Best GPU for around 130-160

[HydroStatic]

So my dad is looking to build a PC, and we're not really sure what graphics card to get. His budget is anywhere from 130 to 160USD, so keep that in mind. Another factor is heat output, since we won't have proper air con in our new house for some time, and I imagine it'll be reaching 30C in his room through the summer.

 

As of right now, we're looking heavily into used GTX 780's and 780Ti's as they seem to offer incredibly good performance for the money, as well as not dumping utterly massive amounts of heat such as the 290/290x chips do (friend of mine heats a room in his apartment using one during the winter, even). So, yeah. I'm just curious as to what you guys will offer, but so far it seems like newer cards (minus the Hawaii chips) just don't offer the performance for the money that the 780/780Ti's do.

[Mohenjo]

tbh i would still recommend a 290x, i have the tri - x and it actually runs cool as a cucumber. But the 780 still isnt a bad choice.

[The_Denks]

2 minutes ago, HydroStatic said:

-SNIP-

I bought a used EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 3.0 for $180 on eBay

 

Search for 'EVGA GTX 970' on 'Buy It Now' with price limit set to $200

[Bananasplit_00]

the 780TI while not bad, just isnt that great tbh. if you can stretch your budget another $40 you can get an R9 Fury

[HydroStatic]

2 minutes ago, Mohenjo said:

tbh i would still recommend a 290x, i have the tri - x and it actually runs cool as a cucumber. But the 780 still isnt a bad choice.

I don't think he cares how hot the card runs but rather just how much heat it dumps into his room, given it'll probably be in the high 20's to low 30's most of the summer.

 

3 minutes ago, UberGamerKing said:

I bought a used EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 3.0 for $180 on eBay

 

Search for 'EVGA GTX 970' on 'Buy It Now' with price limit set to $200

 

2 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

the 780TI while not bad, just isnt that great tbh. if you can stretch your budget another $40 you can get an R9 Fury

Normally I'd agree but he has to build this at a pretty awkward time (we're getting ready to move shortly), so funds are a bit tight at the moment. But his previous PC flatout died in a puff of blue smoke. 

[Biggerboot]

Used 970 will probably serve you better, although if you have the option to fix your AC I'd do that first.

[Bananasplit_00]

1 minute ago, HydroStatic said:

I don't think he cares how hot the card runs but rather just how much heat it dumps into his room, given it'll probably be in the high 20's to low 30's most of the summer.

 

 

Normally I'd agree but he has to build this at a pretty awkward time (we're getting ready to move shortly), so funds are a bit tight at the moment. But his previous PC flatout died in a puff of blue smoke. 

you should be able to get a 970 atleast for the money, but still id rather wait a bit and get a Fury instead

[Acorn Eyes]

I got my MSI Strix 970 for $170.

[Biggerboot]

6 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

you should be able to get a 970 atleast for the money, but still id rather wait a bit and get a Fury instead

Price to performance wise the 970 is the better deal right now.  Part of the reason I say that is because there's so many of them available, so prices are very competitive for them.  You're looking at a card that's 85% as good as the fury for 2/3 the price in the used market (at least in the states).  It'll also fit better into the possible heat constraints.  

[maartendc]

I agree, GTX 970 should be found for under $200, perhaps $160, and will be slightly faster than a 780.

 

More importantly, it will be more power efficient because of Maxwell architecture. I think the 780 is on Kepler, which was much more power hungry.

 

If you can stretch your budget to around $220, You could get a 1060, 3GB, which would be even faster (on par with a GTX 980), and even more power efficient. Just depends on your budget.

 

At this point in time, I would not buy a used Kepler generation card (700 series). Get a used Maxwell (900 series) or new Pascal (1000 series).

[Goldensapling]

Go to /r/hardwareswap. You're welcome.

Everything there is crazy cheap, you can probably find a 970 for $140.

I'd avoid old Nvidia cards, Nvidia tends to dump them within a couple generations.

[Goldensapling]

2 minutes ago, maartendc said:

If you can stretch your budget to around $220, You could get a 1060, 3GB, which would be even faster (on par with a GTX 980), and even more power efficient. Just depends on your budget.

