how lexicon and language develop.

soo in short do you think my psu will be able to handle these cards well?

 

[WarWolverineWarrior]

That PSU has 3xIDE connectors? In 2019? Wtf?

WTF is that PSU?

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

Unit is dead last on that list.
Good luck powering anything up with that.

 

[nikomsuman]

If you are looking for a best graphics card here it is. The main use of a graphics card is in the name; processing graphics.

If you’re a major gamer who plays really high-end and demanding games, you’d have to purchase a graphics card similar to NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1000 series and above. Recommended for high end games would be GTX 1050, 1060, 1070, 1080.

If you have a big wallet, you could even throw in some extra cash and go for RTX 2080 series. But this is only recommended, for example, if you’re a twitch streamer or a heavy graphics user that requires constant use of high graphics rendering and smooth FPS.

On the other hand, if you only need a PC/laptop for office use/school work, there’s no need to buy a heavy-ended graphics card. You can make do with a basic Intel graphics card. This card can be used to stream youtube, movies, netflix, etc which don’t require much graphics to run.

 

[venetskiiviko12]

If you are looking for a best graphics card here it is. The main use of a graphics card is in the name; processing graphics.

If you’re a major gamer who plays really high-end and demanding games, you’d have to purchase a graphics card similar to NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1000 series and above. Recommended for high end games would be GTX 1050, 1060, 1070, 1080.

If you have a big wallet, you could even throw in some extra cash and go for RTX 2080 series. But this is only recommended, for example, if you’re a twitch streamer or a heavy graphics user that requires constant use of high graphics rendering and smooth FPS.

On the other hand, if you only need a PC/laptop for office use/school work, there’s no need to buy a heavy-ended graphics card. You can make do with a basic Intel graphics card. This card can be used to stream youtube, movies, netflix, etc which don’t require much graphics to run.

I gave you my choices and my specs, of course a 10 series would be more powerful but I can't get it, I chose these 3 because I want to decide what works best on my pc with these 3

 

[venetskiiviko12]

WTF is that PSU?

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

Unit is dead last on that list.
Good luck powering anything up with that.

mate.
reread those titles.
the fact that it says "recommended" for anything at all is enough for me, first of all I've been running this PC for years on a non branded 2007 420w PSU on multiple different cards with no issues and that block still works perfectly.
reread my specs, I have a 4th gen i5 and I'm trying to get a 2013-2015 budget card, getting anything in the top of the "high end" category would be total overkill and a waste of money, don't underestimate everything just cos it's not top of the line.

I posted this thread cos I needed help choosing one of three graphics cards, nothing else

 

[RTX 2080]

I'd get the GTX 960. It has the most VRAM and it isn't as old as the 780 which if I remember right Nvidia will soon stop supporting with updated drivers.

 

[venetskiiviko12]

I'd get the GTX 960. It has the most VRAM and it isn't as old as the 780 which if I remember right Nvidia will soon stop supporting with updated drivers.

yep, you seem to be right about the drivers. thank you for such a straightforward answer

 

[DSzymborski]

mate.
reread those titles.
the fact that it says "recommended" for anything at all is enough for me, first of all I've been running this PC for years on a non branded 2007 420w PSU on multiple different cards with no issues and that block still works perfectly.
reread my specs, I have a 4th gen i5 and I'm trying to get a 2013-2015 budget card, getting anything in the top of the "high end" category would be total overkill and a waste of money, don't underestimate everything just cos it's not top of the line.

I posted this thread cos I needed help choosing one of three graphics cards, nothing else

We see a lot of low quality PSUs destroying GPUs here. It's not underestimated; it's risky whether or not you see visible damage. Junk PSUs don't just blow up; they frequently just shorten lifespan of the components. Most drunk drivers also don't wrap their cars around a tree, but that doesn't make it smart or safe.

And it says "recommended" for "cheap, igpu" systems. You don't have an igpu system if you're using a discrete GPU.

You're free to take all the risk you want with your purchases. But that doesn't mean it's good advice or we're bound to only tell you what you wish to hear.