I don't think this is the right time to buy a new rig, but someone can lend me their old pc: dual core 2.4GHZ, 4GB ram, Win7 64bit; I don't remember the name of the GPU, but it's something that'd barely run The Witcher 1...
So I was thinking to slap a new video card on it and maybe some more RAM, and use it until I decide to get a new PC (probably another year or so). Seeing as it's got only a 300w PSU, the choice is between a GT 1030 and an RX 550. I could also get a 1050 for 40€ more but I'm worried about the wattage, plus I imagine the CPU would bottleneck it badly anyway. That said, I have some doubts:

1) At the moment the GT 1030 seems the best choice, especially for the super low watt comsumption (20-30). Is there any reason to opt for a RX 550 instead? It seems to be slightly more powerful but it's more expensive, and the official AMD page recommends a 400w PSU minimum (even if it shouldn't use more than 50w at any time, so I guess a 300w PSU should be enough).

2) Most amazon reviews say the 1030 is a great 45€ card... and yeah, I imagine it is... except that now it's doubled in price everywhere. What the heck happened? Bitcoin miners?

3) Apparently at the end of the month Nvidia is launching its next gen GPU series... should I wait for that and hope that it'll make price drop a bit (or maybe better budget GPUs)?

4) I'm not clear on the exact power of the 1030. Most recent AAA games list the GTX 660 as minumum requirement so I compared them, and according to multiple sources the 1030 is quite weaker... and yet I read it's enough to play even TW3 at high settings. Could I run some recentish games with it? Obviously I'm not aiming for 4k 60fps fluff, but it'd be nice if it could run XCOM2, even at mid/low settings.

Don't know what to tell you about the video card, but bumping up to 8GB RAM should improve nearly everything you do on that PC. On a budget, I would start there unless RAM is on one those stupid periodic price spikes.

Got a buddy who will loan you 8GB of compatible RAM for a few hours, to try it out and see what sort of improvement you get?

1) The GT1030 is the best choice given the comsumption. It could bottleneck in some cases compared to a 1050, but the low consumption makes up fot it.

2) Prices have raised thanks to the cryptocurrency madness. The recent decrease in value has lowered the demand for GPUs, but prices haven't lowered yet. We still need to wait some more time for that to happen.

3) nVidia will launch high end GPUs first (1180, 1170 and 1160 this year). Don't expect a replacement for the 1030 anytime soon. Still, it could have a positive impact on prices of the previous generation (GT 1030 included).

4) I think a GT 1030 is slightly less powerful than a GTX 660. Don't expect too much but it will be more than enough in most cases for such an old computer.


And for the PSU, I wouldn't fear much, a GT 1030 surely has a lower TDP than your previous card, whatever it is. So if it runs, the 1030 should too.


And as HereForTheBeer, if your computer allows you to, increasing the ram might be a good idea.

I've got one I can sell you. Built it myself.

$2000 and it's yours!

Nvidia and AMD's power recommendations take in account that there are (many many) people who have/buy cheap ass crappy PSUs.
A Corsair RX 550 supplies ANY GPU, and then some...

You mention your 300W PSU, but give no details on it. A decent 300W one will have no problems with a GTX1050, provided it has the necessary cables (if needed). A crappy 300W PSU... etc...

You're right, that's something I should do. Only problem is, now I have to read up on RAM as well. :P 2) I'm just surprised that even the budget cards were hit like this. I thought the gold rush mostly affected mid-high end GPUs. But then again, it's not like I was paying much attention to the whole thing...

3) That's an important piece of info I had overlooked. Thanks! Yup, that's because I don't know what it is. :) The pc is not mine (not yet at least) and I still have to go and fetch it. The specs I mentioned are just what my friend told me. But, it's an old machine, at least 8 years old, so whatever the PSU is it's probably not that great, and I'd rather not push my luck with it. I was just wondering how your new rig was doing. I'd totally buy that, but Donald's new tariffs would keel me.

First of all, you should find exactly what components that old PC has inside and then decide if you need a new graphics card or power supply. Use this calculator to figure out your power needs. If you want to buy a new power supply, it's best to buy from the start a very good one and then use it next year in the new PC. I would buy the Seasonic Focus Plus 650 Gold, which is an excellent PSU with 10 Years Warranty.

