"Minimum" GPU to run a single 1080p monitor

[mao91]

TL;DR version today, because typing hard - Audio engineer. Home studio occupies different floors of the house. Current PC (specs in signature) is in mix room upstairs but is being relegated to vocal booth on main floor, replacing old laptop. New PC is going in mix room. Vocal booth = 1x1080p monitor. Mix room = 2x 1080p + 1x 4k monitors. New PC will reuse current GTX970 to save initial build cost and the card is perfect to drive my monitors. Need a cheap (like $25-35) used graphics card for current soon-to-be-relegated PC that can drive a single 1080p monitor. Recommendations? I'm not savvy on older hardware so while my budget for it is minuscule, I still want a good deal.

 

 

For those still confused:

 

CURRENT SITUATION

MIX ROOM:

- X99 system. i7-5820k CPU, GTX970 GPU. 

- 2x 1080p + 1x 4k monitor.

 

VOCAL BOOTH:

- 2011 laptop. i7-2720qm. 

 

NEW SITUATION TO COME

MIX ROOM:

- X570 system. 3700X CPU (no integrated graphics), GTX970 GPU (will move GPU from current system to this one).

- 2x 1080p + 1x 4k monitor.

 

VOCAL BOOTH:

- X99 system. i7-5820k CPU. GPU is what I am looking for here.

- 1x 1080p monitor (the only thing that GPU will have to drive)

 

If you are still confused, you are likely experiencing a PEBCAK error and should refrain from commenting.

[BobVonBob]

Buy a CPU with an iGPU, so anything from Intel (without an F at the end) or one of AMD's chips that ends in a G. Any dedicated card that cheap is a waste of money.

Edited September 11, 2020 by BobVonBob
Forgot about the F chips, they don't have an iGPU

[Tamesh16]

3 minutes ago, B.Toast said:

(like $25-35) graphics card

why not getting a cpu with integrated graphics, or do you need a bit more performance than that ?

[mao91]

9 minutes ago, BobVonBob said:

Buy a CPU with an iGPU, so anything from Intel (without an F at the end) or one of AMD's chips that ends in a G. Any dedicated card that cheap is a waste of money.

 

9 minutes ago, Tamesh16 said:

why not getting a cpu with integrated graphics, or do you need a bit more performance than that ?

 

Perhaps in my effort to be succinct I was not sufficiently clear in my OP.  If you look at the specs in my signature (which I referenced previously) you can see that my current PC is X99. I am keeping this PC but moving it to a new location where it will only need to drive a single 1080p monitor. It will not be used for gaming. So I'm looking for a sort of "minimum" graphics card option to put in it.

 

[dfsgsfa]

for which cpu?

anyway, used rx570 =gtx970 is always the best deal, ~$70, i got mine for $63

lower end will be gt1030 / 750ti but not really worth the price

[mao91]

1 minute ago, dfsgsfa said:

for which cpu?

anyway, used rx570 =gtx970 is always the best deal, ~$70, i got mine for $63

lower end will be gt1030 / 750ti but not really worth the price

Hello,

As I mentioned in my OP and in my reply, you can see my system specs in my signature. My CPU has no integrated graphics option. As I also mentioned in my OP, my budget for this "bare minimum 1080p" graphics card is $35. Please read the OP and my replies to answer your questions.

[BobVonBob]

1 minute ago, B.Toast said:

Perhaps in my efforts to be succinct I was not sufficiently clear in my OP.  If you look at the specs in my signature (which I referenced previously) you can see that my current PC is X99. I am keeping this PC but moving it to a new location where it will only need to drive a single 1080p monitor. It will not be used for gaming. So I'm looking for a sort of "minimum" graphics card option to put in it.

Oh I see. If all it needs to do is display just grab anything a few generations old off Ebay. A GT 710 is my go-to for "it just needs to show an image".

[Tamesh16]

9 minutes ago, B.Toast said:

Perhaps in my efforts to be succinct I was not sufficiently clear in my OP.

my bad, i figured you were building a new rig, i would heavily recommend looking at the used market 

EDIT: cause even the bare minimum cards are overpriced to buy new, you will save a few bucks buying used , but if you cant find any good deals the 710 new is good enough (the Gigabyte version is 35$ on amazon)

[mao91]

1 minute ago, Tamesh16 said:

my bad, i figured you were building a new rig, i would heavily recommend looking at the used market 

I had assumed my mention of a $35 budget would imply used, but I have updated my OP to reflect this. I understand I will be buying used. I am trying to get an idea of what I should be looking for.

[mariushm]

Look on ebay for older stuff like GT 710, maybe even GT 210 if all you need is 2D 1080p 

 

You could also look at 10$ cards like Radeon HD 6xxx , HD 7xxx (these may only have the built in windows 10 drivers) ,  from around 12-15$ you have AMD R5 230, R5 240, R7 2xx  ....   lots of these are pulled from oem dell / hp machines so they're really cheap..

AMD cards will have 2-3 outputs, at the very least. 

 

You'll also find cheap nvidia quadro cards but like with hd series cards you may only get the built in windows 10 driver with minimal 2d acceleration. 

