Which one?: "GDDR3 2GB" or "GDDR5 1GB"?

[freexavier]

Right now, I planning to buy my little brother a new graphics card, being a R7 240(Locally purchasing it, being $58 usd), but I'm having difficulty on either choosing the GDDR3 2GB or GDDR5 1GB version?

I'm conflicting with choosing either GDDR3 2GB or GDDR5 1GB.

 

GDDR3 2GB - To play on higher resolution textures, but at the cost of a little drop of performance

GDDR5 1GB  - To play with slightly better FPS, but at the cost of playing games on lower resolution.

 

My little brother's specs:

CPU: Intel Pent. G2020 2.9Ghz

GPU: Integrate Graphics (Close in performance to a Intel HD 2000 or 15% to 20% weaker to a GT 620)

Motherboard: Asus P8H61-M LX3 Plus

RAM: HyperX blue 2GB 1600Mhz

Monitor: 1280x720

(Fun fact: This is actually my old PC until I upgraded)

 

I'm leaning more towards the GDDR3 2GB, because, personally, textures is the most important graphical setting out of all the other effects and has little to no drop in FPS when increase, but even if has a performance drop, it worth playing with higher texture quality, but I would like to hear all of your opinions about the subject.

 

 

Edit Update:

I have been convinced on not purchasing an R7 240, and will save up some cash for a better one.

 

[Enderman]

 

 

 

 

[freexavier]

6 minutes ago, Enderman said:

 

 

 

 

I'm on a really small budget(since I'm the one personally buying it for him), and I'm buying the R7 240 locally, costing 58 USD. I just want to give him a simple upgrade from his really slow iGPU.

[Enderman]

4 minutes ago, freexavier said:

I'm on a really small budget(since I'm the one personally buying it for him), and I'm buying the R7 240 locally, costing 58 USD. I just want to give him a simple upgrade from his really slow iGPU.

for 60 bucks you can get a much better used GPU than that...

unless for some reason you live in some remote area where only 3 people use craigslist

[freexavier]

6 minutes ago, Enderman said:

for 60 bucks you can get a much better used GPU than that...

unless for some reason you live in some remote area where only 3 people use craigslist

Those other good graphics cards being?

I don't live in a remote area, I'm actually going to buy it in a store, a brand new graphics for him. I just petty him, having to play old games and for new games, playing at 15 to 20 FPS.

I even let him play on my PC, for games that are newer and demanding, since his PC can't run them.

 

Edit:

Spent most of my money getting my new PC. LOL!

[Burnedice25]

The RAM speed doesn't matter to much so get the 2GB card

[desertcomputer]

13 minutes ago, freexavier said:

I'm on a really small budget(since I'm the one personally buying it for him), and I'm buying the R7 240 locally, costing 58 USD. I just want to give him a simple upgrade from his really slow iGPU.

I would get him something else ... like new mouse or save some more money for 750ti which is much better for your money and enjoyment of your friend. 

[freexavier]

1 minute ago, MrUnknownEMC said:

I would get him something else ... like new mouse or save some more money for 750ti which is much better for your money and enjoyment of your friend. 

A 750 Ti cost around $115 to $125 usd in my local store, which is the money I don't have and being 2x the price of the R7 240.

I will also still need money for my own personal use.

Also, what is the point of getting a new mouse if his FPS are going to be like 15 to 20 FPS, also he already has a good mouse that my other brother gave him(much better than my in fact).

[ZetZet]

27 minutes ago, freexavier said:

A 750 Ti cost around $115 to $125 usd in my local store, which is the money I don't have and being 2x the price of the R7 240.

I will also still need money for my own personal use.

Also, what is the point of getting a new mouse if his FPS are going to be like 15 to 20 FPS, also he already has a good mouse that my other brother gave him(much better than my in fact).

7850 used

[AlexandruD]

I would personally go for the DDR5 one for better performance. This is because your display is 720p and you don't need so much VRAM. I am playing games on my desktop with a 1 GB GTX 560Ti and I can't say the textures are looking bad. By the way, I am using 1920x1200 resolution. 

