Selecting a "new" graphics card for and old computer

[mileto]

Greetings everybody,

 

*This is my first post, feel free to reprehend or point me to the right direction/place/customs. Sorry in advance if I somehow hurt the community*

*I found a somewhat similar thread here (good-graphics-card-for-my-system-pci-e-20[...]), but, I'm still unsure...*

 

We have and old computer that is going to be used for gaming by one family member, and as such we are in need of replacing the graphic card, not only because of it's specs but because it is about to fail (flickering).

Can you please suggest the best replacement card ? To my understating, the PCI interface is backwards compatible, so almost any GPU would work, but I would like to buy something relatively cheap and at the same time capable of giving the best performance given the specs and probable bottlenecks below. (The overall ideia is to make do with the current hardware, replacing only the GPU, though feel free to add any of your thoughts on the matter)

 

Specs and Games:

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo E84000
Socket 775LGA

Motherboard:
ASUSTek P5KPL-C/1600 - Rev 1.xx;
PCI-Express 1.0;
Link: https://www.asus.com/supportonly/P5KPL-C1600/;

Graphic Interface: 
Release Date: 2008;
NVIDIA Geforce 8800GT - CodeName G92 Revision A2;
PCI-Express 2.0;
DirectX: 10;
OpenGL: 3.3;
OpenCL: 1.1;
Clock: 600Mhz

Power Supply: 
ATX Power X 500w Px500;
SKU: PX500B1403286;
Fan 120mm; 
Conectors:
- 01 Atx 20+4 Pin
- 01 ATX12V
- 02 Sata
- 02 Ide
- 01 Pci Express

Memory: 
Kingston DDR2 Dual Channel 4GB (2x2GB)

Games that will be played:
- Farming Simulator 19 (Requires DX11)
    - Steam recommends Nvidia Geforce GTX 650, AMD Radeon HD 7770 graphics card or better (min. 2 GB VRAM)
- Farming Simulator 22 (Requires DX11)
    - Steam recommends GeForce GTX 660 or AMD Radeon R7 265 or better (min 2GB VRAM)
- Car mechanic
    - Steam recommends NVidia GeForce GTX 660 2GB
- EuroTruck Simulator 2 (Requires DX11)
    - Steam recommends  GeForce GTS 450-class

 

 

 

One of my main problems in understanding this whole enterprise, is finding the correct ratio of memory bus width vs memory vs processing units vs memory clock speed vs GPU clock speed .. and so forth ..

Considering the games, and probably the MODs and maps to come, a GPU with higher memory seems to be the best choice, but then again I have no idea on how to foresee the bottlenecks ... much less calculate the necessary amount of power for the PSU or the ventilation.

I'm far less versed in AMD GPUs than in Nvdia, still I came up with some options, but I would love to hear your opinion on the matter, since I'm completely out of my league here.

 

• Radeon R7 240 (2gb 128bits Gddr5)

  • Memory: 2GB DDR5

  • Bus: 128

  • Clock: 780MHZ

  • PCI: 3.0

  • Reference Link:(After reading the community guidelines, I'm still unsure if external links are allowed, in any case I wasn't able to find a non commercial link to this model DEX-PV-04A)

• AFOX GeForce-GT-710 (GF119 )

  • Memory: 2GB DDR3

  • Bus: 64Bit

  • Clock: 810MHz

  • PCI: 2.0

  • Reference Link: http://gpuboss.com/graphics-card/GeForce-GT-710

• AFOX GeForce GT730 LP

  • Memory: 4GB DDR3

  • Bus: 128Bit

  • Clock: 700 MHz

  • PCI: 2.0

  • Reference Link: http://www.afox-corp.com/en/products_details.asp?proid=289

• AFOX GeForce Gt 1030

  • Memory: 2GB DDR5

  • Bus: 64Bit

  • Clock: 1277 MHz

  • PCI: 3.0

  • Reference Link: https://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/videokartes/568155-afox-geforce-gt-1030-2gb-ddr5-low-profile

 

Ps. I searched these GPUs considering localized prices on my country and overall availability. Please don't feel obligated to relate to exact price range, since there's no easy parameter to make a price conversion among our probable markets, I will look up each and every suggestion you make and afterwards try to find the best option within budget and market.

 

In advance, thank you very much for you help and attention..

 

Cordially,

Mileto.

[jaslion]

What games are you planning to play? That cpu is extremely weak by today's standards so don't expect to go much further than 2012 for games selection.

[mileto]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

What games are you planning to play? That cpu is extremely weak by today's standards so don't expect to go much further than 2012 for games selection.

Greetings,

Currently the computer is running EuroTruck/American Truck Simulator 2 at Low-Medium settings. 1368x720.

Indeed, as you mentioned the CPU is weak, the entire setup is. We are just trying to make the machine usable for some games say Farming Simulator or the aforementioned Eurotruck, even if at HD settings

 

[Fasauceome]

47 minutes ago, mileto said:

and as such we are in need of replacing the graphic card, not only because of it's specs but because it is about to fail (flickering).

