Good GPU for Core 2 Quad Q8300

[RubyRoks]

I need a good card under $300 for the Q8300. I'm running at 720p and don't need any Anti-aliasing. Any suggestions?

[dragoon20005]

GTX750Ti or R7 265

[TheSLSAMG]

Overclock it a smidgeon, put a GTX 760 or R9 280 to it, profit.

[JoshM]

Overclock it a smidgeon, put a GTX 760 or R9 280 to it, profit.

Huge bottleneck with a 280, 

[JoshM]

I would get a 750ti but if your psu can take it, 265. 

[Guest]

Gtx 760 is a beast, and around $220

[Ryan Leech]

GTX 770 on sale or GTX 760

[SkilledRebuilds]

Ebay and find cheap throw aways of the AMD 5870/6870/7850/7870 or Nvidia GTX570/580/660ti/670

There were always plenty available even before Bitcoin was a thing...

[zsanfusa]

I need a good card under $300 for the Q8300. I'm running at 720p and don't need any Anti-aliasing. Any suggestions?

The cpu model and motherboard should be you key determining factor.  LGA 775 is fairly, how shall I put put this, Aged?  PCI-E 2.0 is the fastest you can possibly hope to obtain for an express lane.  First determine if you have an x16 lane.  Then determine you gaming or other needs for the GPU.  Personally, I liked the deal on this one, it a bit older but it was 2nd from the top when manufactured.  $100 for a new card that sports this much power is not a bad deal.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131578&cm_re=hd_6970-_-14-131-578-_-Product

[winningsince1337]

I need a good card under $300 for the Q8300. I'm running at 720p and don't need any Anti-aliasing. Any suggestions?

 

I had a Q8400 running at 3.2 Ghz and my 7790 (1gb version of the R7 260x) was bottlenecked. Anything more than a 750ti or r7 260x is a waste unless you upgrade.

[Yttersta]

You have 6 year old CPU and motherboard combination, and DDR2 memory. I would seriously consider a platform upgrade instead of a GPU upgrade right now and do the GPU upgrade within 3-4 months when the new iteration of gfx cards are out so you will get the best performance out of this.

 

Your system already cannot handle anything more than 750ti or a R7 260X / 265, so a GPU upgrade would not be, whilst very beneficial, not as big of an impact on your general computer experience (everything else than gaming). Moreover, those two cards in suggestion here are very small cards if you ever want to step up your game later with a platform upgrades. This means if you buy one of those two cards now and then upgrade your platform within the next 6 months, you would, then, have bought outdated gpus by then and then bought a platform upgrade nullifying the reason you bought such low end cards in the first place.

 

Trying to provide you an alternative view here. Please consider a platform upgrade to LGA1155 or LGA1150, it will boost your general use case experiences overall a lot more than just the gaming side.

[Deletive]

have the CPU a 750ti bottlenecks it too in some game.

[SlaughterSmurf]

I need a good card under $300 for the Q8300. I'm running at 720p and don't need any Anti-aliasing. Any suggestions?

750ti

[Rubenis]

R7 265. It is better than GTX 750 Ti, just a bit power hungry.

[SlaughterSmurf]

R7 265. It is better than GTX 750 Ti, just a bit power hungry.

if he's using that CPU it's most likely a prebuilt that can't power a 265

[Deletive]

get a 750ti, buy a new cooler... apply cooler. overclock and you'll be good.

[Rubenis]

if he's using that CPU it's most likely a prebuilt that can't power a 265

How do you know that it is pre-built?? It could be custom built. And difference between GTX 750 Ti and R7 265 is ~30W under load. And R7 265 is more powerfull.

[RubyRoks]

The cpu model and motherboard should be you key determining factor.  LGA 775 is fairly, how shall I put put this, Aged?  PCI-E 2.0 is the fastest you can possibly hope to obtain for an express lane.  First determine if you have an x16 lane.  Then determine you gaming or other needs for the GPU.  Personally, I liked the deal on this one, it a bit older but it was 2nd from the top when manufactured.  $100 for a new card that sports this much power is not a bad deal.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131578&cm_re=hd_6970-_-14-131-578-_-Product

From what i've seen, PCI 2 and 3 don't have much of a difference on the lower end cards that i'd be running.

 

You have 6 year old CPU and motherboard combination, and DDR2 memory. I would seriously consider a platform upgrade instead of a GPU upgrade right now and do the GPU upgrade within 3-4 months when the new iteration of gfx cards are out so you will get the best performance out of this.

 

Your system already cannot handle anything more than 750ti or a R7 260X / 265, so a GPU upgrade would not be, whilst very beneficial, not as big of an impact on your general computer experience (everything else than gaming). Moreover, those two cards in suggestion here are very small cards if you ever want to step up your game later with a platform upgrades. This means if you buy one of those two cards now and then upgrade your platform within the next 6 months, you would, then, have bought outdated gpus by then and then bought a platform upgrade nullifying the reason you bought such low end cards in the first place.

