[SOLVED] Seeking recommendations for upgrading from Radeon R9 255

[baddaysbasil]

So I'm finally hitting that point where I'm wanting to play some newer games and the old card is starting to hold me back some.
Unfortunately I'm working with a made-for-me PC and some things can't be swapped out like the less-than-great power supply. I've got a Lenovo with the following:

Motherboard: LENOVO Bantry CRB
CPU: AMD A8-7600 (quad-core, 3.1GHz)
RAM: 16GB DDR3
Power Supply: 280W
Current GPU: Radeon R9 255
Display: 1600x900 @ 60hz HP x20LED


It's worth noting that the power supply does not supply a 6-pin power connector that some GPUs require. This has put a big damper in my own less-informed shopping and something I'm unable to tell at all if a card requires a 6-pin connector or not. I've read that SATA to 6-pin conversion cables can be a dangerous thing and would rather not go there.

My gaming habits: I'm a pretty casual gamer and so I don't spend lots of cash on hardware and most of my gaming isn't around super-intense graphically brilliant games, I'm more of a chill turn-based kind of guy! Also, I don 't expect to need 4K resolution and just use a 19-inch monitor. Mostly I game at 1600 x 900 resolution and I'm perfectly happy with it. I'd like to be able to play the following with decent framerates on High-ish settings: Warhammer 2 Total War, Path of Exile, X-Com 2 and again, not even on full-on 4K ultra settings.

What am I willing to spend? $70-100 bucks. From what I can tell, a Geforce GTX 750 ti or a Radeon RX 460 would be pretty cool, but again I'm kind of iffy on all the power requirements and what is exactly right for me. These cards fall in the price range (I am a thrifty shopping and don't mind used or refurbished ebay cards) and benchmark at just about twice as good as what I'm already running.

Can anyone help?
Links to actual items would be fantastic!

The homework I've done leads me to believe these might be good, I'm just afraid to pull the trigger on something that won't work:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/XFX-Radeon...sh=item4dba89c3eb:g:QmIAAOSwMXdf7Nvg&LH_BIN=1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-Dual-Fan-Radeon-Rx-460-2GB-AMD-Gaming-Graphics-Card/393071070276

https://www.ebay.com/itm/XFX-Radeon...Graphics-Video-Card-RX-460P4DFG5/164610519140

 

[mitch074]

So I'm finally hitting that point where I'm wanting to play some newer games and the old card is starting to hold me back some.
Unfortunately I'm working with a made-for-me PC and some things can't be swapped out like the less-than-great power supply. I've got a Lenovo with the following:

Motherboard: LENOVO Bantry CRB
CPU: AMD A8-7600 (quad-core, 3.1GHz)
RAM: 16GB DDR3
Power Supply: 280W
Current GPU: Radeon R9 255
Display: 1600x900 @ 60hz HP x20LED


It's worth noting that the power supply does not supply a 6-pin power connector that some GPUs require. This has put a big damper in my own less-informed shopping and something I'm unable to tell at all if a card requires a 6-pin connector or not. I've read that SATA to 6-pin conversion cables can be a dangerous thing and would rather not go there.

My gaming habits: I'm a pretty casual gamer and so I don't spend lots of cash on hardware and most of my gaming isn't around super-intense graphically brilliant games, I'm more of a chill turn-based kind of guy! Also, I don 't expect to need 4K resolution and just use a 19-inch monitor. Mostly I game at 1600 x 900 resolution and I'm perfectly happy with it. I'd like to be able to play the following with decent framerates on High-ish settings: Warhammer 2 Total War, Path of Exile, X-Com 2 and again, not even on full-on 4K ultra settings.

What am I willing to spend? $70-100 bucks. From what I can tell, a Geforce GTX 750 ti or a Radeon RX 460 would be pretty cool, but again I'm kind of iffy on all the power requirements and what is exactly right for me. These cards fall in the price range (I am a thrifty shopping and don't mind used or refurbished ebay cards) and benchmark at just about twice as good as what I'm already running.

Can anyone help?
Links to actual items would be fantastic!

