Hey la!

I'm thunking of finally upgrading my PC at some point in the not too distant future in a galaxy quite close to home. So anyway I've got by on this old Radeon X1xxx series card but I'm just starting to notice it struggle slightly with newer games. So anyway I was on the lookout for a cheap(ish) GPU to put in a new system when I stumbled upon the GTX 750 Ti.

It appeals to me because not only is it relatively cheap but it also has really low power consumption. That means less electrickery used and, more importantly, less aggressive cooling needed. However, I notice that if I spend just a tiny bit more I can get a more powerful AMD card, though this comes at a cost of greatly increased power usage.

So my question is this: Will the GTX 750 Ti "good enough" to play modern(ish) games for at least a few years if not longer?

Well, as long as you don't mind dialing down the detail settings. I know from your overall post history that you know stuff about computer things, so you know what you're sacrificing when you drop the power draw. If I were you, and if this version of you had a few months before you had to buy a new card, I'd wait for the desktop 800 series Maxwells. The 750 gives really good performance for a 60W draw, but it's still well below what a traditional modern desktop GPU would offer. See about what news gets pushed about those 800s. In the notebook segment, they're performing almost as well as the *much* higher-consumption 7XX GTX line, and that's the kind of thing you want to see, honestly.

EDIT: Also, cooling isn't really a concern unless you're using a housing with greatly diminished space, like one of those Micro cases; or if you have a terrible PSU which should be replaced anyway. Or I guess if all your fans have become so clogged with dust and cheetos crumbs that they no longer spin XD

SECOND EDIT: Dammit I'm getting old and forgetful. This new architecture is one of the times I'd really recommend going with the larger cache. There's no SLI option on these 750 Tis, and they're not terribly powerful (though they have great perfomance to price, of course), so I'd go with the two gig version.

I must admit I know more about the software side of computers than I do the hardware. ;)

I usually end up saving a bit of money on the GPU because having the best graphics isn't a priority for me, so long as the games run ok. But you make a good point. I can afford to wait so that's probably my best option. Ironically this is what's basically happened to the fans on my current PC. I clean it out more and more often but it's still loudly wheezing whenever I boot it up. When playing games it makes sounds that I'm certain are unholy.

But yeah, the reason a low power draw appeals to me is because I'm considering a much smaller case than I'm used to.

What CPU do you have?

Well it's for a new system so I haven't decided yet, I'll probably go for something in an i3 unless I'm persuaded an i5 is really worth it.

I just picked up this exact card for a modest little rig of my own. I've mostly been a console gamer over the past several years and I'm not particularly interested in what PS or XB has to offer at the moment. The price to performance as well as the low power consumption were real draws for me, too. It's great for playing games in the past few years that I've missed out on, but will also be able to handle future releases for a while, which is just what I'm looking for.

Oh, ok, I thought you would replace the x1.... with the 750. x1... is very old, that's why I asked for the CPU.

Personally, my next build will be something with 750ti (or something with similar power draws). It doesn't have same good results as an AMD card in the same price range, but if we don't send signals to these companies that we are not living in a factory, they will still sell components requiring tons of power.

The 750Ti is basically an overclocked 750, close enough to a 760. As for CPU, i5 is the minimum for a modern gamer. Make sure you grab a modular power supply, as it helps with the cable management. The PSU should be at least a true power 650W (I'd go for 850W, but that's me).

Wow that seem like a lot of power for my needs. Even Nvidia says the really power hungry Titan can get by on a 600W PSU, and I think they tend to be a bit cautious with their power requirements because people often buy crap PSUs.

The device manager says X1300/1550 series but I can't remember the exact card. I think I really need to buy a whole new system because I've had this one for 5 or 6 years and it isn't sounding too healthy. Besides I'm certain I need more memory which will require a new motherboard which will require a new CPU...

excuse me?

Could you please explain me how you need more than 400-450W even for highend single gpu gaming PC?

There is value in going for Gold or Platinum grade if you have too much money to spend, but there is no point in getting too high yield PSU.

Then even the lowest end current card will be a huge improvement. That was low end even at the time. Sound reasoning. I still think that a 750/Ti will be good enough for you considering what you have now. The 750 is a higher tier card than the X1300/1550 was at the time.

The 750Ti is tiny, and doesn't require additional power - it gets all it needs from the mobo slot. Intel's recommendation for power supplies for the 750ti is a 300W or greater. The whole purpose of the Maxwell 750Ti is to run on a tiny power supply in a tiny box. :/

I've been recommending the 750Ti to everyone. It's a great card. On most systems, it can outperform the XBONE in Titanfall, but it's low power consumption, very small physical size, very low heat output (compared to my 650Ti) are all huge pluses. Be sure to get the 2GB model. 1GB model reviews have indicated some slowdowns. I think we're in an age where you really need to start getting the 2GB models.

(I personally have a 1GB 650Ti, but I recently installed a 2GB 750Ti card in a friend's computer. It ran every game he had on max settings with great frames per second)

(edited) i3 is much weaker.

i3's don't have Turbo Boost. See below: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/gtx_750_ti/post18
Turbo Boost gives a burst of speed.

Additionally, the i5 can have double the maximum cache as the i3. That will speed things along nicely, too.

And lastly, you can get a true 4-core i5 whereas i3's max out at 2 with hyperthreading (so it looks like 4). So you'll get better speed and hiccup-less performance with the true 4-core processor (of course the i7 can hyperthread that up for even better performance).

It's possible that the i3 will make you happy, but if you can step up to the i5, it's worth it.