Budget graphics cards

ArugulaZ

ArugulaZ

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What's the best graphics card for a tight budget? I've put a lot of thought into this, and it looks like the HD 7750 is the best one my computer can handle. However, it's expensive (even more so for the low profile model) and I do worry that all my money will be flushed down the toilet if the card burns out. What's my best bet for a card that'll give me performance somewhere between the Xbox 360 and the latest consoles?

 
ArugulaZ said:
What's the best graphics card for a tight budget? I've put a lot of thought into this, and it looks like the HD 7750 is the best one my computer can handle. However, it's expensive (even more so for the low profile model) and I do worry that all my money will be flushed down the toilet if the card burns out. What's my best bet for a card that'll give me performance somewhere between the Xbox 360 and the latest consoles?
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Do let us know what are your current specs of your PC ?

Plus your budget and you need to run games at how much fps ?

 
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I tend to never spend over $60 for my vid cards. I take it you went with the XFX HD 6670?

 
This year's $100 is next year's $50. That's a good rule of thumb.

It's funny how my 2009 computer (upgraded with a few parts of course) still runs fine, when I grew absolutely tired of my 2004 one within three years.

 
donjuan81 said:
i have this card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125403 currently in my son's PC (which is running windows 7 64-bit) and could sell it to you if you want. that way i could move my R7 260X into his and buy myself a R9 270. no big deal if you're not interested, just PM me if you are.
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Will it fit in a slim case? The card I get will need to be low profile.

Also, to the person who asked: I dunno. A hundred I guess, although I may have to wait 'till the following month to get that kind of scratch. Would also help if I could get a refund on the crappy card I just got. PC wouldn't recognize it as anything but a generic VGA card. ATI Catalyst was no help, and forcing a driver install manually didn't go anywhere. Wondering if it's conflicting with the onboard video or if Win 7 just isn't compatible with it.
 
ArugulaZ said:
Will it fit in a slim case? The card I get will need to be low profile.

Also, to the person who asked: I dunno. A hundred I guess, although I may have to wait 'till the following month to get that kind of scratch. Would also help if I could get a refund on the crappy card I just got. PC wouldn't recognize it as anything but a generic VGA card. ATI Catalyst was no help, and forcing a driver install manually didn't go anywhere. Wondering if it's conflicting with the onboard video or if Win 7 just isn't compatible with it.
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sorry, must have overlooked where you said that you needed a low profile card. that really does limit your options.

as far as what you're saying about the card that you got from ebay, it does sound like you are missing the correct drivers for it. did you download the full Catalyst Software Suite (current stable version is 14.4), let it install, and reboot? http://support.amd.com/en-us/download

and yes, you might be on to something with "conflicting with the onboard video" since it looks like your board has an onboard nvidia chip. you could try uninstalling all of the nvidia stuff and see if that helps.

also, just looked at your PC specs a little more. do you still have the factory installed power supply? from what i see online, it appears to come with only a 220 watt PSU. that is another major limiting factor aside from the case.

if you have the room for a bigger case, you might want to price a decent case (that can fit a full sized PSU and full sized card), a power supply (the corsair cx430 can be had for about $20 after rebates quite often)... and then a decent video card down the road

 
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Yeah, it's pretty limiting. I'd hate to chuck the case- I like the smaller form factor!- but the tiny proprietary power supply and the need for a costly low profile video card really puts me behind the eight ball.

Would it be feasible to take the motherboard out of this case and put it in a larger one? It is a mini ATX and I'm not sure how well it would work in a case that wasn't designed for it.
 
you could use that motherboard/CPU in a larger case, and then later on if you wanted to get a different motherboard/CPU, you would be able to use that new case with it as well.  just keep in mind that the DVD burner in that Acer may or may not be able to be swapped over to the new case.  granted, new DVD burners are pretty cheap, but that's another expense.

also, you might want to double-check that size of the motherboard.  "mini ATX" apparently exists, but not very common.  your current PSU is "mini ITX" sized... and from what i've seen online for your motherboard, it is "micro ATX".  a micro ATX board will fit fine in a standard sized case

try these links that i found for some help:

Code: 
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/313599-ax1420g-u5832-case-swap/

http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/308458-acer-ax1420g-u5832-psu-graphics-upgrade/