The homework I've done leads me to believe these might be good, I'm just afraid to pull the trigger on something that won't work:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/XFX-Radeon-RX-460-4gb-GDDR5-Graphics-Card-RX-460P4SFG5/333842072555?hash=item4dba89c3eb:g:QmIAAOSwMXdf7Nvg&LH_BIN=1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-Dual-Fan-Radeon-Rx-460-2GB-AMD-Gaming-Graphics-Card/393071070276

https://www.ebay.com/itm/XFX-Radeon...Graphics-Video-Card-RX-460P4DFG5/164610519140

Forget about both these cards - they are ANCIENT. For $100, you'd actually get better performance out of the Ryzen 3200G's IGPU. Scrape for promotions on a RX560 with 4 Gb of VRAM, or a Geforce GT1050 Ti (mind the -Ti) - MUCH better value for the money.
OR, since eBay doesn't scare you:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Amd-Radeon-RX-560-4Gb/203232076622?hash=item2f5193634e:g:klsAAOSweNBf5iIo
Considering the rest of your system, getting a refresh may also be worth considering : your CPU WILL hold you back. So you may want to go for a B450 motherboard + Ryzen 3200G + 2x8 Gb of cheap DDR4 (no GPU needed for such a setup) and get much more performance (the CPU by itselft is almost double the performance of your current processor) with the possibility to drastically boost your system with a simple CPU + GPU upgrade down the line.

 

[Viking2121]

I was looking around recently on the used market for a GTX 970, 1060 or even better a 1660, but man the prices are the used side of things along with new is pretty rough right now that you may just want to hang tight with what you have, or really browse around on the used market for something.

As for them options, the RX 460 is a bit faster is most cases, but if you do like to record gameplay, or even stream from time to time, it would be worth while to take the 750ti just for the Nvidia encoder, the RX 460 has an encoder but is no where near as good as the 750ti.

Power requirements, if you can run the R9 255, you will be perfectly fine with either of them 2 cards, the RX 460 does consume a little bit more than either of them 2, but its also a tiny bit faster in the majority of the games. Also them adapters are perfectly fine on them lower power GPU's, some of the RX 460's and 750ti do require a 6 pin, but they will draw most if not 90% of the power from the PCI-E slot anyways, When a card requires 400+ watts, then I'd avoid using them and it will then need to consume quite a bit more power from the PCI-E lane along with the 6 pin. Most of the issues with these adapters especially molex, if they are not plugged in fully, they can ark and then create heat and start melting and then short on something, just have to make sure they are fully plugged in.

On another note, I recommend that you save your money and look around for a GTX 1050, it may be held back by that CPU some, but its a much bigger jump in performance.

 

[baddaysbasil]

Thanks a bunch to both of you--this is definitely some good info to go on--so far I'm detecting that bucking up for a 1050 ti is probably the smarter choice here.

I guess, though, that I'm still wondering if that might be overkill for my needs. Remember: I'm running on a small monitor and am satisfied with a pretty small resolution. Also, when comparing my current R9 255 with either the GTX 750ti and the RX 460, they both have at least twice the benchmark score. And if I'm bottlenecked by my CPU either way, would it make sense to just get the cheaper card now and then save for the whole new PC (I'll build one myself eventually) down the road?

 

[baddaysbasil]

Forget about both these cards - they are ANCIENT. For $100, you'd actually get better performance out of the Ryzen 3200G's IGPU. Scrape for promotions on a RX560 with 4 Gb of VRAM, or a Geforce GT1050 Ti (mind the -Ti) - MUCH better value for the money.
OR, since eBay doesn't scare you:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Amd-Radeon-RX-560-4Gb/203232076622?hash=item2f5193634e:g:klsAAOSweNBf5iIo
Considering the rest of your system, getting a refresh may also be worth considering : your CPU WILL hold you back. So you may want to go for a B450 motherboard + Ryzen 3200G + 2x8 Gb of cheap DDR4 (no GPU needed for such a setup) and get much more performance (the CPU by itselft is almost double the performance of your current processor) with the possibility to drastically boost your system with a simple CPU + GPU upgrade down the line.

