Upgrading Radeon HD 6670 1GB (128bit) GDDR5 (really old PC)

Jul 11, 2018
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Upgrading Radeon HD 6670 1GB (128bit) GDDR5 (really old PC)

Upgrade Budget: $75.00ish
(really old pc, just need something comparable or better to current card)

Usage: Daughter will use for casual gaming (Roblox, Minecraft, etc...) Would like to continue to be able to play Wow on low-ish settings and maybe also add Fortnite on low-ish settings (I know that's borderline with this rig)

Why "upgrade": GPU fan noise. (hey, it's been in there for almost 6 years lol. Yeah, I've taken it out, blown it out and reseated it in the pc)

Concerns/questions: Most of the budget cards I'm seeing are 64-bit memory bus width instead of the current 128-bit I have installed. I want to make sure I don't downgrade. Also, is it just me or are GPUs kind of pricey right now?

*** Current machine details (built in 2012) ***
PS: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Mobo: ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
1xPCI, 4xPCI Express x1, 1xPCI Express x2, 1xPCI Express x16
PCI Express Version Supported: v2.0

CPU: i5 2400

RAM: 16GB installed. 2x G Skill F3-10666CL9-8GBXL

GPU: HIS Radeon HD 6670 1GB (128bit) GDDR5 HDMI DVI-D (HDCP) VGA PCI Express X16 2.1 Low Profile Graphics Cards H667FN1G

HDD1 (OS): 240GB SSD Crucial_CT240M500SSD1
HDD2: 500GB 7,200RPM Seagate ST500DM002-1BC142

Thanks in advance for any advice from the community!

Jeremy
 
Jul 11, 2018
2
0
10


Here's my monitor!
ViewSonic VX2250WM-LED 22-Inch (21.5-Inch Vis) Widescreen Full HD 1080p LED Monitor with Integrated Stereo Speakers
 

King_V

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If you plan to stay at 1920x1080, then I would suggest the 6GB version of the GTX 1060, or a Radeon RX 580. Basically, whichever one is cheaper at the time. I'd lean in the direction of the 1060, though, as it consumes less power. I think the RX 580 might require more than one PCIe power connector, and your power supply only has one. With the 1060, I believe most have only one PCIe power connection, but double-check this on whichever particular 1060 you're getting if you go this route.

Also, I noticed that your current card is low-profile. Is this a compact or low profile desktop, thus REQUIRING a low-profile card? If so, then that narrows the possibilities a bit. I believe you can get low profile 1050 and 1050Ti cards, but I don't think that's the case for the 1060, and definitely not for the RX 580.

MGallo is correct, though. Even the 1030 is notably more capable than what you have, they consume around half the power of the HD 6670, and they are available as low profile, as well, as some available as passively cooled. I'm rather a . . ahem . . fan of the fanless video cards when such are available and can cover my needs for a particular machine.




Also, you are correct - GPU prices are currently elevated a bit. Late 2017 and early-2018, they were not so much elevated as absolutely insanely overpriced.
 

mgallo848

Commendable

His budget is $75 dollars.

You are suggesting $300 cards.
 

King_V

Illustrious
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Crap, missed that in the original post.

Well, then, I'd say GT 1030 is the way to go.
 
If you can get an RX 550 for same price or cheaper than the GT 1030, it is a slightly faster card. Your CPU and RAM should be able to handle a bit more power than the 1030, if budget allows. There is a PowerColor RX 550 card for $110 after rebate.

Keep in mind your case size as someone pointed out, and also your monitor. Most, if not all, new model cards do not have analog outputs so you will need to use the DVI connection.
 

mgallo848

Commendable

The RX 550 is a good consideration also but in this article I found posted 10 months ago the GT 1030 was faster in 7 of 10 games and consumes less power: https://www.techspot.com/review/1488-esports-geforce-gt-1030-vs-radeon-rx-550/

GPUboss also has the GT 1030 listed as being a faster card: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-RX-550-vs-GeForce-GT-1030 (I know GPUBoss isn't the greatest of sites)

Currently the GTX 1030 is also $20 cheaper. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814932004&cm_re=gtx_1030-_-14-932-004-_-Product

Did you find something that says the RX 550 is faster?
 

King_V

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I don't know about faster, but the hierarchy chart at Tom's shows them on the same tier, so performance should be comparable.

I'd guess that currently they trade blows because of the improvements AMD's made in their drivers over time, but don't hold me to that.
 


The drivers for AMD are better than when benchmarks were done, but the price difference is big there, almost %25 cheaper for the 1030 and for low settings it won't really matter which card is used. Any modern low end card would be a big upgrade.
 

King_V

Illustrious
Ambassador
Hmm, I hadn't actually checked the prices - didn't realize the RX550 was pricier.

Given the same general level of performance, but the lower price, and the lower power consumption, the GT 1030 would definitely be the way to go.