What should be my first graphics card?

[Lukandon]

I'm currently on a games development course in a UK college so I need one that will fit in my budget, as well as one that will work well with Maya and Unity.

This is Autodesk's list of supported graphics cards (though I don't know what the difference between tested and certified is).
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/sites/default/files/HardwareCedertification_Maya_Arnold_MotionBuilder_Mudbox2019.2_v01.pdf

Here are my current specs:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor	£114.78 @ Aria PC
Motherboard	MSI B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX AM4 Motherboard	£114.27 @ CCL Computers
Memory	Crucial 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory	£38.86 @ Novatech
Memory	Crucial 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory	£38.86 @ Novatech
Storage	ADATA Ultimate SU650 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	£18.10 @ CCL Computers
Storage	Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	£34.95 @ Amazon UK
Storage	Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	£34.95 @ Amazon UK
Case	Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case	£54.44 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 10 CM 400 W 80+ Silver Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit	£15.00
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£464.21
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-01 13:08 GMT+0000

Wow, cool embedding.
Anyway, as for my budget, I get £1500 each college year in 3 instalments (About £300 goes to my college bus pass each yeah though). I have about £530 at the moment. I don't really want to spend too much as I don't have a job and can't get one. I also plan to go to uni in 2021.

Hope I can get some assistance.

[Streetguru]

29 minutes ago, Peace Boy said:

I'm currently on a games development course in a UK college so I need one that will fit in my budget, as well as one that will

There's probably some 0% interest credit offers you can get that way you'd have like an R7 2700/X CPU and the GPU to start.

 

Most likely you want an RX 470/480/570/580 8GB as it's probably the cheapest card with 8GBs of VRAM which is probably important.

 

Don't really need to worry about getting a workstation GPU straight away.

And for Ryzen you're going to want a 3000mhz CL16 kit or higher.

I wouldn't even waste money on a 120GB SSD unless it's used and ultra cheap. Drop one of the hard drives and just start with a 500GB SSD

and ya you can get windows 10 on ebay for really cheap.

[Lukandon]

6 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

There's probably some 0% interest credit offers you can get that way you'd have like an R7 2700/X CPU and the GPU to start.

 

Most likely you want an RX 470/480/570/580 8GB as it's probably the cheapest card with 8GBs of VRAM which is probably important.

 

Don't really need to worry about getting a workstation GPU straight away.

And for Ryzen you're going to want a 3000mhz CL16 kit or higher.

I wouldn't even waste money on a 120GB SSD unless it's used and ultra cheap. Drop one of the hard drives and just start with a 500GB SSD

and ya you can get windows 10 on ebay for really cheap.

You misunderstand. I already bought my PC. I recently bought a new HDD as a backup drive. I've been using this Ryzen 2400G for the past year and couple months because at that time I didn't have the money for a better CPU and dedicated GPU.

[Streetguru]

1 minute ago, Peace Boy said:

You misunderstand. I already bought my PC. I recently bought a new HDD as a backup drive. I've been using this Ryzen 2400G for the past year and couple months because at that time I didn't have the money for a better CPU and dedicated GPU.

Then ya just toss in an 8GB GPU of some kind, preferably a new one like a Polaris GPU.

 

Maybe upgrade to a 16GB 3200mhz kit of RAM. at some point as well.

[Lukandon]

15 minutes ago, Genwyn said:

Ok so you do have the above PC?

All you need is a video card with that budget?

Yes.

[Lukandon]

15 minutes ago, Genwyn said:

Ok so you do have the above PC?

All you need is a video card with that budget?

Yes.

[Flying Sausages]

Why 2400g and not 2600 or 2700x?

[Lukandon]

Oops. Site broke and posted that twice when I was trying to get back in.

Yeah, I was just looking at AMD's Crossfire, but as far as I can tell, it looks like single GPU is better than dual: https://lifehacker.com/the-difference-between-nvidia-sli-and-amd-crossfire-1555235577

And I read that some games don't work well with 2.

[Lukandon]

Just now, OlympicAssEater said:

Why 2400g and not 2600 or 2700x?

I didn't have enough money last year to buy a dedicated GPU with either of those, so I went with the 2400G.

