Is a DDR4 2G GT 1030 fine for casual gaming?

[A Friendly ShyGuy]

I have a relatively small computer, and I couldn’t fit an SFL 850W power supply I bought into it for a GTX 650 [I did use the PSU in a different computer, so MY money not wasted]. I ended up bidding on a DDR4 2G GT 1030 on eBay for 40$, and I’d mostly be using it for lightweight, casual gaming. The games I’d be running on it would be Lego Batman, Modded Minecraft [Version 1.2.5 and 1.7.10], and possibly Dolphin Emulator. My computer had Intel HD Graphics 530 before.

[Electronics Wizardy]

Whats the rest of the system? The 1030 is about the same as a lot of modern iGPUs, so it doesn't make sense to get it if your iGPU is closer.

 

It should be a decent step up over the hd530, and $40 isn't a bad price. I'd try to get something faster if you can fit it like a rx480.

 

 

[8tg]

Should be fine for your uses. But keep in mind the issue with the 1030 isn’t that it’s bad for its price, it has its uses. It’s just that 90% of the time, the system and use case someone is using where the 1030 is a consideration, a lot of other, more powerful and cheaper cards are better options.

 

Any of the Radeon pro WX entry level options like the WX 2100 cost less than a 1030, and perform better than a 1030.

you can get them in low profile or full height, around $30 on average 

there’s a bajillion of them out there because they came stock in every single SFF workstation like 5 years ago 

[starsmine]

14 minutes ago, A Friendly ShyGuy said:

I have a relatively small computer, and I couldn’t fit an SFL 850W power supply I bought into it for a GTX 650 [I did use the PSU in a different computer, so MY money not wasted]. I ended up bidding on a DDR4 2G GT 1030 on eBay for 40$, and I’d mostly be using it for lightweight, casual gaming. The games I’d be running on it would be Lego Batman, Modded Minecraft [Version 1.2.5 and 1.7.10], and possibly Dolphin Emulator. My computer had Intel HD Graphics 530 before.

I cant imagine the ddr4 version of the 1030 is faster then the HD 530 in any way that is noticable.

[Levent]

1 minute ago, starsmine said:

I cant imagine the ddr4 version of the 1030 is faster then the HD 530 in any way that is noticable.

1030 DDR4 scores %50 more in TimeSpy.

[starsmine]

6 minutes ago, Levent said:

1030 DDR4 scores %50 more in TimeSpy.

and an arc a380 would be multiple times faster
half height 3050s exist.

[manikyath]

for casual and/or older games a GT1030 is plenty.. it's biggest issue is honestly that the "new price" value is absolute arse.

 

i've got a GT1030 in my media pc, and that thing could do some actual 1080p gaming if it werent paired with a J1900.

12 minutes ago, 8tg said:

Any of the Radeon pro WX entry level options like the WX 2100 cost less than a 1030, and perform better than a 1030.

passmark disagrees though... 

[Levent]

3 minutes ago, starsmine said:

and an arc a380 would be multiple times faster
half height 3050s exist.

Yeah, I also compare a GT1030 to a RTX4090 to get a point across. OP says they found GT1030 $40, cheapest A380 on ebay is $90 (current bid) +$15 for shipping.

[manikyath]

Just now, starsmine said:

and an arc a380 would be multiple times faster

and an RTX 4090 would be multiple times faster again...

 

we're talking a budget upgrade on a small form factor system for casual use. spending 4x the money for 3x the performance makes no sense if you're not using all that performance.

 

half of the things on OP's list i've played just fine on a GT540m. this is more an exercise of having "literally anything better than intel integrated"

[8tg]

6 minutes ago, manikyath said:

passmark disagrees though... 

the gddr5 one yeah, the ddr4 one definitely not, passmark doesn’t differentiate the benchmarks between the two 

that performance jump between the ddr4 and gddr5 ones is larger than most people think it is

 

[starsmine]

Just now, manikyath said:

and an RTX 4090 would be multiple times faster again...

 

we're talking a budget upgrade on a small form factor system for casual use. spending 4x the money for 3x the performance makes no sense if you're not using all that performance.

 

half of the things on OP's list i've played just fine on a GT540m. this is more an exercise of having "literally anything better than intel integrated"

thats why I focused on explicitly small form factor cards.

[manikyath]

4 minutes ago, 8tg said:

the gddr5 one yeah, the ddr4 one definitely not, passmark doesn’t differentiate the benchmarks between the two 

that performance jump between the ddr4 and gddr5 ones is larger than most people think it is

 

delving into it, the D4 one is around 1300-ish points; (graph has two spikes, presume oen is D4 and other is D5)

https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce+GT+1030&id=3757

 

on that note.. the WX 2100 (probably for lack of number of units tested) has quite a wide range too;

https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+Pro+WX+2100&id=3794

 

i suppose if 'the first best' WX2100 is near the median it's a pretty good deal, presuming the slow tests are harmed by being in shitty prebuilts, because they most likely were.

[8tg]

5 minutes ago, manikyath said:

on that note.. the WX 2100 (probably for lack of number of units tested) has quite a wide range too;

I think it’s got its own issue going on, I think those are metrics for the desktop and the mobile wx 2100

because there’s both a desktop and mobile one 

[YoungBlade]

The DDR4 version of the GT 1030 is way slower than the regular one. I don't know if people just forgot, but it is sometimes less than half the speed. The Intel HD 530 might actually have a chance at beating it in some situations.

 

 

If you need a SFF card on a tight budget, and can't get a real GT 1030, I would recommend the Quadro K620 - it's Maxwell based so it still gets driver support, and while it's a bit slower than the real GT 1030, it should easily beat the DDR4 version while also being much cheaper - it usually goes Buy It Now for $20 or less.

 

[starsmine]

3 hours ago, YoungBlade said:

The DDR4 version of the GT 1030 is way slower than the regular one. I don't know if people just forgot, but it is sometimes less than half the speed. The Intel HD 530 might actually have a chance at beating it in some situations.

 

 

If you need a SFF card on a tight budget, and can't get a real GT 1030, I would recommend the Quadro K620 - it's Maxwell based so it still gets driver support, and while it's a bit slower than the real GT 1030, it should easily beat the DDR4 version while also being much cheaper - it usually goes Buy It Now for $20 or less.

 

yea thats why im skeptical of any GT 1030 benchmark you can see the one @manikyath posted does not differentuate the two, and I know they pointed it out, its just that there are better options for OP.



But you can see both peeks making for a misleading benchmark.

[manikyath]

7 hours ago, YoungBlade said:

The Intel HD 530 might actually have a chance at beating it in some situations.

it still doesnt, by a pretty decent margin.

[A Friendly ShyGuy]

20 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Whats the rest of the system? The 1030 is about the same as a lot of modern iGPUs, so it doesn't make sense to get it if your iGPU is closer.

 

It should be a decent step up over the hd530, and $40 isn't a bad price. I'd try to get something faster if you can fit it like a rx480.

 

 

Here are the rest of my PC Specs:
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 @3.4GHz

Old iGPU: Intel HD Graphics 530

RAM: 16GB

 

Also, the GT 1030 is small enough to fit in the computer. I previously had a GTX 650 where I had to sacrifice another PCIe slot because it was too bulky, so size is more important to me than power.