[Question] Time for a new GPU

[David]

I've continued operating on my old Nvidia 9800 GT since I got my current computer and it seems to have finally lost the ability to output out of one of its DVI ports, making dual monitors impossible, which I would very much like to fix. My PC specs otherwise haven't changed since I bought it, but it seems the type of card I have now and PatrThom's original recommendation are now off the shelves unless I want to risk a refurbished eBay card.

What would currently be a good choice in cards to get for a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot? Something cheap and equivalent to the specs of what I had (originally purchased something like 5 or 6 years ago) would still be great, but I wouldn't say no to improving performance, either, if better cards can now be had within the $100-200 price range. And is it worth spending more for a 2.0 card at this point, or will they likely be too obsolete by the next time I get a new mobo in a couple of years to recycle onto my next PC build?

 

[PatrThom]

Are you limited at all by how many slots it can take up, or how many extra power plugs you have on your power supply?

--Patrick

 

[GasBandit]

If nothing else, you can replace your 9800 gt for 69 bucks plus shipping. In fact, I may do that for my old PC just to get it up and going again as a file server. You never realize how dependent on one machine your network is until it is off of it.

 

[PatrThom]

The 9800 is just the 8800 on a smaller process (i.e., less heat) so it's pretty well supported (by operating systems, games, etc.).

--Patrick

 

[GasBandit]

The 9800 is just the 8800 on a smaller process (i.e., less heat) so it's pretty well supported (by operating systems, games, etc.).

--Patrick

Yeah, I compared the two out of curiosity. The 9800 GT has 95% of the benchmark performance of my departed 8800 GTX, and at around 1/5th the cost today (and close to 1/9th what the cost was at new).

Take that, wallet! Moore says you can suck it!

 

[David]

Are you limited at all by how many slots it can take up, or how many extra power plugs you have on your power supply?

--Patrick

Nope, plenty of room in the case, especially if I'm removing the old card. I think if I do get another 9800, I might even be able to SLI it with the other one. It seems to be otherwise functional aside from the burnt out port. I just really want dual monitors.

 

[PatrThom]

If you're looking to stay NVIDIA (which I would recommend to avoid driver hassles, but mainly because litecoin mining has absolutely decimated the good AMD cards), then I would recommend two choices:

Budget: Geforce GTX 660 (Under $200)
Upgrade: Geforce GTX 770 (Just over $300)

There are others, of course, but they're more than $300. Much more.

--Patrick

 

[Frank]

I'm probably about to upgrade to a Sapphire R290. The performance of that monstrosity (comparable to a Titan) is absurd for it's price (about 400). The new 3rd party cards have better fans on them and run MUCH cooler than the lava hot AMD spec cards.

I say probably because apparently there are none for sale anywhere.

 

[PatrThom]

I say probably because apparently there are none for sale anywhere.

Yep. I mentioned that in my post.

It seems that Litecoin mining is eating all the GCN (Graphics Core Next) cards.

I seriously wonder if we will see a shortage of the newer 2013 Mac Pros as a result, since they are basically just two high-performance GCN-based GPUs enclosed in a quiet, power-efficient package, which is a Litecoin miner's wet dream.

--Patrick