What to look for in a GPU

[Felix0411]

Hello

 

I've been looking around for some budget parts (specifically GPUs) and I was wondering "What should I be looking for?". For example, many of the cards display different frequencies and I'm not sure how large of a difference the memory interface would make at 64-bit or 128-bit. I'm sure this question has been asked in different forms, but I really would like to know (as you can tell, I really am a newbie).

 

Here is an example of what I mean:

 

AMD Radeon R7 240 - 730 MHz* GPU - 4 GB GDDR3** @ 1.80 GHz (128-bit)*** - DVI-D / HDMI / VGA

 

* First frequency I believe is the core clock speed?

 

** GDDR3 or GDDR5?

 

*** Second frequency? Different memory interfaces?

 

This is probably quite obvious to many, sorry.

 

Thanks

[zappian]

The only thing you need to know about the 240 is that its a pointless card and you should NOT get it.

 

r7 260 is the lowest i would go.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sph6cjJeRdI

[Felix0411]

Well, I don't intend to get it anyway. I just happened to have a list of GPU's available, and I'm aware of what Linus has to say about the R7 240.

 

Thanks though

[sirtoby]

The biggest bottleneck on the low level chips is, apart from the chip, the memory. Most of the time, you can get an entry level gpu with less gddr5 or more ddr3. Always go for the gddr5 model. It is significantly faster than the ddr3 model, even if they give you 4gb of ddr3. 

[007agentHP]

frquency really doesnt matter much because you can overclock very easily to push it beyond that

 

look for GDDR5

[Guest Kloaked]

This is what I look for:

Nice body. If they don't look good, it'll be awkward during play time and when you're showing off to friends.

Has to be able to keep up with my activities. If not, we're not gonna work out.

Has to understand that I have needs.

Needs to be able to work harder than me since my activities are very demanding.

List goes on..

[Felix0411]

The biggest bottleneck on the low level chips is, apart from the chip, the memory. Most of the time, you can get an entry level gpu with less gddr5 or more ddr3. Always go for the gddr5 model. It is significantly faster than the ddr3 model, even if they give you 4gb of ddr3. 

 

Okay, that's good to know. Any idea on the two different frequencies? Is it memory and core clock speed?

[Felix0411]

Well, I posted that comment and then two other comments appeared..

[zappian]

This is what I look for:

Nice body. If they don't look good, it'll be awkward during play time and when you're showing off to friends.

Has to be able to keep up with my activities. If not, we're not gonna work out.

Has to understand that I have needs.

Needs to be able to work harder than me since my activities are very demanding.

List goes on..

 

Well I am glad you dont have a 970.

 

I hear that card has trouble keeping up with demanding activities after 3.5 minutes.

 

The performance starts going down prematurely.

 

 

I can Make jokes too Q_Q

[Felix0411]

AMD Radeon R7 250 - 1000/1050 MHz GPU - 1 GB GDDR5 @ 4.60 GHz (128-bit) - DVI / HDMI / VGA

 

Would you say this is a decent GPU for 99 USD?

[Badger906]

forget specs and numbers. when it comes to buying any pc product buy the best you can afford.

numbers mean very little these days, remember how 5 years ago processors were all about ghz! now it's all about cores amd architecture. a poorly made chip running high clock speeds can still perform worse than a chip that's better coded for and runs cooler at a lower speed.

so state a budget and then find whatever cards fit. once you've got a few find the best one by its name.

E.g a 240 is weaker than a 250 or a gt 940 is worse than a 950 ect ect (not sure of the 940 is a card I was just giving examples)

amd cards tend to give the best value for money where as nvidia are more refined, less noisy and more energy efficient.

either brand you can't go wrong.

[zappian]

AMD Radeon R7 250 - 1000/1050 MHz GPU - 1 GB GDDR5 @ 4.60 GHz (128-bit) - DVI / HDMI / VGA

 

Would you say this is a decent GPU for 99 USD?

NO

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card  ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $104.99

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-02 09:05 EST-0500

[Felix0411]

forget specs and numbers. when it comes to buying any pc product buy the best you can afford.

numbers mean very little these days, remember how 5 years ago processors were all about ghz! now it's all about cores amd architecture. a poorly made chip running high clock speeds can still perform worse than a chip that's better coded for and runs cooler at a lower speed.

so state a budget and then find whatever cards fit. once you've got a few find the best one by its name.

E.g a 240 is weaker than a 250 or a gt 940 is worse than a 950 ect ect (not sure of the 940 is a card I was just giving examples)

amd cards tend to give the best value for money where as nvidia are more refined, less noisy and more energy efficient.

either brand you can't go wrong.

 

 

I have a budget, and that's why my choice is quite limited. Also, I understand that specs don't make up 100% of the story, but it is the easiest way to describe my predicament. 

 

But thank you

[Felix0411]

NO

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card  ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $104.99

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-02 09:05 EST-0500

 

Why not, exactly? Am I missing something?

[Felix0411]

Hmmm... that GPU is pretty powerful. I just don't have the budget.

[EpicAdom]

snip

Don't get an R7 240. It offers horrible price/performance. At minimum go for an R7 250. A good rule of thumb is that if it's below $100 MSRP then it's probably not worth it for new graphics cards. Buy a used mid range or high end card on ebay if you want maximum price/performance. Ebay protects the buyer very well, if the card doesn't work you should be able to easily get a refund. For example, I've found multiple R9 280X's (7970's) auctioning for about $80. That would definitely be the best if you're looking for low prices and great performance.

 

Edit: read the above post. Look at used 78xx cards from AMD. Those should be even lower priced than what I mentioned.

[zappian]

Why not, exactly? Am I missing something?

 

Because the 260x costs the same and is MUCH faster.

Dont look at the specs , go look at benchmarks Q_Q

[Felix0411]

Because the 260x costs the same and is MUCH faster.

Dont look at the specs , go look at benchmarks Q_Q

 

Fair enough, I have an APU though, so perhaps a slightly slower card would benefit from the built-in graphics?

[EpicAdom]

Fair enough, I have an APU though, so perhaps a slightly slower card would benefit from the built-in graphics?

Dual graphics doesn't work very well

[Felix0411]

Does it reduce performance or simply doesn't benefit?