Can you help me choose between these graphics? Mid-range for old PC

[phrono]

Hello!

I've been thinking for a while about buying a new graphics card to give a little life to my old PC, which is still holding up for now. Except for the graphics, because the Nvidia 8600GT with 1Gb that I have is already noticeable "old": It can barely handle Farcry 3 with all the graphics options at low, it's not compatible with Battlefield 3... and I've managed to play Skyrim, Max Payne 3 and other more or less new games but I already notice a bit of "roughness" in the graphics, especially now that they've given me an HD monitor...

Now I've got a little bit of money (too little :ugly:) and I've decided to spend it on a mid-range graphics card, if possible, with 2Gb and that will serve me for a hypothetical new computer in 1 or 2 years. I also don't want the ultra-peppy-maximum because it probably won't be compatible with my computer and besides, I don't have money... :troll:

I've been attracted to these three, but I can't decide on any... :wall: Can you help me?

Gigabyte-GV-N65TOC-2GI

Zotac-GeForce-GTX-650-Boost

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB OC

I have an ASUS P5KR motherboard, with an Intel Core 2 Duo E8200@2.66Ghz processor (Socket 775), 4Gb of RAM and a 520W power supply.

I really don't know anything about this, that's why I would like opinions about the cards, if you recommend others that are better and in the same price range (my limit is about 170€) and especially to know if these would be compatible with my current computer. I mean, I don't want to spend the money on the graphics card and then find out that I can't install it or something like that… :ffu:

Thank you all in advance, I look forward to your opinions.

[Franziskaner]

hello. without a doubt the best is the 660 OC.
the F.A will not be generic, right?
it can also be that it won't give you any bottleneck, but since you want to upgrade your computer in one or two years I think it's the best choice
it's also true that in two years Nvidia will be in the 9xx series, another option would be to buy a 650 and in two years upgrade your graphics card again.
as of today the 660OC runs BF3 with everything on ultra, BF4 is said to consume the same resources (so it will also run it with everything on ultra)
regards

[fjavi]

The 660 won't perform well on that system, although it depends on the game, but with that motherboard and that CPU, which can't even be overclocked, I see it as very limited. I would probably choose a 650 Ti, but not the 2GB one, I would put this one, which should already be much better than the graphics you have. Gigabyte GV-N65TOC-1GI - Graphics card (GeForce GTX 650 Ti, 2560 x 1600 Pixels, NVIDIA, 1024 MB, GDDR5-SDRAM, 128 Bit): Amazon.es: Computers Anyway, the 2GB one you put has better heat dissipation, as well as a better PCB and more memory, but these are graphics that, with the power they have, I doubt they will take advantage of 2GB, although it looks like a better card and it can compensate. The best price-performance is undoubtedly the 660, clearly better than the 650 Ti Boost and much better than the 650 Ti, but it will require more from the system. If you plan to hold on to the graphics for a long time and plan to change the system later, the best one is the 660, it has better price-performance than the others you put. Here I see a video with a system similar to yours and a 650 Ti, although its processor is better and also overclocked, could you overclock yours a bit?

This one doesn't seem to perform better with the 660 in BF3, they put very high graphics, lowering it a bit should perform better.

Best regards.

[Bm4n]

It all depends on how often you change, but to play well I would say the 660 which, even if you don't make the most of it, will definitely give you better results.

[Nemo]

I have the GTX660 OC 2GB in the first computer and the truth is that it runs very well with Battlefield 3 in ultra.
In addition, its cooling system keeps the graphics at about 35º at idle and no more than 50º at full sustained load.

Best regards

[amd125]

I think it's a priority to know what power supply you have, otherwise if it's a turkey brand ¬¬ at the price of the graphics card, add a decent power supply, starting at 50€ and you'll see that the change costs you a penny.

Also think about the option of putting in a second-hand micro like the Q6600 that are sold for about 50€ or a little more. With a little overclocking, it's still a great micro and will give the PC a long life. You can sell your micro for about 30€. So the change won't be expensive and you will extend the life of the PC. It's something to think about.

If the power supply is of good quality, then it's time to get the graphics card, not less than a 660 GTX or an Ati 7870. If you want them to last a while, better 2 gigas. With a Giga, games like BF3 run well at Full HD, but we don't know about future titles. And although it's hard, don't expect to be able to play future titles at Full HD on high settings when you upgrade the platform in 1 - 2 years.

Another option is to get a second-hand graphics card better than the 8600GT. You can find graphics cards that double in power or more than your graphics card for not much money. This way you get by for a year and when you save up for the platform change, you can put everything new and up to date.

