[billybob69]

Hi all,

I've finally built my HTPC and got it running sweet. Now I've decided that I would be nice to occasionally play some games on it!

I'm mostly into racing games (with an off-road element) such as the Dirt, WRC, MotoGP and MX vs. ATV series.
I'm not too bothered about having the most recent edition of that game, as long as the game is half-way decent.

I've got MX vs ATV Reflex and have borrowed WRC 5, whilst both games run, the graphics are extremely slow

The current spec of the HTPC is -
Windows 7 (32bit)
Gigabtye GA-Z87X-OC Motherboard
Intel i3-4130T 2.90GHz
Intel HD4400
4GB RAM
3TB HDD

Bearing in mind that I'm spending on average 7GBP per game, I not going to spend anywhere close to 100GBP on a graphics card.
I haven't set myself a spending limit, just want a card which is suitable for my needs.

Recommendations gratefully received!

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[RockerC]

Just set a budget and get the best Nvidia based graphics adapter that you are willing to pay for:

http://www.pricerunner.co.uk

As the proverb goes, you get what you pay for, so spend as much as you are willing to get.

Another proverb if you are not too pick is to; buy cheap and buy often, that is to upgrade often.

[noggin]

Also worth considering a passive cooled card if you care about quiet running of your HTPC.

[billybob69]

What I did in the end is for each game that I was hoping to run, I went to a systems requirements website and marked down the minimum / recommended requirements for each game and then cross-referenced it on uk part pickers against the GPU's that were suitable for my motherboard.

On the whole the graphics cards were GT640, GT730 and GTX750 (means absolutely nothing to me!)

Doesn't look like I'll be able to get one of these cards for under £40, so's hoping that Santa Claus will put one under the tree for me!

Also worth considering a passive cooled card if you care about quiet running of your HTPC.

I hadn't thought about the noise that a GPU fan might make. Having my HTPC running quietly is important to me, so thanks for the heads up on that.

bb69

[noggin]

I hadn't thought about the noise that a GPU fan might make. Having my HTPC running quietly is important to me, so thanks for the heads up on that.

bb69

Though it's a balancing act. Passive cards will still need to dissipate heat - so may increase the cooling requirements for the case. However case fans are usually larger, so slower and quieter for a given air volume moved.

[RockerC]

On the whole the graphics cards were GT640, GT730 and GTX750 (means absolutely nothing to me!)

Those are all Nvidia graphic chips/controllers, higher modelnumber usually means faster/better, and GTX is also better than GT cards, read: http://games-n-graphics.blogspot.co.uk/2...s-gtx.html

You can get a GT730 for less than £40 but you need to pay around £100 to buy a GTX750. Compromise is to get a GT740 or better GTX740.

http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pli/37-3064...are-Prices
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pli/37-3089...are-Prices
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pli/37-2991...are-Prices
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pli/37-2991...are-Prices

Also worth considering a passive cooled card if you care about quiet running of your HTPC.

I hadn't thought about the noise that a GPU fan might make. Having my HTPC running quietly is important to me, so thanks for the heads up on that.

Main advantage with a active fan on the card is that you can today easily overclock the card to increase performance with software application tools that Nvidia provide. This means that you can get a cheaper card with a active fan to run as fast as a more expensive card that only have a passive heatsink.