If you can, verify that the GPU is actually the problem. if you have worse issues to account for, I'd have to see you spend money on a new GPU for nothing.

 

Is the GTX 750 or 750 TI available to you? I recommend either of those over the GT 1030, the 750 TI especially because it's notably faster. And there's no risk of accidentally getting a DDR4 version.

47 minutes ago, mileto said:

One of my main problems in understanding this whole enterprise, is finding the correct ratio of memory bus width vs memory vs processing units vs memory clock speed vs GPU clock speed .. and so forth ..

I wouldn't worry about that. Using reviews to compare performance is much more recommended, because reading a spec sheet that tells you the clock speed, cuda cores, ram bandwidth, etc. won't tell you how the thing performs in your needed tasks.

 

Also, if you are able to upgrade to a core 2 quad, I recommend that as well. Often, a Q6600 can be found cheap

[mileto]

5 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

Is the GTX 750 or 750 TI available to you? I recommend either of those over the GT 1030, the 750 TI especially because it's notably faster. And there's no risk of accidentally getting a DDR4 version.

Yes, though a bit on the expensive side, but it is. Thank you, I'm going to add it to top of the list.

 

11 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

recommend that as well. Often, a Q6600 can be found cheap

Nice, I was able to find it relatively cheap. I look will for other quad cores to get a overall price ideia. And as and added bonus, your suggestion made me look at the available power, and I wasn't aware this configuration had so much leeway in wattage. (but then again, the setup is old LOL).
Thank you

[Fasauceome]

1 minute ago, mileto said:

And as and added bonus, your suggestion made me look at the available power, and I wasn't aware this configuration had so much leeway in wattage

Since you are looking at modest graphics cards (the GTX 750 TI doesn't even require power cables) the power load should not be a major factor, unless you have significantly less than 300 watts available.

[mileto]

38 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

Often, a Q6600 can be found cheap

On that note, I was able to find the Q6600, Q9650 and Q8400 somewhat at the same price range.-  All of them on the same socket LGA775

The Q9650 seems to be the big brother of the trio, (being a bit more expensive.)

Though I'm not sure which is better the Q6600 or Q8400 due to the cache difference (they both are literally the same price here)

 

Edited July 28, 2021 by mileto
Grammar and place specification

[mileto]

9 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

Since you are looking at modest graphics cards (the GTX 750 TI doesn't even require power cables) the power load should not be a major factor, unless you have significantly less than 300 watts available.

Nice, the GTX is looking even more attractive. In regards to power, the Newegg calculator suggests that the setup consumes up to 283W (considering your suggested modifications) so there's room to spare.

 

12 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

doesn't even require power cables

By the way, thank you, I just realized, that although somewhat obvious I wasn't aware of the external cables, on power hungry GPUs and in turn the underlying PSU support. ~Something to look up in my future meddlings  with GPU & Co

[Fasauceome]

12 minutes ago, mileto said:

On that note, I was able to find the Q6600, Q9650 and Q8400 somewhat at the same price range.-  All of them on the same socket LGA775

The Q9650 seems to be the big brother of the trio, (being a bit more expensive.)

Though I'm not sure which is better the Q6600 or Q8400 due to the cache difference (they both are literally the same price)

 

In modern games, you might not be able to notice a difference to be honest. I'd recommend the Q8400 because of the higher clock speed and FSB but I don't think one will provide a better experience than the other, by much if at all.

 

5 minutes ago, mileto said:

Nice, the GTX is looking even more attractive. In regards to power, the Newegg calculator suggests that the setup consumes up to 283W (considering your suggested modifications) so there's room to spare.

 

By the way, thank you, I just realized, that although somewhat obvious I wasn't aware of the external cables, on power hungry GPUs and in turn the underlying PSU support. ~Something to look up in my future meddlings  with GPU & Co

What model power supply are you using? Edit,: nevermind saw it in your original post

[mileto]

2 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

I'd recommend the Q8400 because of the higher clock speed and FSB but I don't think one will provide a better experience than the other, by much if at all.

Nice, I'll take that in consideration. The Q8400 seems to be the best choice then both in price ~and performance as you suggested. 

 

2 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

What model power supply are you using?

On that regard ... The setup is using this generic something:  (I wasn't able to find the manufacturer site/datasheet, only market references)

Power Supply: 
ATX Power X 500w Px500;
SKU: PX500B1403286;
Fan 120mm; 
Conectors:
- 01 Atx 20+4 Pin
- 01 ATX12V
- 02 Sata
- 02 Ide
- 01 Pci Express

[Fasauceome]

1 minute ago, mileto said:

01 Pci Express

If this PSU has one PCIe power cable, you can also consider older cards, like a GTX 660. The performance would be similar to a 750 ti, and since it is older, you might be able to get it cheaper.

[mileto]

5 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

If this PSU has one PCIe power cable, you can also consider older cards, like a GTX 660. The performance would be similar to a 750 ti, and since it is older, you might be able to get it cheaper.

Nice, I will look it up further. That model seems to be a rare find here, though I was able to see some listings of second hand, just need to check the conditions.