Best $100 GPU for an i5 4440

[SkyBum]

I recently helped a friend who was looking for a prebuilt on a very tight budget to find a Lenovo K450 scratch & dent for $448 shipped. i5 4440 / 8gb 1600mhz / 8.1 (actually not such a bad deal for a prebuilt)

The included card (GT 635) got replaced with his old HD 4870. Now he would like to upgrade from that 4870 but his budget is only $100 give or take a few bucks. I tried like hell to get him to grab this ASUS DirectCU II R9 270X while it could still be had for $168 (open box)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16814121802R
but he just can't swing it right now and just wants to get whatever $100 can get him until he can pick up enough overtime to do a proper upgrade around christmas.

Question: With only $100 to work with, what can he get that would give him a bit more juice? I'd told him to at least keep running the 4870 and start saving on top of the $100 he has set aside, but I think he wants to put the 4870 back in his old rig so his wife can do some basic gaming on it. Kinda bummed for him as I don't think $100 can do justice to that i5. Prove me wrong?

I don't really know much about the lower end cards lately so I'm counting on Anandtech members for some advice here.

 

[AtenRa]

SAPPHIRE DUAL-X 100314-4L Radeon HD 6970 2GB

$99,99 AR

SAPPHIRE 100366-2L Radeon R7 260X 2GB

$104,99 AR

Both of them will be more than 50% faster than the HD4870. I would go for the 260X 2GB because it is a new architecture at 28nm and way lower power than the HD6970.

 

[Flapdrol1337]

Prebuilt? surprised the psu handles the 4870, might want to doublecheck it.

 

[lyssword]

SAPPHIRE DUAL-X 100314-4L Radeon HD 6970 2GB

$99,99 AR

SAPPHIRE 100366-2L Radeon R7 260X 2GB

$104,99 AR

Both of them will be more than 50% faster than the HD4870. I would go for the 260X 2GB because it is a new architecture at 28nm and way lower power than the HD6970.

His budget system's power supply will not be able to handle 6970, that thing requires some serious juice, if I'm not mistaken gtx770/amd280x levels

 

[AtenRa]

His budget system's power supply will not be able to handle 6970, that thing requires some serious juice, if I'm not mistaken gtx770/amd280x levels

HD6970 2GB only has 20-40W more total system power consumption than HD4870. But i have also included the R7 260X that has way lower power consumption than both.

 

[frozentundra123456]

What is the power supply? I am surprised it can handle a 4870. Most OEM power supplies are around 300 watts and have no six pin connector. Unless he upgrades the power supply, my advice would be to save up a bit and get a GTX 750/750Ti. I would be reluctant to run any of the cards suggested or even the 4870on an OEM psu. GTX 750 is around 120.00 and 750 Ti around 150.00.

 

[SkyBum]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that along with swapping out the video card, he also put in a 650 w psu. Will look into these when I get home this afternoon thanks!

 

[AstroGuardian]

The choice of the CPU has nothing to do with the choice of the graphics card. You could just put an i3 and get the most powerful card on the market and it would work like charm.

I guess you could grab an Gf750 for a bit over that price and do some serious gaming.

 

[AtenRa]

Since he has a new 650W PSU at $105 AR the R7 260X 2GB is the best choice. Later he can upgrade to 20/16nm GPUs when he could spend more.

 

[Flapdrol1337]

Yeah, with a 650W psu you can run pretty much any card that fits in the case.

Anyway, $100 is a tight budget, I'd look at secondhand to make the most of it, should be able to find 7850's for that I think.

 

[lyssword]

HD6970 2GB only has 20-40W more total system power consumption than HD4870. But i have also included the R7 260X that has way lower power consumption than both.

My point about power consumption still stands
6970 has higher power consumption than gtx680 which is equal to 770. Much closer wattage to 7970(r280) than 4870

 

[MrK6]

What 650W PSU is it (make/model)? The 6970 for $100 is by far the best deal listed here, absolute steal really.

 

[lyssword]

or try used

 

[RussianSensation]

or try used

I second going used market. $100 for a shipped 7870 is a great deal.

 

[Braxos]

So 450 for CPU motherboard and ram?