[freexavier]

1 hour ago, ZetZet said:

7850 used

Prefer not to get old cards, since they can have issues, which I don't want to deal with, and finding one would be a bit hard and tiring.

 

1 hour ago, AlexandruD said:

I would personally go for the DDR5 one for better performance. This is because your display is 720p and you don't need so much VRAM. I am playing games on my desktop with a 1 GB GTX 560Ti and I can't say the textures are looking bad. By the way, I am using 1920x1200 resolution. 

Resolution does little on effecting VRAM usage. I have tested this myself with Arma 3, and noticed only 50mb to 80mb,(1275mb vs 1347mb), comparing 1280x720 vs 1600x900. So I am still leaning more toward the GDDR3 2GB.

[Sauron]

2 hours ago, freexavier said:

I'm on a really small budget(since I'm the one personally buying it for him), and I'm buying the R7 240 locally, costing 58 USD. I just want to give him a simple upgrade from his really slow iGPU.

Then either get a used graphics card or just wait. The r7 240 is garbage and it may actually not even be better than the igpu depending on what he has. Generally used gpus are just fine.

 

If you must buy it (don't) the gddr5 version is better.

 

By the way, what specs does his pc currently have?

[Hunter7263]

3 hours ago, freexavier said:

Right now, I planning to buy my little brother a new graphics card, being a R7 240(Locally purchasing it, being $58 usd), but I'm having difficulty on either choosing the GDDR3 2GB or GDDR5 1GB version?

I'm conflicting with choosing either GDDR3 2GB or GDDR5 1GB.

 

GDDR3 2GB - To play on higher resolution textures, but at the cost of a little drop of performance

GDDR5 1GB  - To play with slightly better FPS, but at the cost of playing games on lower resolution.

 

My little brother's specs:

CPU: Intel Pent. G2020 2.9Ghz

GPU: Integrate Graphics

Motherboard: Asus P8H61-M LX3 Plus

RAM: HyperX blue 2GB 1600Mhz

Monitor: 1280x720

(Fun fact: This is actually my old PC until I upgraded)

 

I'm leaning more towards the GDDR3 2GB, because, personally, textures is the most important graphical setting out of all the other effects and has little to no drop in FPS when increase, but even if has a performance drop, it worth playing with higher texture quality, but I would like to hear all of your opinions about the subject.

Like people are saying buy a used one. A used 750ti runs about 60 usd in my area right now on craiglist. Ive seen 2 or 3. A 750ti will just destroy the r7 240

[LukaH]

A used GPU is fine just test it first. I bought four this year and just made a deal with the seller if it doesn't work he will return my money. Two of them were fried from bitcoin mining got my money back simple as that. I'd really consider the radeon HD 7xxx series (not sure what nvidia cards are on par with them) since they are still good enough to play todays games. (rocking two 7950s max out everything)

[ThinkWithPortals]

47 minutes ago, freexavier said:

 

I think you should either buy a used card or save some more. An R7 240 won't even be that much better (if at all better) than an iGPU.

[freexavier]

51 minutes ago, Sauron said:

Then either get a used graphics card or just wait. The r7 240 is garbage and it may actually not even be better than the igpu depending on what he has. Generally used gpus are just fine.

 

If you must buy it (don't) the gddr5 version is better.

 

By the way, what specs does his pc currently have?

Really man.... I just placed my little brother specs in the original post...... And a R7 240 would already be a big jump from his iGPU, which is somewhere similar to the an Intel HD 2000(Edit: about 15% to 20% weaker to a GT 620).

 

 

19 minutes ago, LukaH said:

A used GPU is fine just test it first. I bought four this year and just made a deal with the seller if it doesn't work he will return my money. Two of them were fried from bitcoin mining got my money back simple as that. I'd really consider the radeon HD 7xxx series (not sure what nvidia cards are on par with them) since they are still good enough to play todays games. (rocking two 7950s max out everything)

22 minutes ago, Hunter7263 said:

Like people are saying buy a used one. A used 750ti runs about 60 usd in my area right now on craiglist. Ive seen 2 or 3. A 750ti will just destroy the r7 240

I really don't want the annoyance of trying to find a good used GPU. I prefer to just get my brother a brand new one, so that he won't have to deal any issues in the future and come asking me for help. And I'm also from the Philippines, and the traffic here in Manila is really bad. (Yea I know, my "Location" is outdate)

 

8 minutes ago, ThinkWithPortals said:

I think you should either buy a used card or save some more. An R7 240 won't even be that much better (if at all better) than an iGPU.