 

Trying to provide you an alternative view here. Please consider a platform upgrade to LGA1155 or LGA1150, it will boost your general use case experiences overall a lot more than just the gaming side.

Considering i got this for free, and considering it'll last me until i have the money for a proper machine, i'll just buy a GPU and save the rest. I'm only running 720p, and i've seen systems with less RAM and similar spec otherwise run games at 1080p better than the next gen consoles. $130 and the ability to use it as a proper PC vs $500 and no way to do my homework? i'd rather have the near free PC

 

How do you know that it is pre-built?? It could be custom built. And difference between GTX 750 Ti and R7 265 is ~30W under load. And R7 265 is more powerfull.

it's pre-built, but my grandpa put a 550w PSU in there

[zsanfusa]

From what i've seen, PCI 2 and 3 don't have much of a difference on the lower end cards that i'd be running.

 

Considering i got this for free, and considering it'll last me until i have the money for a proper machine, i'll just buy a GPU and save the rest. I'm only running 720p, and i've seen systems with less RAM and similar spec otherwise run games at 1080p better than the next gen consoles. $130 and the ability to use it as a proper PC vs $500 and no way to do my homework? i'd rather have the near free PC

 

it's pre-built, but my grandpa put a 550w PSU in there

In the case of free i would reccomend ebay.  Used is probably a great way to go for a low budget investment.  PCI-E 3.0 x16 slot does have double the bandwidth of PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot.  The thing is that no current graphics cards use all of the bandwidth.

[I/O]

Just upgrade that garbage CPU and thank me later !

[RubyRoks]

In the case of free i would reccomend ebay.  Used is probably a great way to go for a low budget investment.  PCI-E 3.0 x16 slot does have double the bandwidth of PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot.  The thing is that no current graphics cards use all of the bandwidth.

The system is an improvement over what i have and likely outperforms the PC my brother has, which i'm already thoroughly impressed with (A6 5400k and 4gb of RAM). As far as the PCI-E thing, i know it's double the bandwidth, but like you said, no GPUs take advantage of it yet, so i'm not worried about having or not having 3.0

 

Just upgrade that garbage CPU and thank me later !

The point of the thread is not to criticize the PC i was given, but rather to pair a GPU to it. Any PC i get is an improvement over the P4 HT and 1.5 GB of RAM that i have. I'd rather bottleneck my GPU with a system that can't use it than bottleneck my entire system by keeping the GT 610 that's in it at the moment. I also can't really afford a "proper" system. Would you like to recommend a GPU instead?

[zsanfusa]

Ebay right now has R9 290's for $200.

[I/O]

The point of the thread is not to criticize the PC i was given, but rather to pair a GPU to it. Any PC i get is an improvement over the P4 HT and 1.5 GB of RAM that i have. I'd rather bottleneck my GPU with a system that can't use it than bottleneck my entire system by keeping the GT 610 that's in it at the moment. I also can't really afford a "proper" system. Would you like to recommend a GPU instead?

GT 610 and Pentium 4 LOL I would not even bother trying to watch the slide show that supposed to be a game on that thing let alone try and play on it LOL. Pentium 4 was an epic fail and the GT 610 ... abysmal. I pity you LOL and your old rig. I recommend saving for a new rig and getting the best GPU you can afford now and then just transfer it to your new rig when you get it.

[RubyRoks]

GT 610 and Pentium 4 LOL I would not even bother trying to watch the slide show that supposed to be a game on that thing let alone try and play on it LOL. Pentium 4 was an epic fail and the GT 610 ... abysmal. I pity you LOL and your old rig. I recommend saving for a new rig and getting the best GPU you can afford now and then just transfer it to your new rig when you get it.

...Kinda what i'm going for...

[Simmytu]

GT 610 and Pentium 4 LOL I would not even bother trying to watch the slide show that supposed to be a game on that thing let alone try and play on it LOL. Pentium 4 was an epic fail and the GT 610 ... abysmal. I pity you LOL and your old rig. I recommend saving for a new rig and getting the best GPU you can afford now and then just transfer it to your new rig when you get it.

Ehh, the OP asked for a GPU that's recommended for this exact CPU, the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 and not criticizing him using "ancient" systems and such.

 

My vote goes to the R7 265, it isn't that much expensive over the GTX 750Ti, it's a bit more powerful with the con that it may use more power but that 550 watt PSU should handle it without much of hiccups.

If power consumption and money is the factor then consider the GTX 750Ti. It's cheaper, efficient and powerful (for it's category).