Hardware & Technical Advice needed: Temporary GPU

Sergio Smegolia · Feb 22, 2016

Hi all, firstly thanks for reading.

I am currently putting together a mid-range spec PC (i54690k, 16GB ram to give you a ball park idea). Just needs a SSD and a GPU. The ssd will be in the post very soon but the GPU concerns me.

Both AMD and Nvidia are bring out major new chipsets this year and the hyping of them has very much started. Originally my options were GTX 970 and Radeon R9 390 (possibly x). Thing is these cards will soon be pretty obsolete if the GPU makers are to be believed.

So I thought in order to get me by I may buy a second hand card, nothing too shabby and then I don't lose that much once I upgrade. One that runs horizons well in 1080 (I'll be upping that later). But I really don't know enough about the older cards and have no way of comparing them. Hence this question.

Another thing that concerns me is that we gamers seem to think it is possible to pass off 2 year old goods that have endured massive extremes of heat and ware and tear for the same price as a brand new later version of the card. "Well, it cost me 400 quid!" Maybe, but you have heard of this little thing called depreciation? Quite popular in the car industry

This is making me think it still may be better going with a new card.

Any and all advice welcome just please don't turn into an AMD versus Nvidia thread.

Thanks in advance.

Asp Explorer · Feb 22, 2016

I'd wait til the new cards are released, and just use inbuilt graphics at the moment. Works fine at 720p and you might be able to push 1080.

Zazzilas Arden · Feb 22, 2016

I'm not really sure I understand all the hype for Polaris and Pascal. If you have a GPU that already does everything you want, or can afford one that already does everything you want, I don't really see the point in waiting for the entry-level Pascal and polaris cards.

Just because Pascal and Polaris comes out, it doesn't mean that the cards that are already out or just going to stop working or being functional. I think all the hype is just marketing. They hype you up for the new entry level cards, and then a few months later they come out with better cards and hype you up for that, etc etc. It's an endless cycle of upgrading hype that they use to line their pockets.

Sergio Smegolia · Feb 22, 2016

Asp Explorer said:
I'd wait til the new cards are released, and just use inbuilt graphics at the moment. Works fine at 720p and you might be able to push 1080.

What about planetary landings? I struggle now with my discrete card in my laptop so what would it be like on Intel 4600? And, ya' know, shiney gaming PC, want it to look a bit better than my work laptop

Zazzilas Arden said:
I'm not really sure I understand all the hype for Polaris and Pascal. If you have a GPU that already does everything you want, or can afford one that already does everything you want, I don't really see the point in waiting for the entry-level Pascal and polaris cards.

Just because Pascal and Polaris comes out, it doesn't mean that the cards that are already out or just going to stop working or being functional. I think all the hype is just marketing. They hype you up for the new entry level cards, and then a few months later they come out with better cards and hype you up for that, etc etc. It's an endless cycle of upgrading hype that they use to line their pockets.

True absolutely. But no one likes spending money only for something better to be available soon afterwards for the same money. And with VR coming, who knows what a game changer that could be.

FiddenUK · Feb 22, 2016

I'm also waiting for the new GPUs, as they seem to suggest much better performance (due to the die shrinkage) as well as power modifications to give similar framerates at lower power consumption. They also suggest similar power consumption at much better framerates on higher resolutions.

If you can truly wait, then I'd say wait. Its only 4 months away...

If not, I have an AMD 4890 sitting in a drawer doing nothing; not sure if that might suffice for you for a few months?

Zazzilas Arden · Feb 22, 2016

If you absolutely must wait for the new cards, I would suggest getting a GTX 750 Ti by Zotac as your temporary. It handles Elite Dangerous fairly well. Only costs 104 USD or 90 quid from Amazon.

thearmysredneck · Feb 22, 2016

I'm about to start a build soon, but my current one is an old AMD Phenom II X4 925, 4gb ddr2, EVGA GTX 750TI SC 2gb. Its actually below the minimum spec for horizons on RAM, BUT it's running it and chugging along at 40-45ish fps in stations and 55-60 in super cruise at 1920x1200 with settings on high. I'll be keeping the 750ti till I see what the new stuff brings. I think going up to a 6600k or 6700k and 16gb of ddr4 will keep me satisfied long enough to see the new gpus coming out

shadragon · Feb 22, 2016

OP - Unless you are getting a VR headset there is no reason not to buy now. There are many cards out at a reasonable price that will do 1080. I have a GTX970 that will do 145FPS @ 1080 Ultra in Elite without issue.

What's your budget?

Bran Tse Mallory · Feb 22, 2016

AMD R9 290 2nd hand £50-£100 http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...t=27386&rt=nc&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=50&_udhi=100

Nvidia GTX 970 2nd hand £50-£100 http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_o...970.TRS0&_nkw=nvidia+geforce+gtx+970&_sacat=0

Any of these two cards will do you until Polaris and Pascal arrive. They'll continue to do the job long after the new GPU's show up. Once both companies release I would advise waiting at least 6 months before purchase, neither company will run out the top end cards of the new range for quite some time plus there will no doubt be a nice new high price point until production settles down.

Sergio Smegolia · Feb 22, 2016

FiddenUK said:
I'm also waiting for the new GPUs, as they seem to suggest much better performance (due to the die shrinkage) as well as power modifications to give similar framerates at lower power consumption. They also suggest similar power consumption at much better framerates on higher resolutions.

