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A friend proposes to sell me a (brand new) graphic card she won't use, and... I don't know if it could be interesting for me because I don't know enough concerning this subject XD And so, if some could help, I would appreciate :)

Here are my current specs (of a well working old second-hand pc) :
Windows 7 64 bits
Intel Core i5 2300 @ 2.80GHz
6Go Ram DDR3
Motherboard : Packard Bell ixtreme M5850
NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 1,5Go Ram
It was a "prebuilt" pc (packard bell "ixtreme").

She proposes me to buy this graphic card :
Asus Geforce 730 with 2Go Ram DDR3 (with passive cooling)

Could this be interesting for me ?
Are there things I should be aware ? Things to think about ? (Can I simply change the graphic card without thinking of power needed for example ?)
Is it easy to change myself ?
Should I be afraid of compatibility issues with some GOG games ?
Is there a real difference in performances & cooling compared to my current card ?

I'm not planning to play recent games, but if it can permit me to play some more "asking" games without fearing melting down my graphic card, it could be nice (I'm thinking about games like Anno 1404, Age of Wonders 3, Shadow Warrior 2013...).

In short, is it worth it to upgrade -especially since everything is currently running well on my comp-, or should I better don't bother, keep my money and wait for a better occasion ?
Thanks in advance for any help or opinion :)
Post edited May 02, 2017 by Splatsch
GT730 should draw less power than GT440 so there shouldn't be any power issues, but GT730 is still a weak card. Personally I wouldn't buy it, rx 550 (not at current prices) or gtx 750 (second hand) should be better buys.

Cards should be easy to switch.
Post edited May 02, 2017 by OlivawR
That is so little of a change that it is not worth any money at all. In fact, it's difficult to say for sure which card is better.
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OlivawR: GT730 should draw less power than GT440 so there shouldn't be any power issues, but GT730 is still a weak card. Personally I wouldn't buy it, rx 550 (not at current prices) or gtx 750 (second hand) should be better buys.

Cards should be easy to switch.
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misteryo: That is so little of a change that it is not worth any money at all. In fact, it's difficult to say for sure which card is better.
Okay, that's what I was suspecting :) (it's for 30€ but if that's for almost no change, well I should better keep my money, she'll totally understand :P)
Thank you very much you two, you helped me a lot !
Post edited May 02, 2017 by Splatsch
Do you want a worthy upgrade? Buy a used R9 27x - 28x // nvidia 57x - 68x and 500-600W psu from reputable seller. These cards are smart enough to power-up only on power draw and will be good bang for the buck. You'll be able to play most of the games in this configuration.
The cards that you have are basically.. framebuffer with video-acceleration, very low 3d/2d only.
Post edited May 02, 2017 by Lin545
I would recommend getting a GTX card, check the second hand market in your country. As for installing a card is very easy, just check manual for your motherboard and connect the powersupply to the card. Just to give you an idea about performance I use a 770 GTX card which is a few years old with a i5 3570k and on mid-high settings on most games I get 50-60 fps like Witcher 3.
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OlivawR: GT730 should draw less power than GT440 so there shouldn't be any power issues, but GT730 is still a weak card. Personally I wouldn't buy it, rx 550 (not at current prices) or gtx 750 (second hand) should be better buys.

Cards should be easy to switch.
This -- A ( second-hand ) GTX 750 would probably be a good choice for a low budget upgrade. And it does in fact handle games such as Shadow Warrior 2013 quite well.
Thanks for all your advices :)
Well, even if I hope and will certainly upgrade one day, that's not planned in a close future, but still thanks a lot ! Since I've a very low budget, here it was because there was the occasion to have a new graphic card at a very low price through a friend, but since it's not really worth it according to you, that'll have to wait :P
But I would've never thought my current graphic card would be so much equivalent to this new one, who was out ~4 years later XD
The GTX 750 sounds nice, I'll keep that in mind ;)
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Lin545: nvidia 57x - 68x
nivdia 57x - 68x... That's what models for example ? (remember I only have very basic knowledge :P)
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amund: As for installing a card is very easy, just check manual for your motherboard and connect the powersupply to the card. Just to give you an idea about performance
Concerning powersupply, is information easy to find, or can it be too technical for someone like me ?

A last question : how do you consider my motherboard & processor ? enough if I upgrade to something like a GTX 750/GTX 770 one day?
Post edited May 02, 2017 by Splatsch
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Splatsch: nivdia 57x - 68x... That's what models for example ? (remember I only have very basic knowledge :P)
Whatever possibly suits your existing PSU or your wallet. 570, 580, 660, 670, 680 are all good gaming cards. The 7xx-9xx generation is sure better tech-wise, but it currently also priced higher. You can compare the performance of the cards with this common nominator (higher-better). As long as you are faster than 4000, you are good.


As of PSU, check how much Amper it delivers through +12V rail. Look at PSU label and find Amper output value for +12V. Then: Amper x 12V = xxx Watt. For example, if it delivers 20A at +12V, it can fuel up to 240 W card. See the TDP table of GPUs above!

Of course the 12v cables should also be there, you typically need two 8-pin power wires for 200w cards. If your PSU has only one 12v cable, find the card which is ok with only one cable. If your PSU has no 12v cables, you can drive a card with a maximum of "one 6-pin cable", which you power via Molex-12v adapter.

Again, they are smart enough to downscale the usage. If you don't do heavy 3d, they will not use much - 1W...30W tops.

Or get a PSU as well.. but this is another story, which increases costs...
Post edited May 02, 2017 by Lin545
680 (in fact everything that needs the extra pin) is a waste of money because if you factor the PSU price you equal the 1050ti which has the same performance or better (it will do better than anything below 680).
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OlivawR: 680 (in fact everything that needs the extra pin) is a waste of money because if you factor the PSU price you equal the 1050ti which has the same performance or better (it will do better than anything below 680).
Just checked:
680 rating is 5697 and sells used in ebay.fr for 100 eur
1050ti rating is 5791 and sells min in ebay.fr for 157 eur
Post edited May 03, 2017 by Lin545
Stick with a gtx 1050TI card it draws only 75watts from the pcie slot and does not need a psu to power through cables, and its a dual slot tiny card. this little guy here can rock 5 to 8 or even 20 fps on some games more then a GTX 680 4gb model.
so win win enjoy and stick with this little monster cause it can max a decent lot of games at pretty much max settings a decent fps at a hell of a cheap price!.

Link showing card and price

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-GAMING-Support-04G-P4-6251-KR/dp/B01MEFABEL/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493758815&sr=8-1&keywords=gtx+1050ti

The card is 15 fps away from being in gtx 970 4GB territory which is pretty impressive.
Post edited May 03, 2017 by UnrealQuakie