 

[Moonzy]

well... do bear in mind that nvidia dropped 600 series from driver support recently, so 700 series is next

if that matters to you of course

 

if you only need display out, any PCIE GPU made in the last 10 years will do

[mao91]

55 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

well... do bear in mind that nvidia dropped 600 series from driver support recently, so 700 series is next

if that matters to you of course

 

if you only need display out, any PCIE GPU made in the last 10 years will do

Yeah looks like I can snag a zotak or msi gt710 for right arouund $30-35 which will be perfect for this.

[brian105]

56 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

well... do bear in mind that nvidia dropped 600 series from driver support recently, so 700 series is next

if that matters to you of course

 

if you only need display out, any PCIE GPU made in the last 10 years will do

That's wrong... they dropped Fermi and they dropped Kepler mobile, but they did not drop 600 series cards. I have a Kepler based GT 630 with the latest drivers working well.

 

1 minute ago, B.Toast said:

Yeah looks like I can snag a zotak or msi gt710 for right arouund $30-35 which will be perfect for this.

GT 720 is basically the same price and slightly faster. Alternatively, you can get an R7 250x for $30 to $35.

[Moonzy]

Just now, brian105 said:

That's wrong... they dropped Fermi and they dropped Kepler mobile, but they did not drop 600 series cards. I have a Kepler based GT 630 with the latest drivers working well.

i remember not seeing 600 series on the driver compatible list, maybe i misremembered

 

regardless, 600 and 700 series cards are on the edge of driver support, though may still last thru 4 to 5 years for 1 or 2 more gens

[Morrie Sells Wigs]

9 hours ago, BobVonBob said:

Buy a CPU with an iGPU, so anything from Intel (without an F at the end) or one of AMD's chips that ends in a G. Any dedicated card that cheap is a waste of money.

Why do you say "without an F at the end"?

[mariushm]

4 minutes ago, Maury Sells Wigs said:

Why do you say "without an F at the end"?

Those don't have integrated graphics

[Morrie Sells Wigs]

1 minute ago, mariushm said:

Those don't have integrated graphics

I see...thank you for clarifying. 

[steelo]

10 hours ago, B.Toast said:

TL;DR version today, because typing hard - Audio engineer. Home studio occupies different floors of the house. Current PC (specs in signature) is in mix room upstairs but is being relegated to vocal booth on main floor, replacing old laptop. New PC is going in mix room. Vocal booth = 1x1080p monitor. Mix room = 2x 1080p + 1x 4k monitors. New PC will reuse current GTX970 to save initial build cost and the card is perfect to drive my monitors. Need a cheap (like $25-35) used graphics card for current soon-to-be-relegated PC that can drive a single 1080p monitor. Recommendations? I'm not savvy on older hardware so while my budget for it is minuscule, I still want a good deal.

Not sure what you will need as far as CPU power, but you could get a new (or used) Ryzen 3 2200g/3200g or Ryzen 5 2400g/3400g w/ igpu which would be more than enough to run a single 1080 monitor.

[mao91]

12 hours ago, brian105 said:

That's wrong... they dropped Fermi and they dropped Kepler mobile, but they did not drop 600 series cards. I have a Kepler based GT 630 with the latest drivers working well.

 

GT 720 is basically the same price and slightly faster. Alternatively, you can get an R7 250x for $30 to $35.

That would be great. I'm looking at the GT710 and GT720 since both have available fanless models, which I'd likely prefer. No fan = no noise. 

12 hours ago, Moonzy said:

i remember not seeing 600 series on the driver compatible list, maybe i misremembered

 

regardless, 600 and 700 series cards are on the edge of driver support, though may still last thru 4 to 5 years for 1 or 2 more gens

As long as I can find a driver somewhere, I can always download and created a backup of the file for later use. I still have backups of all of the drivers for my laptop from 2011.

3 hours ago, steelo said:

Not sure what you will need as far as CPU power, but you could get a new (or used) Ryzen 3 2200g/3200g or Ryzen 5 2400g/3400g w/ igpu which would be more than enough to run a single 1080 monitor.

Again, please read the OP carefully before commenting.

[Moonzy]

3 hours ago, B.Toast said:

As long as I can find a driver somewhere, I can always download and created a backup of the file for later use. I still have backups of all of the drivers for my laptop from 2011.

well Nvidia keeps every single driver they released afaik, so shouldnt have an issue there

[-rascal-]

From the used market.

Best options, I think, would be any of the following:

• GeForce GT 730 / 720 / 710
• AMD R5 240
• AMD R7 250 / 250X

Check to make sure it has the output(s) that you need; they come with a mix of VGA / DVI / HDMI / DP ports, depending on the variant / model.

These also come in pull width PCI-E, or low-profile PCI-E variants.

[mao91]

7 hours ago, -rascal- said:

From the used market.

Best options, I think, would be any of the following:

• GeForce GT 730 / 720 / 710
• AMD R5 240
• AMD R7 250 / 250X

Check to make sure it has the output(s) that you need; they come with a mix of VGA / DVI / HDMI / DP ports, depending on the variant / model.

These also come in pull width PCI-E, or low-profile PCI-E variants.

These are the options I am currently looking into. Thank you, and thank all of you, for your suggestions and help.

[brian105]

10 hours ago, B.Toast said:

These are the options I am currently looking into. Thank you, and thank all of you, for your suggestions and help.

Be careful with the GT 730. nVidia thought it was real clever when it released both a Fermi version and a Kepler version of the card. The Fermi version is obviously inferior and is no longer supported by the newest drivers.