If you can truly wait, then I'd say wait. Its only 4 months away...

If not, I have an AMD 4890 sitting in a drawer doing nothing; not sure if that might suffice for you for a few months?

Thanks for the offer, will consider

Zazzilas Arden said:
If you absolutely must wait for the new cards, I would suggest getting a GTX 750 Ti by Zotac as your temporary. It handles Elite Dangerous fairly well. Only costs 104 USD or 90 quid from Amazon.

Had thought about that, will put it back on the agenda. Thanks.

thearmysredneck said:
I'm about to start a build soon, but my current one is an old AMD Phenom II X4 925, 4gb ddr2, EVGA GTX 750TI SC 2gb. Its actually below the minimum spec for horizons on RAM, BUT it's running it and chugging along at 40-45ish fps in stations and 55-60 in super cruise at 1920x1200 with settings on high. I'll be keeping the 750ti till I see what the new stuff brings. I think going up to a 6600k or 6700k and 16gb of ddr4 will keep me satisfied long enough to see the new gpus coming out

750TI gets another vote then, good stuff. Performance sounds about OK for now. Cheers.

shadragon said:
OP - Unless you are getting a VR headset there is no reason not to buy now. There are many cards out at a reasonable price that will do 1080. I have a GTX970 that will do 145FPS @ 1080 Ultra in Elite without issue.

What's your budget?

Gonna be a bit vague here but £250 to £350. Reason for vagueness is the wife. Like a hard luck football manager I have to sell before I can buy. Depends on what I get rid of first. And I do want to get an ultra wide monitor at some point. VR is cool and all but I'll wait till the next iteration, see if the price becomes more mainstream.

Thanks for all the replies!

Sergio Smegolia · Feb 22, 2016

Bran Tse Mallory said:
AMD R9 290 2nd hand £50-£100 http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...t=27386&rt=nc&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=50&_udhi=100

Nvidia GTX 970 2nd hand £50-£100 http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_o...970.TRS0&_nkw=nvidia+geforce+gtx+970&_sacat=0

Any of these two cards will do you until Polaris and Pascal arrive. They'll continue to do the job long after the new GPU's show up. Once both companies release I would advise waiting at least 6 months before purchase, neither company will run out the top end cards of the new range for quite some time plus there will no doubt be a nice new high price point until production settles down.

Cheers, any links accepted gleefully

FiddenUK · Feb 22, 2016

I'd say if they're that cheap, you're better off getting a second-hand one at that specification... I hadn't considered if the 4890 would even be compatible for Horizons, but I'm guessing not...

Sergio Smegolia · Feb 22, 2016

FiddenUK said:
I'd say if they're that cheap, you're better off getting a second-hand one at that specification... I hadn't considered if the 4890 would even be compatible for Horizons, but I'm guessing not...

Trouble with ebay prices is they are bibable items with several days left often so prices tend to be misleading.

Just looking at various cards on futuremark. The GTX 950 seems reasonable for not a lot. Anyone got one? Or maybe a second hand R9 280x?

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead · Feb 22, 2016

Heck, I'm running ED:H on an AMD HD 6870 1GB, @ 1080p on ultra (with FSAA off).
That only cost me £130 4 years ago.
So anything with equal power to that, but new will manage just fine.
No idea what though, sorry!

Aleksej · Feb 22, 2016

If you need the GPU now then get it now. If you can wait 6-9 months until they release something for mid to high range then wait.

Kezha · Feb 22, 2016

Aleksej said:
If you need the GPU now then get it now. If you can wait 6-9 months until they release something for mid to high range then wait.

This, especially since new tech and all, aside of that. Im a bit nVidia biased as ATi hasnt lived up to my standard, but thats just me. Alas i dont have much of a clue anymore about ATi, but the x70 series from nvidia is always a safe bet for 1080 and will take about anythingyou can throw at it with few exceptions

Sergio Smegolia · Feb 22, 2016

Thanks again. I'm currently leaning to just going for a new card and to hell with it. Second hand prices are ridiculous for what they are. Probably back to my original idea of a GTX 970/R9 390.

Cheers all. Have an imaginary tipple of your choice on me.

About to spread rep.

LameoveR · Feb 22, 2016

Don't wait for new GPUs.
Take gtx970.
When new GPUs will came out, you'll need to upgrade your whole PC

Tiamat · Feb 22, 2016

Zazzilas Arden said:
If you absolutely must wait for the new cards, I would suggest getting a GTX 750 Ti by Zotac as your temporary. It handles Elite Dangerous fairly well. Only costs 104 USD or 90 quid from Amazon.

I'll put my vote behind this one. I have been running an EVGA 2Gb equivalent for months at 1920x1200 with ultra settings and it is a great little card for the money. Framerate on planets was a little low but it was easily playable. It doesn't even need external power connectors!

I personally wouldn't use ebay as you never know what you are going to get and I would be gutted to spend even £100 and end up with a card that won't do the job.

Iain L · Feb 22, 2016

It's frankly not worth faffing around with ebay. Looking at the Buy It Now options on that search, there's nothing faster than a 750 Ti for less than £100, and the £10-£20 you'd save going for a second-hand one over Amazon's new price just isn't worth the peace of mind of a new card.

You can always sell it on when you upgrade to that eventual faster card, anyway.