Updating My Computer - New Graphics Card for PCIe 3.0

[PrinceXizor]

So, when I built my computer many moons ago I had little need for anything more than onboard graphics. I didn't game much and didn't do any other heavy lifting.

Now, I'm doing some CAD work and some more gaming than I used to. So, I'm looking to add a graphics card to my computer. Motherboard is an Z77 Pro+ with a PCIe 3.0 slot. I have no useful info on what's good or not in the video card land from that era, or now. I'm not looking to spend a whole lot of money either, just something that represents good bang for the buck. Don't let the CAD thing distract you, not spending big bucks on a CAD card. Thanks! If you need other info, let me know.

i5-3570k @ 3.40GHz
16GB RAM
256GB SSD
1TB HDD

 

[PrinceXizor]

How out of the loop am I...I don't even know if PCIe 3.0 x 16 is the standard for Video cards anymore? Man, I feel like a total newbie!

 

[VirtualLarry]

My vote goes for something GTX1060 or GTX 1070ti -esque, although you can get straight-up GTX 1080 cards for (I think?) under $500 now.

 

[PrinceXizor]

Can you school me a bit on pros and cons of those cards? Anything I should verify on my motherboard to see if these will work (i.e. extra power connectors).

Edit: Of course, I'm doing my own research too.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm guessing that the CAD program, probably supports NV cards in general.

For gaming, it depends on the game, the display resolution, and how many FPS you can stand.

Btw, do you have a FreeSync (1 or 2) monitor, or a G-Sync monitor? If neither, then you can go with either NV or AMD cards. If you have one of those types of displays, best to stick with that brand card.

GTX 1060 6GB is a decent lower-priced gaming card, but I would go for at least a GTX 1070ti for longevity.

 

[PrinceXizor]

I probably should clarify. I said gaming, but I probably just classed myself too high as I'm not playing any modern games at the moment. I've been playing some older F2P MMORPG's like Guild Wars 2 lately and similar. No FPS or anything. Anything is an upgrade over Intel HD4000. So your GTX950 is probably in the ballpark of what I'm looking for. I just don't know. I'm not opposed to saving up to hit a jump in the price/performance area. But I can tell you right now I'm not spending $4-500 on a card. I'm not opposed to used either.

 

[wanderica]

Assuming 1080p, no adaptive sync, and without a stated budget range, it's hard to recommend specifics, but here's what I would say.

Under $250
GTX 1050Ti - Cheaper
RX 570 - Better

$250 - $350
GTX 1060 6Gb - Wouldn't recommend the 3 GB version
RX 580

These 2 are close enough in price and benchmarks that either would be a solid choice, and both are great 1080p cards. CAD work might sway you towards Nvidia, however. No experience here, but I've heard CAD likes Nvidia.

$350+
GTX 1070
GTX 1070 Ti
Vega 56

Those last 2 are probably a bit too close to $500 considering you have decided not to spend that much, and frankly, 1080s are going for less than $500 right now, so paying more for a 1070Ti strikes me as a bad deal. However, there are still some good sub $400 deals to be had for the 1070 if you decide one of the mainstream cards won't cut it. FWIW, the 1030 is dirt cheap. It's better than Intel graphics, for sure, but not by much compared to other low priced options (like the RX 560).

 

[Campy]

There was a good deal for an RX 580 4Gb at $170 last week but that seems to be over. You can get the RX 580 8GB version for $230, I would choose that over a GTX 1060 6GB that costs $40 more.

 

[Spjut]

It's possible you have to update the BIOS first, it's a common issue with the LGA 1155 motherboards

 

[VirtualLarry]

FWIW, the 1030 is dirt cheap. It's better than Intel graphics, for sure, but not by much compared to other low priced options (like the RX 560).

How would a used GTX 950 2GB stack up, to the GT 1030 and RX 560 cards, for $75 or so? I think it sits between them in performance, and most GT 1030 cards (GDDR5 version) are $80-115.

Edit: But the RX 560 comes in a 4GB variety, that might be important for future-proofing.

 

[wanderica]

How would a used GTX 950 2GB stack up, to the GT 1030 and RX 560 cards, for $75 or so? I think it sits between them in performance, and most GT 1030 cards (GDDR5 version) are $80-115.