[Djinnux]

Buy a Radeon 7 that thing is a productivity beast

 

[BTGbullseye]

2 hours ago, Djinnux said:

Buy a Radeon 7 that thing is a productivity beast

 

Not significantly more so than a 5700XT, and it's a LOT more expensive. In addition, you can only get them used.

[Lukandon]

3 hours ago, Djinnux said:

Buy a Radeon 7 that thing is a productivity beast

 

That is a tad too expensive for my liking at the moment.

3 hours ago, Genwyn said:

For the autodesk software two would be better than one more powerful card. For anything that wants a buttload of video memory to work with.

Not many games these days utilize multiple gpus but even if just one is being used a 570 or 580 is still a great 1080p card on its own.

 

Can I use Crossfire with my Ryzen 2400G?
Is this one good?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PowerColor-AMD-Radeon-RX-580-Red-Dragon-V2-8GB-GPU-Graphics-Card/153706598175

 

Edit: Forgot to mention, none of these are on the Autodesk list for tested cards.

Edit 2: Looked at a couple others. Which one should I go for?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAPPHIRE-AMD-Radeon-NITRO-RX-580-8gb-Gddr5-LIKE-BRAND-NEW/312827113922

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sapphire-AMD-Radeon-RX-580-8GB-PULSE-Graphics-Card/383244080759

[Lukandon]

What about the first one I linked? The PowerColor Red Dragon?

[BTGbullseye]

4 hours ago, Genwyn said:

You could try that AMD APU/gpu crossfire thing, I think that still works. 

It doesn't.

6 hours ago, Peace Boy said:

Can I use Crossfire with my Ryzen 2400G?

Not unless you're using two identical add-in cards... The Vega-based APUs don't support it. (I know, I've tried)

[Lukandon]

So... I didn't double check the wattage requirement with the Sapphire RX 580 Nitro+ and forgot to get a new power supply.
Ugh, great, another £66 gone. (looking at this one)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Be-Quiet-Pure-Power-11-500W-Power-Supply-80-Plus-Gold/113340257378

The reason I'm looking at this brand is because I want something quiet, but if people have better suggestions for a cheaper price, go ahead.

[BTGbullseye]

1 hour ago, Peace Boy said:

The reason I'm looking at this brand is because I want something quiet, but if people have better suggestions for a cheaper price, go ahead.

The Rosewill Glacier or Capstone series will run very quiet. Actually, you'd have to be getting very poor quality to not get an effectively silent PSU nowadays.

[Lukandon]

Got my PSU. Now can someone tell me how to install a graphics card and set it up to replace the Ryzen 5 2400G's graphics?

[BTGbullseye]

16 hours ago, Peace Boy said:

Got my PSU. Now can someone tell me how to install a graphics card and set it up to replace the Ryzen 5 2400G's graphics?

Plug it into the motherboard, plug in the power to the GPU from the PSU, plug monitor cable into GPU, turn on PC and install driver. Done.

[Lukandon]

Is it really that simple? I thought I'd have to do something in the BIOS to disable the 2400G's graphics.

[LOST TALE]

400W?

 

That's close. I have a 620W and after 7 years, I could not run two RX 580s. Even at 80W settings. So if a 620W struggles at runnign a standard system +80W, imagine your 400W. Maybe mine is bad, but if it's the rule, watch out.

[BTGbullseye]

1 hour ago, Peace Boy said:

Is it really that simple? I thought I'd have to do something in the BIOS to disable the 2400G's graphics.

It's really that simple. BIOS settings are only needed for laptops with dual graphics.

[Lukandon]

So I read in my motherboard manual that for heavy and large graphics cards I need a stand or support. MSI were promoting their overpriced thing, so I did this instead. A copper pipe with blue tack.

Will this work?

[BTGbullseye]

4 hours ago, Peace Boy said:

So I read in my motherboard manual that for heavy and large graphics cards I need a stand or support. MSI were promoting their overpriced thing, so I did this instead. A copper pipe with blue tack.

Will this work?

Yes, but I'd replace it with plastic ASAP. Copper tubes have a tendency to grab and amplify electromagnetic radiation (radio waves) and turn them into static electricity. They also tend to short things out if they fall over and touch bare metal.

[Lukandon]

Still plugging my cables in...

Does anyone know if swapping SATA connections causes issues?

[Lukandon]

Never mind. Everything is working. Thanks guys.