GPU for i7 860

[twester]

I'm building a used computer based around a P55 motherboard and an i7 860 I have that have been collecting dust. The computer originally had two Radeon HD 6850s in crossfire, but I'm thinking I'd rather have a single, better GPU so that I have better compatibility with Linux.

 

Budget for this upgrade is ~$100-150. I want to avoid bottlenecks with this CPU, even if it means not the best graphics card. I'm looking at Radeon graphics to stay true to the original build!

[TrigrH]

as far as new cards go with that budget you are looking at an RX 560.

[Jsmith2211]

I have an MSI 1050 2G Gaming X and i is brilliant, the main bottleneck being my I5 4440s...

[SnowyMus]

In terms of brand new, the best AMD card you can get for that budget is an RX 560. If you're willing to buy used, you might also be able to snag a Radeon HD 7970 off of eBay, too, or an R9 280X.

[twester]

Thanks for the replies! The 560 looks good but is it all that much better than the slightly cheaper, older cards like the 7970?

 

Used parts are perfectly fine for this project.

[Princess Luna]

3 minutes ago, twester said:

Used parts are perfectly fine for this project.

Much before getting hype about old AMD junk cards it'd be wise make sure you have PSU for these cards... I'd personally place a RX 560 or a GTX 1050 because these cards are extremely efficient will run anywhere while giving decent enough Ensured performance... old stuff is likely to break no? no warranty or any thing.

[twester]

17 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

Much before getting hype about old AMD junk cards it'd be wise make sure you have PSU for these cards... I'd personally place a RX 560 or a GTX 1050 because these cards are extremely efficient will run anywhere while giving decent enough Ensured performance... old stuff is likely to break no? no warranty or any thing.

The PSU for this build will be a Corsair 850W, so I think the old cards will be fine.

 

It may come down to what I can find on Craigslist, but the 560 looks like a great option if nothing pops up.

[Tiberiusisgame]

I'm interested to hear your experience with a 1st Gen CPU so please follow up after you've built this. I'm about to put 2 980s in a P55 with an i5 760 (iirc) and I'm curious if I'll see similar performance to when I had them in a Z97 4790K. I estimate 80%+ performance in synthetics due to PCIe bus speeds being slower, lesser CPU performance, and slower RAM.

 

I'll post my findings as they compare to the 4th gen as well, for reference.

[twester]

Update:

 

I picked up a 7970 Sapphire card today for $80 off Craigslist.

 

Had some shipping issues with the power supply, but I will post some info about the build as soon as the PSU arrives.