Current Events > Just got a PC for a steal, what graphics card do I need?

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Was looking around on facebook marketplace and as usual it's full of trash. However something caught my eye, a Dell XPS that was being sold for about $400 but had a hell of a lot of decent gear on it. I'm talking an i7-3930K overclocked, 12GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB SSD, and an ATI Radeon HD 8950 GDDR5. All in all, not a bad buy for $400.

When I picked the system up I was met with a woman who said she didn't care about the computer and she wanted to buy an iPad instead. She was going through a divorce and her husband had said "don't sell the computer, it's worth a lot of money and it's part of your divorce settlement" - but she sold it anyway. Her loss.

The system tag says it's from 2013 and apparently the divorce proceedings have been going on since 2018. The computer's been sat in a corner for about a year, running 24/7, and was full of dust. Literally you could make a sculpture of the internals because of the amount of crud inside. To make matters worse the woman had let the computer run in a corner that was a bit leaky, so the graphics card and RAM is completely shot. Ran a voltmetre across it and it looks like the mobo somehow survived without issue.

Anyway, TLDR and all that, I need a new graphics card for this machine. It's replacing an ATI Radeon HD 8950 3GB GDDR5. What specs should I look to replace it with? In fairness, I have a decent-spec Omen that I can use to run Cyberpunk and I'd only use this Dell to play older games, so I don't really need top-spec gfx. I've never quite got my head around graphics cards and PCI-E and all that shite so any advice would be appreciated.

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Luigi and Tails posted...

but had a hell of a lot of decent gear on it. I'm talking an i7-3930K overclocked

A nearly decade old CPU that is beat by even a $100 10100f

Why did you buy this
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you need an RTX 3090

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MarthGoomba posted...

A nearly decade old CPU that is beat by even a $100 10100f

Why did you buy this

Read the rest of the post the SSD plus the RAM is pretty good going even with an old CPU that can still run most games these days.

FL81 posted...

you need an RTX 3090

Lol stop projecting I don't need anything fancy, this PC is replacing my backup computer. That is defo in need of replacement as it's a 16 year old machine with a Pentium 4 processor and similarly rubbish specs.

Always thought GFAQs was decent for helping with PC gaming but perhaps I'm too old now.

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Luigi and Tails posted...

Read the rest of the post the SSD plus the RAM is pretty good going even with an old CPU that can still run most games these days.

You could have spent the same or less on modern parts with better performance than decade old used parts
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you paid 350 dollars too much.

that 3rd gen i7 aint running SHIT

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Honestly TC, you got hosed.

That CPU is $100 on a good day.

But if you're serious, a GTX 1070 can be had for sub-$200.

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My 8 slice toaster can run games better.

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TC check out my new PC
https://i.imgur.com/dRnvRZZ.jpeg

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I don't want to join the chorus but yeah that is a rip, TC. Those specs are simply too old.

But there can be hope. I'd start with getting, at least, an RX 580 or 1060s if you want to do High/1080p. Going from there will most likely require a new motherboard.

Make sure the case is fully dusted out and familiarize yourself with checking temperatures, as well as familiarizing yourself with the BIOs. CoreTemp is a good program to throw in the dash for CPU, and you can check GPU temp in the driver suite itself for AMD or MSI Afterburner for Nvidia.

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PepsiWithCoke posted...

Honestly TC, you got hosed.

That CPU is $100 on a good day.

But if you're serious, a GTX 1070 can be had for sub-$200.

That's what I needed to hear. Many thanks.

I'm in the UK so everything's way more expensive than in the USA. I appreciate there are a lot of 12 year olds on here that think daddy's cash buys everybody an uber PC but that doesn't quite work in the real world.

Would rather spend the money on my cars but I can pick up a bargain when necessary. Went out with a few hundred quid and came back with a new PC and an extra 28bhp pulley for my s/c V8, pushing it to about 575bhp.

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CommunismFTW posted...

I don't want to join the chorus but yeah that is a rip, TC. Those specs are simply too old.

But there can be hope. I'd start with getting, at least, an RX 580 or 1060s if you want to do High/1080p. Going from there will most likely require a new motherboard.

Make sure the case is fully dusted out and familiarize yourself with checking temperatures, as well as familiarizing yourself with the BIOs. CoreTemp is a good program to throw in the dash for CPU, and you can check GPU temp in the driver suite itself for AMD or MSI Afterburner for Nvidia.

