What's my cheapest video card upgrade option?

[moonbogg]

Larry would know what to do.

 

[Yuriman]

Larry would know what to do.

What, replace the platform, move to a Celeron and Z170 board, pick up a used HD7950?

It's actually worth considering a platform change, if OP values power consumption/heat/quietness. Skylake's iGPU is not even close to as fast as a 6790, but it's competent enough to at least run modern games, and OP doesn't PC-game much anymore.

Personally, I'd just get a cheap 80/92/120mm fan and zip tie it to the video card, until I was ready to replace the whole thing.

 

[Headfoot]

I dont know why people constantly push the 750 Ti when it just isnt that good for the price. The 370 soundly beats it for $15 more. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/xfx-radeon-r7-370-2gb-black-edition,4323-2.html. Lowest 750 Ti on Newegg = ~$100 AR, lowest 370 on Newegg = $115 AR.

And a used 7950B / R9 280 or a GTX 760 will destroy it for $100, if the used market is something OP would consider. 750 Ti is a good card for 250w OEM psu prebuilts, and thats about it.