I appreciate the info -- these upgrades are something I hadn't considered because I'm just now starting to understand how powerful the integrated CPU graphics are these days. I've been pretty out of touch!
Still, I'll still spend way more than what I'm willing to spend right now if I go this route. Also, since my power supply is pretty weak, I'd probably have to handle that issue too (thought I do have a couple of those lying around in old systems I could use....).

 

[mitch074]

I appreciate the info -- these upgrades are something I hadn't considered because I'm just now starting to understand how powerful the integrated CPU graphics are these days. I've been pretty out of touch!
Still, I'll still spend way more than what I'm willing to spend right now if I go this route. Also, since my power supply is pretty weak, I'd probably have to handle that issue too (thought I do have a couple of those lying around in old systems I could use....).

A B450 motherboard + Ryzen 3200G + 16 Gb of RAM and a cheap SSD work off a 170W small form factor PSU. I've build a dozen such systems for embedded machines we sell at work, some of them working 24/7, without a hitch, for years now.
Yes, it's more expensive than what you were going for. Yes, anything more powerful than the cards you first chose will probably be bottlenecked by your current CPU. But that's the catch : anything over $30 you put in your current system will be a waste of money. I guess you keep your PCs for around 5 years... Well, it may be time to upgrade.

 

[baddaysbasil]

A B450 motherboard + Ryzen 3200G + 16 Gb of RAM and a cheap SSD work off a 170W small form factor PSU. I've build a dozen such systems for embedded machines we sell at work, some of them working 24/7, without a hitch, for years now.
Yes, it's more expensive than what you were going for. Yes, anything more powerful than the cards you first chose will probably be bottlenecked by your current CPU. But that's the catch : anything over $30 you put in your current system will be a waste of money. I guess you keep your PCs for around 5 years... Well, it may be time to upgrade.

I think that because of this info you're giving me now I'm gonna drastically change the way I build my next PC...I'm gonna probably get one of the cards I mentioned and then put aside a little toward that next system...probably gonna be very similar to the one you're describing here. I just didn't wanna pull the trigger with the money now (the components you mention cost $450+ on newegg) because my gaming demands are not all that steep...really I just need things to run a little better at present, not a complete overhaul just yet.

But yeah, it's been almost 5.5 years on this PC, I think, so it's just about that time!

 

[mitch074]

I think that because of this info you're giving me now I'm gonna drastically change the way I build my next PC...I'm gonna probably get one of the cards I mentioned and then put aside a little toward that next system...probably gonna be very similar to the one you're describing here. I just didn't wanna pull the trigger with the money now because my gaming demands are not all that steep...really I just need things to run a little better at present, not a complete overhaul just yet.

But yeah, it's been almost 4.5 years on this PC, I think, so it's just about that time!

Then if you buy the GPU now and intend to keep it, simply go with a 6-core variant for the CPU - Ryzen 1600, 2600, 3600 or 5600 would all work on a B450 motherboard, and 6 cores-12 threads do help with productivity. More recent is better, but a Ryzen 1600AF is still a nice CPU to have.

 

[baddaysbasil]

Thank you!!!

 

[spentshells]

Save your money your system is EOL

 

[baddaysbasil]

Yep, I bought a card on ebay...if it doesn't show much of a performance upgrade on the games that I play I'll just resell it and eat the delivery cost; otherwise I'm saving up!

Got an RX-560 4GB; I'll see what it does.

 

[baddaysbasil]

Just to kinda put a fork in the thread and offer some info to those who might've had the same situation and demands (low demands for gaming, really) as me who might be reading this thread:

I got my X-560 4GB (cost $90 used but in pristine condition on ebay) and I'm very happy with the improvement to my gaming vs. the money i spent.

I didn't take the time to pre-benchmark frame rates and whatnot, but I can play the 2016 Doom, Path of Exile, and X-com 2 on the highest settings while maintaining super-smooth frame rates. I tested some older games like Total War: Shogun 2 and Rome 2 and they run like I've never seen before (but I don't typically stay ahead of the game with gaming expenditures--just barely stay afload lol).

So thanks to you guys for the info; even though I might not have done exactly as some of you had advised I still took your advice to heart and will probably be asking around here when it's time to take the dive into a new system.