After you find out what GPU is inside the old PC, check these charts and compare it against the new ones. gpuboss.

Be careful with GeForce GT 1030, though, as Nvidia sells a much weaker version (with DDR4 instead of GDDR5) under the same name and similar price. Yes, they are that dishonest. Watch these videos and you'll understand.

I think you should probably wait, at least untill next month, when Nvidia supposedly will launch new cards. And then in spring, AMD will launch their new line of GPUs. It's also rumored that RAM prices should go down around spring time.

You can play quite a lot of games with 4GB of RAM if you make sure the OS and other programs stay under 1.5GB added up. That is quite hard with Windows 10 or Vista but possible with Windows 7.

Your specs are way better than mine, yet i got TW1 running: only had trouble around the fire. I'm smelling that your issues come from software or un-smart settings.

My rig

That reminds me I was supposed to check what kind of RAM exactly I have on this old gaming laptop, in order to bump it from 8GB to 16GB. Just to make it more future-proof: whenever I am thinking of reviving some old PC or laptop by e.g. installing a recent version of Linux into it, the first thing I wish was that it would have more RAM. So IMHO it is better to expand it further while stores are still selling the right kind of RAM for your PC...

I don't want to open the machine to check it as the current 2x 4G sticks are in two memory slots under the laptop keyboard, I'd have to open the whole laptop apart. The 3rd and 4th free memory slots are in an easier place (just remove one screw and pop a lid out), so I guess I will add two more 4GB SO-DIMM sticks into them. But first I want to make sure which speed (frequency) the existing memory sticks are and possibly other information...

For some reason CPU-Z doesn't tell that much information about the memory, e.g. it tells at what frequency they are currently running, but not what their nominal frequency is (1333 or 1600 MHz I presume). Anyway, googling for it, I found the right way to do it in Windows 7 (all Windows versions from XP to 10); in the command prompt:

wmic MEMORYCHIP get >data.txt
start data.txt

(remember to disable Format => Word Wrap in the Notepad menus so that it is readable)

Yep, exactly the information I need, giving even detailed information like the manufacturer, part number, even the freaking serial number... No second guessing what kind of memory you have installed. Googling for the part number, I found that these are the memory sticks that my laptop currently has:

https://starmicroinc.net/elpida-4gb-ddr3-1600mhz-204-pin-laptop-memory-ebj40ug8bbu0-gn-f/

For instance, I am unsure when one should select DDR3, and when DDR3L (=low power)? Is the low-power version suitable to all machines that accept normal DDR3? Are there downsides to using DDR3L instead of DDR3, e.g. lower speed?

Low power and standard RAM are NOT freely exchangable! The motherboard must support both for you to be able to switch between them. Few do.

Btw, you could use one of these versions to avoid creating extra files.

List directly in the prompt:
wmic memorychip get /value

Clipboard:
wmic memorychip get | clip

Sorry to use this same thread, but it is related and I don't want to start a new thread just for this:

I noticed that here in Finland they are asking like 43€ for one 4G 1600MHz DDR3 SO-DIMM stick (brand seems to be quite often Kingston or Corsair), while the US site I linked to earlier was selling the same brand I already have (Elpida?) for like half a price.

This lead me to go check online prices at e.g. Aliexpress.com (China)

https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20180803233523&SearchText=so-dimm+ddr3+1600+4gb

It is just that I don't recognize any of the brand names there (Klissre? MLLSE? Kefu? Adata?). Then again, I didn't recognize the brand I have on my laptop already (Elpida?).

I have no idea why there is so much variance in the price, so of course getting the RAM for half the price sounds enticing (free shipping from AliExpress). Does it really matter what RAM brand you buy, are there brands to stay away from etc.?

I don't know why RAM costs so much more here (taxes?), or is it just that some brands are much more expensive than others? Better too?

Oh ok. I originally decided to get it on a text file as by default the prompt output would wrap the lines, making it unreadable. But yeah that gives a nicer readable list on the command prompt too.

Elpida and A-Data are good, those others you mentioned should be avoided as I have never heard of them unless someone else can vouch for them.