Help choosing the right GPU

[Elwing]

Hello to all #LinusTechTips!

 

I have a desktop PC at home, back from 2012, and my GPU card got sort of an irreversible physical damage, which I can't repair. So I gotta buy a new one! My config, however, is not one of the most actual ones, and I wanna make the right choice. Therefore, to sum it up, I want to share the components I use and the purpose of my PC and I'll ask anyone who can share an opinion to point me to the right direction.

 

My PC has the following components:

- CPU: i5-2500k @3.3GHz

- RAM: 12GB DDR3

- MotherBoard: ASRock P67 Pro3

- Power Source: InterTech Energon 650W

- Hard Disk: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB

- an older graphics card to replace the crashed GTX 560 from NVidia (which simply stopped rendering the image properly one day, by displaying pixels and "advancing" to complete image disappearance, after 4 years and a half of usage )

 

The purpose of this "monster" () is gaming (World of Warcraft mainly, but also wanna try names like Watch Dogs), computer programming (such as visual studio, android studio etc.) and video rendering (rarely, but happens).

 

My thoughts have been going around the latest affordable technologies released by NVidia and AMD, and, since the budget is tight and I wanna solve the GPU issue, I wanna know if I can do that and what choice should I make. My attention has been going around the GTX 1060 from NVidia, and the RX 480 from AMD respectively. But, if I am going to choose either of those, can I go for the 3GB, or I can aim for the 6 GB version from NVidia, or the 4GB or even the 8GB from AMD ? Also, right now I am using a SyncMaster 740N monitor from Samsung, running on VGA, but I can make an effort and change it if needed (would not rather right now tho, but can do).

 

Thank you in advance and have fun to whatever you're doing!

[Wolther]

RX 480. It can drive WoW at 4k@60 fps if you really need that power. So if your gonna get the 480 then I suggest you also use the money to play more demanding games. But if you're only gonna play wow, then the 460 is a great budget card and it'll run wow at 1080p ultra 60 fps 

[Droidbot]

480 is generally faster than 1060 because of better drivers. 

 

However, I'm not sure about that PSU - maybe get a 4GB 480 and a new PSU, something like a Seasonic S12II or if you've got a lot, EVGA G2?

[faziten]

Here is a small "TODO" list it's all optional buy will give you optimal results for your intended workload. 

 

Quote

Hello to all #LinusTechTips!

 

I have a desktop PC at home, back from 2012, and my GPU card got sort of an irreversible physical damage, which I can't repair. So I gotta buy a new one! My config, however, is not one of the most actual ones, and I wanna make the right choice. Therefore, to sum it up, I want to share the components I use and the purpose of my PC and I'll ask anyone who can share an opinion to point me to the right direction.

GPU's don't commit suicide just because. If it's a GPU fault then sad face and go buy one. But looking at your PSU i'd point my finger there.

 

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My PC has the following components:

- CPU: i5-2500k @3.3GHz

- RAM: 12GB DDR3

- MotherBoard: ASRock P67 Pro3

- Power Source: InterTech Energon 650W

- Hard Disk: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB

- an older graphics card to replace the crashed GTX 560 from NVidia (which simply stopped rendering the image properly one day, by displaying pixels and "advancing" to complete image disappearance, after 4 years and a half of usage )

 

1) Overclock that i5! 4.2, 4.4 Ghz is almost guaranteed in every i5. But, this requires at least an Hyper 212 Evo, so here goes money. I hay my old i5 at 4.0Ghz with stock heatsink and very reasonable temps (less than 75ºC) I'd suggest you to do the same. 