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/352987-33-acer-ax1420g-u5832

http://www.se7ensins.com/forums/threads/acer-ax1420g-u5832-case-psu-video-card-first-time-builder.733719/

http://www.findlaptopdriver.com/motherboard-ax1420g-u5832-specs/
 
I understand your want to have a small sized case which can be difficult to work with but not impossible. There are actually 'console sized' builds out there that can achieve high performance with a small size. The way those are able to fit a large gpu is by using a right angle adapter to place the card vertically rather than horizontal. Here is a pic of the ibuypower revolt.
]
 
donjuan81 said:
you could use that motherboard/CPU in a larger case, and then later on if you wanted to get a different motherboard/CPU, you would be able to use that new case with it as well. just keep in mind that the DVD burner in that Acer may or may not be able to be swapped over to the new case. granted, new DVD burners are pretty cheap, but that's another expense.

also, you might want to double-check that size of the motherboard. "mini ATX" apparently exists, but not very common. your current PSU is "mini ITX" sized... and from what i've seen online for your motherboard, it is "micro ATX". a micro ATX board will fit fine in a standard sized case

try these links that i found for some help:

http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/313599-ax1420g-u5832-case-swap/

http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/308458-acer-ax1420g-u5832-psu-graphics-upgrade/

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/352987-33-acer-ax1420g-u5832

http://www.se7ensins.com/forums/threads/acer-ax1420g-u5832-case-psu-video-card-first-time-builder.733719/

http://www.findlaptopdriver.com/motherboard-ax1420g-u5832-specs/
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So it's a Micro ATX then! Okay, sorry about that. I'll consider moving the system into a larger case, although I'll admit to some trepidation. I'm worried as hell that I'll kill the motherboard with static electricity, improperly connect the power supply, etc. etc. I paid twenty dollars for the computer so I guess I shouldn't be that concerned, but this is the first quad core PC I've ever owned, and I doubt I'd be able to come across another for that price.

I do own a couple of cases for long-obsoleted computers, but they're big and heavy and I'd rather have something console-sized (and, uh, not ugly). I'll look into the Revolt, but at the moment I'm sorely tempted to just shrug my shoulders and pick up a cheapie video card; something that can be run with my wimpy power supply. The GT 730 is a distinct possibility.

At the same time, I'm thinking about skipping the current console generation and going with a PC instead. I have over forty games on Steam thanks to Humble Bundle sales, and many more can be played with emulators. I think a PC would be more versatile than either the PS4 or the Xbox One, but upgrading this system may cost just as much as either of them.

I'm conflicted, I guess is what I'm saying.

 
I said to heck with it and just put the system in a new case. The transplant went well enough, although there's a USB 3.0 port I apparently can't use. A big power supply (450W) and a roomy case means that the sky's the limit for video cards, though!
 
ArugulaZ said:
I said to heck with it and just put the system in a new case. The transplant went well enough, although there's a USB 3.0 port I apparently can't use. A big power supply (450W) and a roomy case means that the sky's the limit for video cards, though!
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yes, in order to use a front USB 3.0 port, you will have to have the correct 20-pin connector on your motherboard... which i assume you do not.

which case and PSU did you end up buying?

 
keithp said:
He said $100.
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Got it. Missed it in the text he wrote.

@Arugulaz - If you still have those old cases - consider painting them and doing some hands on work to make them look like you want - For further builds.

 
donjuan81 said:
yes, in order to use a front USB 3.0 port, you will have to have the correct 20-pin connector on your motherboard... which i assume you do not.

which case and PSU did you end up buying?
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The case was a Cougar gaming mini tower, which cost $35 on TigerDirect. The power supply is an Okia I bought years ago and had dropped into another PC. That system was very old and the owner didn't want it, so I fished out the PSU and reused it. It's got a lot of legacy Molex ports which is annoying, but it's perfectly functional otherwise.
 
that case looks pretty cool, but i would be a little worried about that PSU.  if you can swing it, these are some nice deals on a couple corsair PSU's.  free shipping on both today
 
$19.99 after rebate and coupon 430W NON-modular 80+ bronze
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4278581&CatId=1078
$29.99 after rebate 450W modular 80+ gold

Code: 
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8687618
 
I hadn't really considered that, but the Okia is fairly well reviewed on Amazon, so I'm not going to worry too much about it yet. Maybe after I get a graphics card and the power load increases...
 
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