Edit: But the RX 560 comes in a 4GB variety, that might be important for future-proofing.

Both the RX 560 and the GTX 950 should be noticeably faster than the GT 1030, and the 560 should edge out the 950. Between the 3, I would personally opt for the RX 560 because of the 4 GB of GDDR5. If it's down to the 950 vs the 1030 though, the 950 would win out for me. Used 950s are cheap, and aren't as likely to have been abused in a mining machine as some of its big brothers.

 

[beginner99]

Can you school me a bit on pros and cons of those cards? Anything I should verify on my motherboard to see if these will work (i.e. extra power connectors).

Most important thing is your power supply. Wattage and connectors. A fast gpu needs lots of power and according connectors.

Also important to know is your display (resolution, refresh rate, special features like freesync or gsync or none). For a standard 1080p 60ht display you don't need a very fast gpu.

 

[vailr]

How out of the loop am I...I don't even know if PCIe 3.0 x 16 is the standard for Video cards anymore? Man, I feel like a total newbie!

Still standard, although PCIe 4.0 motherboard slots may be replacing it in the near future, such as maybe next year. PCIe 4.0 slots should still be backward-compatible with PCIe 3.0 video cards, however.
If the current machine doesn't have USB 3.0 ports, that might be a good reason to upgrade other components, besides just the video card. The current memory standard for desktop machines is DDR4. So your Z77's DDR3 would not be transferable to modern day (Z170 & newer) motherboards.
The PSU would probably need replacement as well, for complete Haswell (Z87, H81, etc.) and newer version CPU compatibility & feature support.

 

[mdram]

amazon has the gigabyte rx580 8gb (RX580AORUS-8GD)

for 229 right now, cheaper than the 4gb version

 

[VirtualLarry]

That's a pretty decent deal.

 

[PrinceXizor]

Thanks for a lot of good info! So, my PSU is not as beefy as modern psu's tend to be to feed graphics cards. It's an older 380Watt. But, it does have a 6 pin cable. My budget is tight at the moment. Ideally I'd spring for $200-$250ish sale price to get future proofing but I'm not sure that will work given the need for a beefier PSU, potential BIOS and the aforementioned budget issues. I have to decide if I spring now for VL's deal or one like it or wait to get the $250ish type.

oh! Monitor is 23" Dell 1920 x 1080 U2312HM

 

[Markfw]

If you have power problems, my EVGA 1050TI has NO power cable required and must use less than 75 watts then, might still work for you.

 

[Ranulf]

My guess is that a Z77 mobo would have no problems with newer cards. Though maybe on power issues from the mobo but I think they've fixed that problem with the RX 570/580s. The biggest issue is your 380w PSU. Given your tight budget and that psu, I'd be looking at a 1050/1050ti or rx 560, something that does not use much power.

 

[PrinceXizor]

Starting to get at least a little bit of a feel for the low-end market both in street prices, performance and used prices. It's helping to narrow down my options.
It seems like the 1050 ti's are still trending at fairly steep (relatively speaking) prices versus RX560 (which is slightly slower).
Looking at new prices it seems we have the following.
RX 560 4GB ~ $110
GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Refurb ~ $120
GTX 1050 Ti 4GB ~ $160
RX 580 8GB ~ $220 (looking at sale history)

If I had the money, I'd probably watch and spring on one of those RX580 8GB sales that pop up regularly. Seems best bang for the buck as it compares favorably (especially at that price) to GTX 1060 6GB.

 

[happy medium]

Barely used Evga gtx1070 for $275 at Hardocp for sale section.
3 of them for sale.

Or 2 brand New. Evga gtx1070 for $325 each

https://hardforum.com/threads/2x-evga-1070-ftw2-sealed-bnib-3x-opened-tested-only.1965180/

Msi gtx1070 with a year warranty left for $265.
https://hardforum.com/threads/fs-msi-1070-gtx-gaming-x.1967424/#post-1043820795


That's the best deal.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I got a 1060 6gb for 269 on sale a few weeks ago. Very happy with it. I would not recommend a card more powerful than an RX580 or GTX 1060 with that cpu. The 1060 will play everything I have at high/ultra 1080p. I am cpu limited in some cases with an i5 2320. You cpu is a fair bit faster, but still 4core/4thread, so I think a 1060 or 580 would be a good match, and a more powerful card would be wasted at 1080p. Performance is similar, seems like the 580 has come back to reasonable prices and is cheaper than the 1060, but the 1060 will use less power.