The point of me buying the R7 240, is not for a huge jump in performance, but to just make him finally be able to enjoy games more and be able play newer games, without painfully playing 10, 15, and 20 FPS. And my little brother's iGPU is bad. It's really slow, and far from the newer Intel CPUs iGPUs.

[Sauron]

Just now, freexavier said:

Really man.... I just placed my little brother specs in the original post...... And a R7 240 would already be a big jump from his iGPU, which is somewhere similar to the an Intel HD 2000.

Oh, must have brainfarted, sorry.

 

Still, even though the igpu probably is less powerful, the jump in performance really won't be that big at all given that the cpu itself is terrible. I really don't recommend a 240.

 

[freexavier]

2 minutes ago, Sauron said:

Oh, must have brainfarted, sorry.

 

Still, even though the igpu probably is less powerful, the jump in performance really won't be that big at all given that the cpu itself is terrible. I really don't recommend a 240.

 

*sigh* Okay, you guys somewhat convinced me.... So what GPU do you all recommend instead?

[Sauron]

1 minute ago, freexavier said:

*sigh* Okay, you guys somewhat convinced me.... So what GPU do you all recommend instead?

not a new one, given your budget. a used 7850 would do great

[freexavier]

1 minute ago, Sauron said:

not a new one, given your budget. a used 7850 would do great

I can't do that, because I don't want the hassle of find one and checking if its working or not. Also, I'm not comfortable of buying old cards and meeting strangers in person or having it delivered, but fear of it being dead, and I don't want the hassle of making a return and the like.

I prefer to stay on the safer side of getting a brand new one instead.

[Sauron]

3 minutes ago, freexavier said:

I can't do that, because I don't want the hassle of find one and checking if its working or not. Also, I'm not comfortable of buying old cards and meeting strangers in person or having it delivered, but fear of it being dead, and I don't want the hassle of making a return and the like.

I prefer to stay on the safer side of getting a brand new one instead.

Then I suggest you wait. In that price range there are no good cards.

[freexavier]

What kind of similar performing GPU should I look for? Somewhere above an R7 250 or R7 260? (AMD cards are what came to thought, since I'm more familiar with their performance and not fanboyism)

[Simon771]

Well you have  1280x720  monitor, so RAM size won't matter to you since 1GB VRAM can bring all details to that resolution.

I would go with DDR5

[LukaH]

if you are really set on the purchase go for it it will be a nice gesture for your brother and it will be a speed bump from the iGPU just keep in mind you/he will have to upgrade again pretty soon especially if he gets a new monitor (better resolution)

 

or you could just tell him you started a GPU fund for him and let him contribute somehow to make a better purchase down the road...

[freexavier]

5 minutes ago, Simon771 said:

Well you have  1280x720  monitor, so RAM size won't matter to you since 1GB VRAM can bring all details to that resolution.

I would go with DDR5

I have made done a test in Arma 3. Only 50mb to 80mb,(1275mb vs 1347mb), comparing 1280x720 vs 1600x900. So I am still leaning more toward the GDDR3 2GB.

 

Also, I'm no longer getting an R7 240 anymore, and will save up and get some help form my parents on getting a better card

 

3 minutes ago, LukaH said:

if you are really set on the purchase go for it it will be a nice gesture for your brother and it will be a speed bump from the iGPU just keep in mind you/he will have to upgrade again pretty soon especially if he gets a new monitor (better resolution)

 

or you could just tell him you started a GPU fund for him and let him contribute somehow to make a better purchase down the road...

I have a been convinced by the guys not to get an R7 240, and will save up some money to get him a better one instead and maybe ask some help from my parents too.