Best value GPU around £100

[Zhaoman]

Hi everyone, after many years out of the desktop hardware game I am back looking for a budget GPU up to around £100 which will be for some light gaming to slot into my venerable Q6600 rig.

My first question is: what is the best value graphics card out there at the minute regardless of price? I'm talking the card that gives maximum performance + features per £. My budget is up to around £100 but I'm so out of the loop that a bit of recent market knowledge would be helpful to know and put things into context!

Secondly: is this even a good idea and would i be better served with a complete system overhaul (e.g. splash a few hundred to upgrade to a modern CPU or even an APU)? The Q6600 is still pretty much fast enough for my needs (playing the likes of SupCom on 1080p) so I don't yet feel the need to upgrade but I'm not averse to the idea.

Suggestions for best value £100 GPU, best value GPU overall and whether I should dump my trusty Q6600 system would be very much appreciated!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What games do you want to play??

IIRC,the AMD cards can be a bit more finicky with older motherboards(I might be wrong).

However,considering how old you HD4850 is now,even a £55 GT1030 would be a decent upgrade:

https://www.ebuyer.com/791766-asus-g...utm_term=47868

For example,this is how a GTX650TI compares to a GT1030:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAlyaTIjuno

Now a GTX650TI is faster than a GTS450,which is faster than your HD4850:

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/..._Cu_II/28.html

If you are looking for the fastest graphics cards at £100ish that would be the GTX1050 2GB or the RX560 4GB.

[Zhaoman]

Thanks CAT! I forgot to mention I am on a 5770 not the 4850 in my sig (although it probably doesn't make much difference!). The GT1030 looks like it could be a nice answer for me!

I just occasionally play SupCom these days but I've been meaning to get into some newer games like PUBG so I thought maybe I'd look at getting a newer card assuming the CPU will chug along. If I have time I might fire up Skyrim and try to complete it this time and maybe try some of the HD mods. I'm not too bothered though, if the CPU is going to be a limiting factor then I won't bother with it all. It would just be nice to keep this PC going and I might get a new curved monitor if my wallet will let me.

[Ravens Nest]

Thanks CAT! I forgot to mention I am on a 5770 not the 4850 in my sig (although it probably doesn't make much difference!). The GT1030 looks like it could be a nice answer for me!

I just occasionally play SupCom these days but I've been meaning to get into some newer games like PUBG so I thought maybe I'd look at getting a newer card assuming the CPU will chug along. If I have time I might fire up Skyrim and try to complete it this time and maybe try some of the HD mods. I'm not too bothered though, if the CPU is going to be a limiting factor then I won't bother with it all. It would just be nice to keep this PC going and I might get a new curved monitor if my wallet will let me.

If you do not mind taking the risk and you could put slightly more aside why not look for a second-hand Nvidia 970? there currently on ebay for around £150 and the difference it has made in performance compared to the AMD 280 i had is astonishing! (i got lucky got one from a friend for £90) or https://www.gumtree.com/ and https://en.shpock.com/ some on shpock are £100!

[cptwhite_uk]

Also worth checking Facebook Marketplace (if you have an account):

www.facebook.com/marketplace

Picked up a brand new Oculus Rift from there a few days ago for £280

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If you are wanting to play PUBG and Skyrim with mods,it might be worth getting something faster and perhaps with more VRAM too.

[Zhaoman]

Thanks for the responses guys! I'm slightly reluctant to get a second hand GPU, particularly a high end one because I never know if it's been heavily mining crypto or folding all these years. Maybe I'm being too paranoid and it's not a problem. I just have more piece of mind with a new product and I have had to return a few components before but I'll be on the lookout if a good deal comes up. I might go for a 4GB card come to think of it just to give myself a bit of wiggle room when it comes to games and monitor choices.

While we're here, do you guys have any recommendations for budget-midrange SSDs? The Samsung 850 Evo seems to get good reviews.

[rob4001]

At this point you'll do well with just on board GPU those crazy kids and their crypto mining! Whats the hash rate of a intel 620?

[shbris]

I'd go for the GTX 1050, around £120 ish for the 2GB model. To avoid the price inflation from mining, and at your resolution, try and find a card that's 2gb RAM as they are useless for miners so come cheaper

[Numpti]

For £100 the GTX 1050 2gb seems like a good bet. Although in my opinion if you're looking to game at 1080p with good settings Id say a 1050ti 4gb is much better for around £130-140. Consider looking get a good deal buying a B-stock or a second hand card for much cheaper, although that comes with problems like no warranty etc.