 

[beginner99]

If I had the money, I'd probably watch and spring on one of those RX580 8GB sales that pop up regularly. Seems best bang for the buck as it compares favorably (especially at that price) to GTX 1060 6GB.

RX580 will hardly work with your PSU

Barely used Evga gtx1070 for $275 at Hardocp for sale section.
3 of them for sale.

Or 2 brand New. Evga gtx1070 for $325 each

https://hardforum.com/threads/2x-evga-1070-ftw2-sealed-bnib-3x-opened-tested-only.1965180/

Msi gtx1070 with a year warranty left for $265.
https://hardforum.com/threads/fs-msi-1070-gtx-gaming-x.1967424/#post-1043820795

nope. he has a 380w PSU. Def. not enough for a gtx 1070

 

[happy medium]

RX580 will hardly work with your PSU



nope. he has a 380w PSU. Def. not enough for a gtx 1070

He can grab a decent 450 watt psu for $30 AR. With 2. 6x2 pin connectors.

https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16817438130/specs

That's $300 for a psu and a gtx1070.

I would not but a gtx1060 for $270 . And I definitely would not buy a $240 580 that will also need a psu.

Mabe a used gtx1060 6gb for $200, but good luck finding one.

 

[Guru]

For your PSU, build and money I'd say gor for a GTX 1060 6GB. It doesn't use more than 145W even when overclocked, but I doubt you'll overclock, so 120W at max at reference clocks. Many cards do come factory oc though, so expect maybe 5-10w more consumption, but nothing more than 130w at most.

The RX 580 8GB is faster and cheaper, but at reference clocks it consumes 180W, while factory OC cards come close to 200W. At only 380W I'm not sure you'r psu can handle it.

 

[PrinceXizor]

After examining the power draw of various cards I probably could get away with RX580 (potentially) as my cpu max and card max draw would be around 320W...but...that's running at quite the edge for the PSU. So, my revised suggested list looks something like...
RX 560 4GB
GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Refurb
GTX 1050 Ti 4GB
GTX 1060 6GB

I took prices off because they are in a state of flux with new video cards around the corner. Sadly, I'm just not in a position financially at the moment to snag a good value 1060 6GB or something like it. But, then again, used prices should come down too...
Thanks to all for the info. I'm going to quote some of the relevant info (imo) in this post to consolidate it for others in my situation.

To recap, I have an i5-3750K Z77 Pro4, 16GB, 256GB SSD, 380Watt 80 Plus system feeding a standard 1920 x 1080 monitor that I wanted to upgrade from the onboard HD4000 graphics to do some gaming and CAD work.

The monitor plays a key component in video card decisions

Also important to know is your display (resolution, refresh rate, special features like freesync or gsync or none). For a standard 1080p 60ht display you don't need a very fast gpu.

Matching the GPU performance to your system is a very important value proposition

I would not recommend a card more powerful than an RX580 or GTX 1060 with that cpu. The 1060 will play everything I have at high/ultra 1080p. I am cpu limited in some cases with an i5 2320. You cpu is a fair bit faster, but still 4core/4thread, so I think a 1060 or 580 would be a good match, and a more powerful card would be wasted at 1080p.

The size of your PSU and power draw can affect otherwise attractive video cards that might objectively be slightly faster than its competitor

For your PSU, build and money I'd say gor for a GTX 1060 6GB. It doesn't use more than 145W even when overclocked, but I doubt you'll overclock, so 120W at max at reference clocks. Many cards do come factory oc though, so expect maybe 5-10w more consumption, but nothing more than 130w at most. The RX 580 8GB is faster and cheaper, but at reference clocks it consumes 180W, while factory OC cards come close to 200W. At only 380W I'm not sure you'r psu can handle it.

I'll post again here when I actually get a card. Thanks again!