Which GPU should I buy?

Hello!

As I've FINALLY taken the plunge and bought BeamNG.Drive, I managed to hit a snag in the graphics department. My custom-built PC is from around 2014, and is still trucking (now with Windows 10 64bit installed.) Intel Core I3 3.4GHz CPU, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD is what I've got; sadly, the GPU is merely Intel HD integrated graphics. WHAT ARE SOME GPU SUGGESTIONS??? I'm trying to work with a budget of $150 or less, and I'm NOT giving up on my old computer (I built it with mods in mind from the start!) Any USEFUL insight would be great.

Thanks,
Joshua M.

 

The first thing you need is a better CPU. BeamNG is a very CPU-intensive game, especially if you want to spawn multiple cars. I recommend a desktop i5 or better.

As for GPUs, I have an RX 580 that works well. With 4 gigs of video memory it's just under your budget, and with 8 it's just over.

 

I would recommend looking at used video cards if you want to get more performance and save money. I bought an used GTX 1070 for 170 euros last year and I've been using it without any issues since. If you have a budget of $150 I would recommend looking if you can get an used RX 480/580 or a GTX 1060. I can vouch for the RX 480 as I owned one (4GB version) for a few years and it ran BeamNG.drive without any issues.

If buying used is not an option I would look at buying a Nvidia GTX 1650 or an AMD RX 570.

 

your cpu is definitely going to be a bottleneck once you get a gpu. but if you only want a gpu right now, something like a 1050ti would work just fine for now, just don't expect 1080p on high graphics settings

 

I'd get a used MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G. Despite the concerns of the 3.5Gb issue, I have never noticed it becoming an issue, even if I ran games at 1440p ultra or 3840x2160 (4k) with mixed high/ultra settings.

I'd get the 970, and overclock it to whatever your card can do - you'd gain at least another 15-20% of performance over a stock card, and would easily best the 1060, and match an overclocked 1070 is you bios mod the card.

Heres a video or 2 of my GTX 970 running metro exodus at 4k medium settings, I got around 30fps with my shitty PSU, but if you have a better PSU above 600watts, you can expect 45fps at these settings. And that 45fps is at 4k, you'd easily be able to get above 60fps at 1080p/1440p.





And depending on your CPU, you said its an i3, but what generation is it and whats its turbo speed?

 

2070 ti

 

That card doesn't even exist

 

If anything, a better CPU would be better at first, so I'd recommend going with something like a Ryzen 5 2600 (or something bit cheaper) & invest into a 1050Ti, as AMD CPUs don't have built-in graphic cards. That combo would do you good till the time when you would want to upgrade it further once you get money

 

What generation is your i3? If possible you could get a cheap i5 or even i7 from the same generation, and then spend the rest of your budget on a dedicated graphics card.