Replacement graphics card for old PC

[MasterF]

Hi all,

 

I would really appreciate some help with the following issue: I have a fairly old PC (Intel Q6600, Asus Maximum Formula, Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT). My graphics card just died, but I still intend to use this system for at least one year so I'm looking for a replacement.

 

I am interested in something that will offer better performance with lower power consumption and won't be bottlenecked (too much) by the rest of the system. My current candidate is a GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 750 OC.

 

I do intend to upgrade sometime next year, but that system will be worlds apart from this one, so I don't intend to use this graphics card in it.

 

Thanks in advance.

[blackadder]

Get 750ti should be about the same price if psu can handle 270 or 270x

[HyperHertz]

The GTX 750 will probably have bottleneck on newer or badly optimized games. Overclocking the CPU is a good idea if you want to stick with the same processor.

[david cassar]

Overclock the CPU to 3 GHz or more and you can put in a 270x without it being bottlenecked. What's your PSU?

[MasterF]

The PSU is an Epsilon 500W (not sure if this a good brand or not, but it lasted 5 years so it can't be total crap).

 

I'd prefer to stick to NVIDIA since I'm running Linux on this and they have better drivers. I don't mind not being able to play recent games.

The only things I play at the moment are Diablo 3, FIFA 2014, Dota 2 and FM 2015. But I do want good frame rates in those games.

[Badger906]

your q6600 still isn't a bad cpu! yes it's old, but they overclock like a champ.

a 750ti is a good card. youll be able to play all but the most demanding games at medium to high settings.

[MasterF]

Well, I guess I'll get the 750TI then, but are you sure it's compatible with the motherboard: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_FORMULA/ ?

I think it should be, but while researching this card I keep finding reviews that say they needed a BIOS upgrade.

I have the latest BIOS, but that's from 2009.

 

 

[Rubenis]

Check out some good deals on GTX 660, because it will be more of card than overpriced 750 Ti.

I got mine for very good price and it just works great.

On the other hand AMD R7 265  is same price as 750 Ti and ~20% better.

[david cassar]

The PSU is an Epsilon 500W (not sure if this a good brand or not, but it lasted 5 years so it can't be total crap).

I'd prefer to stick to NVIDIA since I'm running Linux on this and they have better drivers. I don't mind not being able to play recent games.

The only things I play at the moment are Diablo 3, FIFA 2014, Dota 2 and FM 2015. But I do want good frame rates in those games.

Definitely get a 750 ti since you are running Linus. Also try and find some deals on GPUs like the gtx 660 as it is faster than the 750 ti by a decent amount.

[MasterF]

Just ordered a GTX 660, it will be delivered this evening. I'm a bit nervous about the power requirements on that thing... NVIDIA suggests a 450W PSU, mine's 500W, but pretty old.

 

I'm thinking of running an Unigine benchmark with it and seeing if the PC reboots. I'm guessing it will use less power in the games I play.

[HyperHertz]

Just ordered a GTX 660, it will be delivered this evening. I'm a bit nervous about the power requirements on that thing... NVIDIA suggests a 450W PSU, mine's 500W, but pretty old.

 

I'm thinking of running an Unigine benchmark with it and seeing if the PC reboots. I'm guessing it will use less power in the games I play.

 

If the PSU is old it might have lost some wattage. GTX660 is a bit power hungry compared to the GTX750 Ti

[MasterF]

Well, I got the GTX660, it seems to work fine. I ran the Unigine Heaven benchmark to stress it a bit and see if the PSU can handle it, but there were no issues.

I also played Diablo 3 for some hours and it was fine.

I overclocked the CPU using the built-in CPU Level Up feature of the motherboard (yes, I know manual would have been better). But I did run a few benchmarks and monitored the temps, it didn't go past 72 C and in games in stays around 62 C.  Didn't try Prime 95, but I don't think there's a point, I won't be stressing it THAT much.

 

Thank you all for the help.

[GangstaRas]

just be aware that no matter which of these GPUs you pick, even with an overclock, they will be bottlenecked cuz of the old architecture of the system itself so don't even think there and buy the cheapest card that will be within your PSU limits. 750 Ti?