[phrono]

Thank you so much to everyone for responding so quickly! Here's what's going on:

The power supply isn't good, I think ;D. It's this one: "UNYKA" ATX12VP4 520W

I haven't overclocked the CPU or anything. To be honest, I don't even know how to do that... Is it worth it? Would I notice a performance improvement in games? And most importantly, am I at risk of burning it out?

I use this PC for gaming and work (large images, videos, music...) and to be honest, for its age, it runs like a dream. The thing that's most noticeable is the graphics in games, which it doesn't handle smoothly enough anymore.

Although I hadn't considered changing the CPU and I also like it... I thought that the one I have is a pretty rare socket and that's why I hadn't even considered it. But of course, that's what happens when you don't have a clue about hardware... My idea is to change the rig precisely because of that, because I thought that I couldn't change the CPU on my motherboard for a more powerful one.

I really have no intention of changing rigs if I can extend the life of this one by a couple of years, although it's an expense that I'll have to make sooner or later. But I'd rather do it when I can afford to spend a respectable amount on a top-notch PC.

Maybe I'd be better off building the CPU that AMD125 recommends, a moderately good power supply, and a more modest card, spending a bit more money? What do you think?

Thanks again, and I look forward to your responses.

[Franziskaner]

hello
well man....
the PSU is clearly not a marvel, however, after searching and seeing, I found that there are two models, one with active PFC and another with passive PFC, if it would be the one with active PFC, "it works"
but it is almost safer to think about doing without that PSU and looking for something of quality.
the CPU.
you will notice some gain in games and more if you upgrade the graphics (it would be almost essential),
burn it? yes if you want, ;D if you do a gentle OC it's fine (it slightly shortens the lifespan)
in this same forum in the Overclock section you will find several guides:
http://foro.hardlimit.com/f-overclock-4.html/
socket quite rare? no, old and outdated ;D
changing the CPU... it is an option but it is linked to a graphics card in good condition (for gaming), if you have a lot of CPU and little graphics card it's bad, if you have a lot of graphics card and little CPU it's less bad than the first.
what I would do (to make it as least traumatic as possible)
1º change the PSU
2º save a little
3º GTX 660 OC
4º OC your current CPU (a little and to learn)
5º buy a cooler for the CPU (that is decent)
6º upgrade the CPU (and OC it)
you could also skip everything and buy the 660 OC directly, but if your PSU "dies" it may take down one or several components of your computer, and I don't think you would like to burn 170 euros
regards

[fjavi]

For me, what can most limit the OC is the motherboard. That micro on a more overclocking motherboard can go up well and should be noticeable, although perhaps on your motherboard you can get 3200 or 3400 MHz very easily, although with that power supply you can't really overclock it.

http://assets.overclock.net.s3.amazonaws.com/7/7e/7e0b24ce_vbattach79691.jpeg

But the processor is not so bad for being a dual.

Before I change the micro, I would put the graphics card to see how it goes and before I would change the power supply, which is always a better and more lasting investment, besides that it could overclock that micro a little better.

It's just that a Q6600 consumes more, that power supply, although it says those watts, I doubt they are real, I wouldn't put a quad without changing the power supply, I prefer the dual that consumes less.

The 660 doesn't consume much and here NVIDIA recommends a 450W power supply, although it will be a quality power supply. But you should already be thinking about a 4-core CPU

http://www.nvidia.es/object/geforce-gtx-660-es.html#pdpContent=2

greetings

[whoololon]

The worst part is that you get hot, which almost always happens.
You're talking about upgrading an "old" computer, so for that you only change the graphics and font.
Buying a powerful graphics card, even if you don't get the most out of it with your current setup, can be seen as an investment, as you can use it when you change the card.
To finish, it's also not illegal to lower the resolution and detail in games, but I suppose that's a matter of personal preference.

[Bm4n]

@whoololon:

To finish, it is also not illegal to lower the resolution and detail in games, but I suppose that is a matter of personal opinion.

As if not, that is a sin!!! :ugly:

Don't worry about the power consumption either because it's a card that doesn't consume much, we're talking about just over 300W for a complete system, and as fjavi said, if what you need is the card, it's the first thing you should look at and then you'll see if you need to make more changes. For example, if you see that the CPU is always at 100% in games, or that the power supply gets very hot, you can think about changing it, but if it's enough for what you have, you don't need to.

