Graphics Cards under $150

[ATX]

My friend bought a pre-built against my recommendations, and now he needs a graphics card after getting Battlefront and realizing 15fps on low settings just won't cut it!

 

I suggested he buy a 500W non-modular 80+ EVGA PSU and my used EVGA 460 1GB GDDR5 ($30) and call it a day, but now he's saying he doesn't need a power supply because the GTX 650 doesn't need that extra power, and has that minimum 2GB GDDR5 Battlefront needs to be playable.

 

So now I come to the forum to help me help him in choosing the best option for him.

- Does he need a power supply?

- Can the EVGA 460 1GB run Battlefront?

- What other Card/PSU combo could he get for under $200?

- Is a low-power card like the 650 even an option?

 

edit: His current PSU only supplies 300W of power.

[Aytex]

gtx 950

750 ti

[Dabasepc]

GTX 750 Ti

 

GTX 950

 

R7 370

[MLG Doge]

He needs a new PSU 300w is not enough especially on those dodgy no-name brands.

The GPU's above are all worth.

[don_svetlio]

R9 380 for 160$

[ATX]

All these card recommendations are great and all, but his current Power supply can't - well... supply enough power.

[Aytex]

All these card recommendations are great and all, but his current Power supply can't - well... supply enough power.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked Video Card  ($151.49 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($55.80 @ Amazon) 

Total: $207.29

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-26 16:24 EST-0500

 

950 has more preformance den 750 ti m8ty

[Maxxtraxx]

My friend bought a pre-built against my recommendations, and now he needs a graphics card after getting Battlefront and realizing 15fps on low settings just won't cut it!

 

I suggested he buy a 500W non-modular 80+ EVGA PSU and my used EVGA 460 1GB GDDR5 ($30) and call it a day, but now he's saying he doesn't need a power supply because the GTX 650 doesn't need that extra power, and has that minimum 2GB GDDR5 Battlefront needs to be playable.

 

So now I come to the forum to help me help him in choosing the best option for him.

- Does he need a power supply?

- Can the EVGA 460 1GB run Battlefront?

- What other Card/PSU combo could he get for under $200?

- Is a low-power card like the 650 even an option?

 

edit: His current PSU only supplies 300W of power.

 

​If he bought a prebuilt the chances are good it has a pretty terrible power supply in it, HOWEVER being a prebuilt it may not use a standard psu size/form factor... so replace it if possible BUT there may be few options if it is not standard sized.

 

1: check the psu, if it is just an ugly grey box then it is no good/sucks/should be used a trash can garnish so dispose of it properly, if it has a reputable brand name then look it up and see.

 

2: the evga 460 would likely not run battlefront well if at all

 

3: nvidia 750ti is the best choice i am aware of that draws under 75watts and can therefore be used with ANY psu that works with his motherboard since it has no auxiliary power commectors. Also a gtx950 IF there is one available with no external power connectors.

[ATX]

​If he bought a prebuilt the chances are good it has a pretty terrible power supply in it, HOWEVER being a prebuilt it may not use a standard psu size/form factor... so replace it if possible BUT there may be few options if it is not standard sized.

 

1: check the psu, if it is just an ugly grey box then it is no good/sucks/should be used a trash can garnish so dispose of it properly, if it has a reputable brand name then look it up and see.

 

2: the evga 460 would likely not run battlefront well if at all

 

3: nvidia 750ti is the best choice i am aware of that draws under 75watts and can therefore be used with ANY psu that works with his motherboard since it has no auxiliary power commectors. Also a gtx950 IF there is one available with no external power connectors.

 

I've already looked inside his computer, the PSU looks very much like standard ATX, but had no branding obviously. I'm about to test the 460 in games other than Battlefront, seeing as I down currently own it, but I'm feeling confident it could push battlefront at low settings well above 30FPS. So if any card other than the 460, the 750ti would be the better choice, and the 300W minimum requirement wouldn't be a bottleneck?

[ATX]

He's pretty keen on the 650 2GB gddr5, but even I don't know what to tell him. Any thoughts or opinions?

[ATX]

He's buying a 500W power supply and I'll give him my 460. I'm testing out the 460 right now with his borrowed account and it runs at a playable 39 FPS average on low settings with 30% completed installation. I'm assuming the performance will be just barely higher after it has completed downloading.

[Maxxtraxx]

I've already looked inside his computer, the PSU looks very much like standard ATX, but had no branding obviously. I'm about to test the 460 in games other than Battlefront, seeing as I down currently own it, but I'm feeling confident it could push battlefront at low settings well above 30FPS. So if any card other than the 460, the 750ti would be the better choice, and the 300W minimum requirement wouldn't be a bottleneck?

 

​The 750ti uses only the pci express 16x connector for power so any motherboard that has a pci express 16x slot it must be able to provide the necessary power and therefore the psu will as well. The 750Ti is approx 75 watts max and the cpu will be 150watts max so a 300watt psu should work fine... Again a junk psu is always a risk... it can fry everything if it fails.

 

I would recommend measuring the psu and comparing it to the size specs of whatever psu you're interested in.

 

The system requirements for battlefront are above what a gtx460 can provide due to a 2gb vram minimum so i would recommend a DX11 card with at least 2gb of vram.

 

A good pick could be a Gtx760, it's more powerful than all the cards you or i have listed, has the 2gb of vram and is available on ebay for around $100-120 which leaves about $70-80 for a decent psu.

[Maxxtraxx]

Gtx 760 example: Here

 

PSU recommendation: Here

 

Game requirements: Here

[ATX]

I just tested the game with the 460 and it runs just fine. He's getting the 500W power supply for future proofing and for greater reliability. There would be no way in hell that I could even attempt to run the system with the 750ti at load off that 300W no-name PSU, because it would reach near 100% of it's capacity. Thanks for the help!

[Nena Trinity]

370 is cheaper than 950 but 950 is a bit better so price vs performance.