Decent Budget Video Card Recommendations?

[derspiess]

I think I ask you guys for advice on this every few years and you have always steered me the right way.

My aging desktop PC's motherboard finally went kaput.  It was kind of a mercy killing, because the OS was in desperate need of a clean install and there were other issues.

So since I needed to get some video editing and other stuff done I did an "emergency build".  Ended up with a Core i5-6500 processor and a GA-Z170XP-SLI motherboard and 16GB of memory.  Added a 250GB Samsung SSD and Blu-ray drive and put it in a cheap but really well-made case.  Not a kick-ass gaming rig but should do the trick for me for a while.

Held off on getting a video card-- running off the processor's built-in memory processing thingy.

So what would be a decent budget video card for light to moderate gaming?  Or what specs should I look for?

TIA

[Grey Fox]

Viper will come along & a propose a AMD card.

Buy that. It's what I did. I am very, surprisingly, satisfied.

[DontSayBanana]

I think I ask you guys for advice on this every few years and you have always steered me the right way.

My aging desktop PC's motherboard finally went kaput.  It was kind of a mercy killing, because the OS was in desperate need of a clean install and there were other issues.

So since I needed to get some video editing and other stuff done I did an "emergency build".  Ended up with a Core i5-6500 processor and a GA-Z170XP-SLI motherboard and 16GB of memory.  Added a 250GB Samsung SSD and Blu-ray drive and put it in a cheap but really well-made case.  Not a kick-ass gaming rig but should do the trick for me for a while.

Held off on getting a video card-- running off the processor's built-in memory processing thingy.

So what would be a decent budget video card for light to moderate gaming?  Or what specs should I look for?

TIA

DX12 is a must, because a game developed with DX12 can make much more efficient use of a multi-core CPU.  If you're only looking for light gaming a GTX 9xx card should let you game pretty comfortably, especially if a GTX 970 is in your price range.

[DontSayBanana]

Viper will come along & a propose a AMD card.

Buy that. It's what I did. I am very, surprisingly, satisfied.

It seems like AMD got their mojo back once they introduced the R9 cards.  My R9 280 does just fine for my purposes.

[viper37]

I think I ask you guys for advice on this every few years and you have always steered me the right way.

My aging desktop PC's motherboard finally went kaput.  It was kind of a mercy killing, because the OS was in desperate need of a clean install and there were other issues.

So since I needed to get some video editing and other stuff done I did an "emergency build".  Ended up with a Core i5-6500 processor and a GA-Z170XP-SLI motherboard and 16GB of memory.  Added a 250GB Samsung SSD and Blu-ray drive and put it in a cheap but really well-made case.  Not a kick-ass gaming rig but should do the trick for me for a while.

Held off on getting a video card-- running off the processor's built-in memory processing thingy.

So what would be a decent budget video card for light to moderate gaming?  Or what specs should I look for?

TIA

The RX 480 will let you play anything at max graphic settings on 1080p.  You could reach 1440p resolution on some games that support DirectX 12 or Vulkan (like Ashes of the Singularity).

The 8gb versions sells for 400$, the 4gb around 300$US.

The R9 380 could be a good card too, closer to 220$.

If you use any 3rd party software to overclock your computer, make sure they don't interfere with AMD's automatic fan control.  These cards can run pretty hot when gaming.

If it's still too much, you'll have to take a look at the R9 250x or 270.  They're for really light gaming though, but they sell under 200$.  Or you wait a couple of months 'til AMD releases the R9 490x and then you snatch a 480 at a reduced price.

[viper37]

Viper will come along & a propose a AMD card.

Buy that. It's what I did. I am very, surprisingly, satisfied.

finally, someone understands!

[Grey Fox]

PCgamer likes the RX 470 alot.

[derspiess]

Thanks, guys.  I was looking for something under $150 but I'll shop around and see what I can find.

[Barrister]

Thanks, guys.  I was looking for something under $150 but I'll shop around and see what I can find.

Ignore Viper.  NVidia is dominant in the market, and unfortunately makes deals with game companies to optimize their games for NVidia.

For $150 you can definitely get a GTX 950, you might be able to find a 960.  It'll do you just fine unless you're trying to max out framerate on a FPS game.

[viper37]

AMD does deals with other game makers.  Deus Ex and Ashes of the Singularity worked better on AMD cards than Nvidia until Nvidia adapted their drivers for it.  Dragon Age Inquisition ran better on AMD.


@Derspiess:
Look for a R7 260x or R7 250x.  It is for very light gaming, nothing fancy.  Take the 4gb edition.