[gamingpy]

I would go for a better power supply more or less like this Cooler Master 600w and a graphics card with a gtx 660, I liked the comment from amd125 with one of 2 gb both would go very well thinking about a future where games consume more than 1GB in medium quality it would be a good investment

[amd125]

I would be a bit scared to put a new fairly powerful graphics card in that power supply. If the power supply is not of good quality, your PC will restart when you play, or if you are unlucky, it will crash and could break a component due to a voltage surge. I say this with some basis, as I have seen friends' PCs with graphics cards broken due to a bad power supply. Otherwise, I would save a little more in your place, and when you could, buy a decent power supply that will serve you for the future and for when you change platforms, and a graphics card like the one indicated to you. That within X time you see that it is going badly? Probably it will be more a matter of micro than anything else. So look for a second-hand micro as I indicated. I know it may seem like a hassle, but first try to overclock the micro. There are many guides, look for them on the forum, YouTube etc. and I have seen that your motherboard can increase the Vcore of the micro and the FSB. Now you don't know what this is, but with time and reading you will know that they are two fundamental parameters for overclocking the micro so don't worry. In current micros, overclocking is generally simple up to some parameters. In micros like yours, you had to "play" a little more but you got the same result. But changing the micro would be if you get as I say a Q6600 for example or similar for 50€ or so. I wouldn't spend much more on that platform. Then I would sell your micro and the change would have cost you 25-30€. I think it is worth it for that money.

[gamingpy]

It's true I had forgotten about the processor you have that limits it a lot :ugly:

[phrono]

Well; I think in the end I'm going to opt for the option of spending a little more, buy a reliable power supply and the GTX 660.

After assembling it and testing how the PC goes with the new components, and knowing that the power supply has the adequate margin, I will put a handsome heatsink and start messing around with the OC (after reading a lot ;D) and see how things go.

I see this as an investment: if in the near future I change the equipment, then two components less that I have to get…

Many thanks to everyone, your opinions have been very useful to me, although I don't understand half of the terms :ugly: Now I'm going to get down to reading about OC to see if I'm able to get more out of my E8200.

Greetings, thank you very much to everyone

[amd125]

If you need help to OC the micro you already know where to find us.

But roughly speaking :ugly: FSB you put it at 400 therefore the speed will be 400*8=3200

You have to raise the Voltage to the micro little by little until it starts, with 1.350 it should start but I think that if it is moderately good with less you will raise it to 3200

At the most do this, and if it starts pass it some stress test and control the temperatures.

Each micro is a world, some go up like foam and others are lazy, but I tell you that 3000-3200 you have to do it easy.

Anyway open a post and we will indicate you.

[Chino]

Forgive my intrusion in the post but I often find myself daydreaming when it comes to power supplies.
In my signature rig I have an i7 3770k @4.5ghz on an asrock z77 extreme with an hd 7950 @1000/1400, 4 SATA hard drives, 1 SSD, DVD burner, 5 12cm fans with led, 2 8cm fans with led, fan controller and card reader.
All of this is powered by a 500W LC Power that cost me 29€, I have a feeling that with yours of 520W it will be more than enough.
My opinion.

[Obione]

How brave of you (not to mention reckless, without wanting to be disrespectful). You spend about €1,000 on the equipment, OverClockeas to the fullest and skimp on one of the most important components :facepalm:

4.5GHz with an EVO is not that you are overdoing it. What temperatures do you have under full load? Either you got a very good micro or it will be quite hot.

[amd125]

@Chino:

Forgive my intrusion in the post but many times I find myself daydreaming when we talk about power supplies.
In my signature rig I have an i7 3770k @4.5ghz on an asrock z77 extreme with an hd 7950 @1000/1400, 4 SATA hard drives, 1 SSD, DVD burner, 5 12cm fans with led, 2 8cm fans with led, fan controller and card reader.
All of this is powered by a 500W LC Power that cost me 29€, I have a feeling that with your 520W one it will be more than enough.
My opinion.

From my experience, the power supply should be of quality whenever possible. I have seen many PCs with a blown power supply that unfortunately takes out the graphics card or other components. You can put in slow memory, a slow CPU, a bad graphics card… but not a bad power supply, because it can break your entire system.

I understand having a low cost PC, slow for office work with a cheap power supply. Well, I respect that more than understanding it. But not having a PC for other more powerful applications. You really don't need a 100€ power supply for a computer, depending on the components, but sometimes the difference between a bad Chinese power supply of 15-20€ and a more normal brand one of 35-40€ is worth it, even for a basic PC, I wouldn't put an unknown brand power supply.

There are brands like NOX that are not very expensive and are of quality, without having to buy more expensive brands and you can afford to have a nice power supply for not much money.

[Sylver]

@Obione:

You must be brave too (not to say reckless, without wanting to be disrespectful). You spend about €1,000 on the equipment, overclock it well and skimp on one of the most important components :facepalm:

4.5GHz with an EVO is not that you are overdoing it. What temperatures do you have under full load? Either you got a very good micro or it will be quite hot.

+1

Putting a €29 power supply in a €1000 equipment... It's a real facepalm :facepalm: that takes guts, and above all, little idea.

I am the one who has a TX650 in a mid/high range equipment and I am worried that when I overclock everything it will be insufficient...

Regards