Again, thanks for being honest. $400 here for such a PC is a bit of a steal, given that the same money would probably buy you something with half the specs.

The intention for this machine is just to be a backup. I don't really game that much these days, and the ones I do play are relatively benign in terms of performance requirements. I think the most intensive game I regularly play is Age of Empires 3.

I've made a note of the programmes you've mentioned, I think that'll do me quite well. Appreciate your input - I'm not looking to change the world here, but perhaps if my comp decides to pack up, I can at least park a backup in the loft just to tide me over.


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Luigi and Tails posted...

I'm in the UK so everything's way more expensive than in the USA. I appreciate there are a lot of 12 year olds on here that think daddy's cash buys everybody an uber PC but that doesn't quite work in the real world.

You absolutely did get hosed, here's a full working PC including new RAM and GPU with a modern CPU for $585 with UK avalible parts.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/4DnBht

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i would not have stolen that PC in a victimless crime situation

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lol tc got boned

PepsiWithCoke posted...

You absolutely did get hosed, here's a full working PC including new RAM and GPU with a modern CPU for $585 with UK avalible parts.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/4DnBht

Yeah, so I'm guessing you and most of the other americans on here don't understand that dollars and aren't the same thing. I paid 290, which is about half of what you suggested. Maybe learn to currency next time.

Again, just to confirm to those who think I run a potato (seriously that joke died after Portal 2 dropped off the charts), I run a more normal spec PC daily.


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oh shit dollars and pounds are different?

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its ok you got robbed just deal with it learn for next time

that's a terrible buy for 400. You're going to need to upgrade pretty much everything.

CPU - required, that one is junk.
MOBO - required for the new cpu
RAM - i GUESS you could leave it? But you'd be running an inefficiency on the clock speed
GPU - required, that one is junk
case - required to fit your new GPU
case fans - required to cool your new upgraded system

wait aren't you the guy who flosses his luxury cars on the cars'n'trux board?

i assume 400 bucks is what you find under your couch cushions, so not a huge loss per se, but one of the worst computer buy's i've seen in a long long time. That unit is worth no more than $200 CAD.

Naysaspace posted...

wait aren't you the guy who flosses his luxury cars on the cars'n'trux board?

Wouldn't quite say they were luxury cars, but yes my interests lie with cars over and above IT.

In the same way someone who has a PS5 and a 75" TV to play it on has no idea what a tyre warning means on his/her Vauxhall Corsa, I'm a bloke who can quite happily swap coil packs on my Impreza but need some advice when looking at PCs.

Have I paid too much? Well, maybe. Is it a ridiculously overpriced machine? I don't really think so. It's like filling up with petrol at a service station as opposed to a normal filling station. Yes, it'll cost an extra 5% and you'll grumble about it. But, in the grand scheme of things, you bought it at the time because it made sense, and realistically it doesn't make too much of a difference.

The case is susprisingly top-spec, it's got a load of filters and in-build LEDs that fire up when the side door opens. I can count at least six fans internally and it's got full cable management so, if nothing else, that's pretty good going.

Once again, worth saying, go on ebay.co.uk and find me something for less than 300 that's got the same kit on it. I live in Surrey so it's not quite like I can do a 40 mile trip somewhere as it'll cost me about 15% of the damn PC itself for the round trip.

If you're still at odds, then look at it this way. I bought a 265bhp Prodrive Impreza for less than $4000. So, if you think I got ripped off for the computer, then I got a fucking steal on my Subaru.

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Luigi and Tails posted...

I appreciate there are a lot of 12 year olds on here that think daddy's cash buys everybody an uber PC

lmao dont be mad at us cuz you bought an 8 year old PC twice of what its worth cuz you were impatient and didn't want to do the research into buying a good pc at maybe 100 or 200 dollars more.

now you're going to spend 300 dollars on upgrading it again and again and again and wasting money when you should have just never bought it in the first place.

lmaoooo

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Your first mistake was coming to CE for help

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time out can we fucking back up a second pounds and dollars are different can someone expand on this what kind of implications are there for this news

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wait so are pounds different from lbs? Now i'm EXTRA confused

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LOL CE did you slash this guys tires
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/271-cars-and-trucks/79165649

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