2) Ram: 12GB of ram can't be on dual channel, you are wasting performance. Rendering and compiling code will be faster on dual channel ram. (I'd go 2x8 GB or 4x4GB, what ever suits you best... i don't know if you have 3x4gb or 1x8gb + 1x4gb. )

3) PSU. Replace before buying GPU. Look: 

 

a 650W PSU with only one CAP? Oh god please no. This entire unit does not look like a 650W power supply. This site even confirms it (Deutsch) http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/anleitungen-wichtige-praxis-und-test-artikel/355569-review-alte-netzteile-von-forenmitgliedern-im-test-teil-3-inter-tech-energon-eps-650w.html

 

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The purpose of this "monster" () is gaming (World of Warcraft mainly, but also wanna try names like Watch Dogs), computer programming (such as visual studio, android studio etc.) and video rendering (rarely, but happens).

 

For WoW 480 4GB or 1060 3GB is more than enough. Watchdogs 1060 outperforms by 10% the AMD card (may change in the future). 

Programming... does not matter the GPU unless you go program unity or such things. Either GPU is good, Nvidia slightly better for unity i found AMDs behaving weirdly but they were mobile GPUs so don't quote me on that. 

Video Rendering: Depends on your software, generally speaking they are the same (assuming the program you use supports them both). Id get Nvidia just because they overclock insanely well and are easier to cool down Asus Strix 1060 being my personal favorite in that regard. 

 

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My thoughts have been going around the latest affordable technologies released by NVidia and AMD, and, since the budget is tight and I wanna solve the GPU issue, I wanna know if I can do that and what choice should I make. My attention has been going around the GTX 1060 from NVidia, and the RX 480 from AMD respectively. But, if I am going to choose either of those, can I go for the 3GB, or I can aim for the 6 GB version from NVidia, or the 4GB or even the 8GB from AMD ? Also, right now I am using a SyncMaster 740N monitor from Samsung, running on VGA, but I can make an effort and change it if needed (would not rather right now tho, but can do).

Affordable depends on who you ask, so i will tell you this: Their performance (480-1060) is almos identical if there is a big enough price difference buy the cheapest. 

 

Monitor: 1280x1024 will give a shit ton of FPS in any game you throw at it. No matter if you go 480 4GB, 1060 3GB, etc. So the CPU overclock becomes more necessary. 

 

What i'd do:

 

1) Buy new quality PSU. No need for Tier 1, EVGA bronze is enough to begin with. (THIS IS A MUST). 

2) Buy the 1060 6GB (my personal fav is Strix, but any 1060 is good enough). Why 6GB because of future reselling price. (it's important to me maybe not to you). 

3) Push i5 to 4.0Ghz (try at stock voltages, it worked for me on my old 3570K that is quite similar to your chip). Watch your temps, anything below 80ºC is good. 

 

Still money left?

4) Monitor upgrade. Sell yours and reuse the money from it to get a 1080p panel. No need to be 144Hz, IPS, Gsync... just a 1080p panel, games and programs will look better. A LOT better tbh. 

Still money left? 

5) Hyper 212 EVO + Overclock your i5 up to 4.4Ghz. Safe, cool, and almost guaranteed. 

Not that much money left?

5 bis) Get your dual channel ram straight, it's cheap and gives extra performance in CPU intensive tasks. The faster the ram the better, but 1600Mhz is the sweet spot for that CPU, don't go balls to the wall with 2400Mhz ram, you better put that money elsewhere.. but if the difference is little... faster = better. 

 

 

Cheers!

 

[Elwing]

Good evening again!

 

Thanks for the replies, I surely read them all and appreciate the effort. I'm prone to getting the RX 480 from AMD, seeing that they fare well with Vulkan and DX12, which results in a future proof choice.

 

As of the PSU, I don't think I have anything to worry about, it has 75% efficiency on it, which should be enough (and nothing to prove me that it can bear the guilt alone for crashing my GPU). Also #faziten, to answer your reply, I think I will avoid the OC on my i5, seeing the age of my motherboard, it might simply crash forever, which is unaffordable for me atm. I will see how it fares with the temperature of the CPU, if the GPU will affect and increase it, I shall consider the aftermarket cooler option, no sooner. The RAM, since I didn't mention is 2x2GB and 2x4GB, so two dual channels, not one.

 

As stated in the post, I only want a GPU atm, and I've made my choice.

 

Cheers!