what graphics card to buy on a SERIOUS budget

[dawgnga]

I am a starving artist... hence the budget, but I need to run Adobe lightroom and Photoshop, and I also enjoy classic gaming. I recently bought COD Infinite Warfare and it runs Directx 11 and my graphics card just is not cutting it.In other words it isn't compatible, and the new lightroom update is not compatible, COD4 runs fine as does CODMW3 although the lag is noticeable and makes it hard to compete. I am running :
Windows 7
HP Compaq Pro 6300 MT
Intel Core i3-2120 CPU @ 3.30GHz (CPUs) ~3.3GHz
Memory: 6144MB RAM
Directx 11

not looking for high end gaming, just like to escape every once in a while, I am a pro photographer so I need decent graphics for that as well
my current card ATI Radeon HD 4600 is beginning to glich and is antique
Any help in this matter would be more than appreciated!

 

[Hellfire13]

Your platform, specially the CPU is too weak and outdated to support any modern card with ease. The best you can get is an entry level card like gtx1050... http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1050-vs-Intel-HD-4600-Desktop-125-GHz/3650vs2168

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB AERO ITX Video Card ($119.99 @ B&H)
Total: $119.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-16 14:20 EDT-0400


Inspite, it will still be a significant performance jump from your current.

 

[chaosgs4]

Ebay a used card for that system. Any of these, taken from Toms gpu hierchy will be an upgrade and very cheap.


https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

GT 730 (64-bit, GDDR5)
GT 545 (GDDR5)
8800 GTS (512MB)
8800 GTX
HD 4770
GT 740 DDR3
GT 640 (DDR3)
GT 545 (DDR3)
9800 GT
8800 GT (512MB)
HD 7730 (GDDR5)
HD 6670 (GDDR5)
HD 5670
HD 4830
GT 240 (GDDR5)
9600 GT
8800 GTS (640MB)
HD 6570 (GDDR5)
HD 5570 (GDDR5)
HD 3870
HD 2900 XT
GT 240 (DDR3)
9600 GSO
8800 GS
R7 240
HD 7730 (DDR3)
HD 6670 (DDR3)
HD 6570 (DDR3)
HD 5570 (DDR3)
HD 4670
HD 3850 (512MB)

 

[polis_putrus]

How much money do you have to spend? Would the GT 1030 GDDR5 2GB be ok, its only a 30 watt card, and it would be a HUGE upgrade to that old HD card of yours, also its about $80-$100 on ebay, Im planning on buying one too. The performance is good, as long as your not gaming on higest settings.

 

[Hellfire13]

Ebay a used card for that system. Any of these, taken from Toms gpu hierchy will be an upgrade and very cheap.


https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

GT 730 (64-bit, GDDR5)
GT 545 (GDDR5)
8800 GTS (512MB)
8800 GTX
HD 4770
GT 740 DDR3
GT 640 (DDR3)
GT 545 (DDR3)
9800 GT
8800 GT (512MB)
HD 7730 (GDDR5)
HD 6670 (GDDR5)
HD 5670
HD 4830
GT 240 (GDDR5)
9600 GT
8800 GTS (640MB)
HD 6570 (GDDR5)
HD 5570 (GDDR5)
HD 3870
HD 2900 XT
GT 240 (DDR3)
9600 GSO
8800 GS
R7 240
HD 7730 (DDR3)
HD 6670 (DDR3)
HD 6570 (DDR3)
HD 5570 (DDR3)
HD 4670
HD 3850 (512MB)

Cheap comes with riders. Older tech for one. Less powerful for another. A used card needs to be torture tested for remaining longevity, and not always guranteed to work. Better to go with current gen. new cards.

 

[punkncat]

define "run" lightroom and photoshop? 'cause that current system isn't doing it...…

It's rather funny, in that I just had this conversation with two of my photog buddies. One of them went fairly higher end with a R7 1700 and an RX580 for a $900 ballpark. The other opted to go lower on an R3 system with an older RX 4xx series card and I think it ballparked at about $500. She says even it works well.

 

[dawgnga]

looked at the MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB AERO ITX Video Card, and it looks perfect, it says 75 w power consumption, how do i figure out if my system can handle it, spoke to person at Radio shack and he said it only can handle 25 w. He was very nice but his knowledge is questionable. Lightroom runs fine but is getting glichy, the new update will not load, thinking because i am running win7. I really appreciate the help, my knowledge is extremely questionable. I am able to replace the card or a new hard drive when needed but that is about the limit of my abilities...

 

[dawgnga]

Bought the GT 1030