Used 980s can be found for $200 easily 

[Biggerboot]

5 minutes ago, Goldensapling said:

I'd avoid old Nvidia cards, Nvidia tends to dump them within a couple generations.

It's not so much that they get dumped, but they have to optimize their drivers for the newer arch, thus neglecting the older.

 

But yeah, you'll hit the ceiling faster on Kepler than maxwell, just all around.

5 minutes ago, maartendc said:

If you can stretch your budget to around $220, You could get a 1060, 3GB, which would be even faster (on par with a GTX 980), and even more power efficient. Just depends on your budget.

You can really find the 970 a lot cheaper.  Again, it comes down to that availability thing I mentioned.  You may not think it but that really forces people to lower their price.  $150 is realistic on hwswap.

[maartendc]

5 minutes ago, Goldensapling said:

Used 980s can be found for $200 easily 

Really? Last time I checked, they were going for around $250. But that is several months ago at this point. If you can find a 980 for $200, it is a better deal than a 1060 for sure.

[Biggerboot]

2 minutes ago, maartendc said:

Really? Last time I checked, they were going for around $250. But that is several months ago at this point. If you can find a 980 for $200, it is a better deal than a 1060 for sure.

And you know why that is...

Spoiler

Not alot of people bought 980s.

I'm sorry.  I gotta keep hammering that point in.   I think 980s still go for around that 250 mark.

[Goldensapling]

4 minutes ago, maartendc said:

Really? Last time I checked, they were going for around $250. But that is several months ago at this point. If you can find a 980 for $200, it is a better deal than a 1060 for sure.

I bought one for $200, my friend did, and I've watched several move for that price

PC Hardware is crazy at the moment

[Biggerboot]

4 minutes ago, Goldensapling said:

I bought one for $200, my friend did, and I've watched several move for that price

PC Hardware is crazy at the moment

Yeah, if you go on hardware swap it's terribly good.  Part of it is that they can cut out the ebay costs and sometimes you'll find people locally.

 

I got the GB extreme 970 for $170 I believe, local.  It was shortly after GF10 released.  It performs like a stock 980.

[HydroStatic]

4 hours ago, Goldensapling said:

Go to /r/hardwareswap. You're welcome.

Everything there is crazy cheap, you can probably find a 970 for $140.

I'd avoid old Nvidia cards, Nvidia tends to dump them within a couple generations.

Heh, I'm still using a GTX 480 until I can get the dough together to get a new built. Honestly it performs pretty well given its age.

[Firecheetah13]

4 hours ago, UberGamerKing said:

I bought a used EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 3.0 for $180 on eBay

 

Search for 'EVGA GTX 970' on 'Buy It Now' with price limit set to $200

My RX 470 for $165 outperforms a GTX 970...

[MrTiC]

4 hours ago, Goldensapling said:

Go to /r/hardwareswap. You're welcome.

Everything there is crazy cheap, you can probably find a 970 for $140.

I'd avoid old Nvidia cards, Nvidia tends to dump them within a couple generations.

Tend ?

they dumped 6xx and 7xx series when 10xx came out

and when 11xx comes out ill bet they will dump 9xx too

cause no performance gains for games with driver updates sells gpu's

 

 

[TomR]

5 hours ago, HydroStatic said:

So my dad is looking to build a PC, and we're not really sure what graphics card to get. His budget is anywhere from 130 to 160USD, so keep that in mind. Another factor is heat output, since we won't have proper air con in our new house for some time, and I imagine it'll be reaching 30C in his room through the summer.

 

As of right now, we're looking heavily into used GTX 780's and 780Ti's as they seem to offer incredibly good performance for the money, as well as not dumping utterly massive amounts of heat such as the 290/290x chips do (friend of mine heats a room in his apartment using one during the winter, even). So, yeah. I'm just curious as to what you guys will offer, but so far it seems like newer cards (minus the Hawaii chips) just don't offer the performance for the money that the 780/780Ti's do.

The 1050ti would be a significant upgrade from what he currently has, while staying within your budget. Or if you want a bit more performance you can pick up an ASUS RX 470 Strix Edition for $169.99 on Amazon and it comes with a $15 mail in rebate so it's only $155.