A graphic card for SL

[DorianDiaz]

Hi there residents! I'd like to spend more time in sl so I'm planning to buy a graphic card (my pc doesn't have one). And I need suggestions please. I have a desktop pc:
mainboard Asus H81M-K
intel core i3-4130 cpu 3.4 ghz
600w
4gb ram and win7 ultimate 64bits
I'm not looking for superhyperultra HD transdimensional quantum quality XD, I talk about a mid-tier card I just wanna have a good experience.
There are tons of cards out there, I've been doing my homework and I realised there's a short list of cards that are compatible with sl
Thanks for your help!

[Alwin Alcott]

there are a lot of graphic cards compatible with SL, nearly all are based on AMD or NVIDIA technology.

Most people will tell to get one of the last, it works smoother with SL.

 

The advice you get?... get a good as possible graphics card, depending on what the machine can handle, your purse can afford... and of course if your machine still is having the value to upgrade it with new graphics.

Seeing you have i3( first quarter 2013 ), 4gb and W7 it's not likely a very new machine.

[DorianDiaz]

I have it 2-3 years ago, did it get old? so soon? wow! Well I've tried to run sl using older machines of some friends... with 2 gb ram!!! and it worked (low-mid quality) but it worked! Anyway , as I said, I'm not looking for highest performance, and by the way LL recommend this: Processor: 2-GHz (Windows 7) 64-bit,  I think mine is quite better than that. Thank you again!

[Qie Niangao]

There are so many to choose from and more added all the time so it's hard to make a universally useful suggestion. At the moment, just for an example, you might consider the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB for having good price/performance, but you may have in mind spending more or less money and there are plenty on offer at a wide range of price points.

[LinuxGod4u]

UPDATED 2/1/17: A decent running custom built desktop relies on the combo of parts you choose to purchase whether ir runs SL fast, or sluggishly.. It is like building a high performance drag car engine its horsepower output depends on the combo of parts you chose to use.. For example, I could say you need a Nvidia GTX 1080, BUT it'd be severely bottlenecked by your CPU, etc. PNY has released a new Nvidia GTX 1050ti sold only at BestBuy. I'd recommend it with a resident currently using an Intel i3 CPU for SL use:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/pny-xlr8-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-2gb-gddr5-pci-express-3-0-graphics-card-black/5711723.p?skuId=5711723

Also, after recently testing both (2017) Singularity & Firestorm viewers on W/10 Home x64 & current Debian Linux x64 distros IF you plan on prolonged sessions in SL you'll need a min. of 10-12 GB system RAM; especially using the latest Firestorm x64 viewers. FYI I am fully aware its an older thread, BUT it is also a commonly asked question too!

"I Love Simplicity"

 

[DorianDiaz]

---

LinuxGod4u wrote:

First off I highly advise you to double your RAM to 8GB. Do not go by SL's site of recommended cards; since they are way outdated models. Here are a two cards that would run well with your setup (w/8GB RAM.) 

https://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-GeForce-DisplayPort-Graphics-ZT-70605-10M/dp/B00M27TSJS/ref=sr_1_3?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1478011794&sr=1-3&keywords=gtx+750+ti&refinements=p_6%3AATVPDKIKX0DER%2Cp_72%3A1248879011

OR

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-GAMING-Support-04G-P4-6253-KR/dp/B01MF7EQJZ/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1478011994&sr=1-1&keywords=gtx+1050&refinements=p_6%3AATVPDKIKX0DER

At some point in time you might want to upgrade your CPU to an i5 quadcore that is compatible with your motherboard. Also, you might check BestBuy from time to time they have an EVGA GTX 950 SSC *at times* is on sale @ approx. $149.99--Good luck!

 

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Thank you! Should I upgrade my CPU in order to install those cards?

[DorianDiaz]

I'll agree with you about the RAM, many people have suggested the same. Thank you again.

[Dean Haystack]

Before anything make sure you have an extra RAM slot available, the Asus H81M-K only has 2 slots for DDR3 @ 1600 MHz MAX.

So do you have one 4GB stick or two sticks with 2GB each for a total of 4GB?

If you have two sticks of 2GB the best you can do is get rid of those and buy 2 sticks of 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz RAM, since the Asus H81M-K can only handle 16GB of RAM max.
Alternatively if you only have one stick of 4GB of RAM, buy another one (of the same frequency, 1600, 1333 or 1066 you need to check) so you can had to have 8GB and not having to spend a lot of money.

Now, for the GPU which is what you were asking, and considering your CPU, I'd go with:
AMD RX 460
GTX 1050
GTX 1050Ti
AMD RX 470
In that order, according to how much you wanna spend, check availability near you.
A GPU better than that would be rather pointless since it would be bottlenecked by your CPU.

[DorianDiaz]

uhm... when I bought the PC, the seller told me I could expand the RAM to 32gb.

I've just checked the Asus web, it says my board has 2 slots for DD3 but it doesn't especify how much gb should they be.

https://www.asus.com/websites/global/products/J1D1WkOCtnPeMshg/line.jpg

how could you confirm that?

 

[DorianDiaz]

Nice suggestion. Trouble is now I have to buy a piggy bank and begin to save some money hehehe. I just have money for one graphic card and one RAM memory. But your upgrades list is pretty cool. I'll really buy a piggy bank hoho =D. Thank you!