Looking for a cheap GPU to replace R9 290X

[Calavera]

When I got a new PC around May 2020 my old one (intel i5-3700k, 16GB Ram, R9 290X GPU) went to my girlfriend. It had been working fine but I recently had to do a clean OS install on it. Now when a demanding 3D program runs it crashes the system to a black screen. For example the main game she wanted on it is Forza Horizon 5. It loads up to the menu and goes through the loading screens but as soon as it gets to where it would load gameplay it crashes.

I did some other tests and noticed that Dolphin and ReDream seem to run fine with no crashes because they aren't maxing out the GPU. In Dolphin I loaded up F-Zero GX and it played fine. I then cranked the internal resolution setting up so it would use more GPU power and sure enough black screen. I tried a couple of different drivers and even tried the card in the 4X PCI-E slot but it always black screens. My first thought was that it was the power supply. So I tried plugging a different PSU in just for the GPU. So I had one power supply just running the card and the other one running the rest of the system. Same result. So it appears something serious has gone wrong with it.


What is a good replacement card?

So with that card going bad I am looking for the cheapest card of equal of greater power. I know I won't be able to get one super cheap. I was hoping for around $120 or less but $150 would probably be the highest right now. What card would you recommend to replace it with? Also I'd like the replacement to not be an overheating power hog like the 290X.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

An RX 580 8GB is at about the same level as the 290x, a bit more powerful in some games, and secondhand ones are going for around $115 to $150 on ebay. You might need to get one from China, although this one is in the US.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125508078087

[ian]

Get a GTX 1070. Or if you can stretch the budget: A 2060 super.

Anything else is just spending money on something that's not even an upgrade.

1070's and 1070ti's are cheap enough now, they're a big upgrade in terms of performance and use a fuckload less power.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

1070's and 1070ti's are cheap enough now

Let's see...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234672391734

https://www.ebay.com/itm/374233053838

Depending on shipping, the first one might be in Cal's price range. It is an ex-mining card though.

[ian]

Damn shipping! But $150 for a 1070 is a hell of a lot better than $120 for an RX580.

My 1070s were ex mining, that's why they were cheap. And Ive thrashed it more gaming than a miner ever could.
Miners want to use as little power as possible to make it worth doing, whereas games will thrash out every last Hz possible for frames.

There's always a risk buying used, but I doubt anyone will be finding a decently priced 3060.

If I was going to upgrade my 1070 today I'd be getting a 3060 or 3060ti.

If the number of people I know who are still using 290's cards died, I'd find them a cheap 1070.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

When we click on the link it shows shipping to Australia, so it shouldn't be as bad for Cal.

And yes, the 1070 is a fair bit better than the RX 580. I didn't know they were that cheap now.

[Calavera]

Thanks for the recommendations. I looked on Ebay a bit at both the 580 and 1070. It looks like the 580 is around $120 while the 1070 is around $150. I didn't look too deep into benchmarks but on Userbenchmark GTX 1070 VS RX 580 it looks like the 1070 is around 40 to 50 percent better than the 580. So it would definatly be worth the extra $30-$50.

I was actually watching an auction before I posted this for an RX 590. It is currently at $116 free shipping with 5 hours left. If it didn't go much higher I was considering bidding on it. Now I probably won't since the 1070 seems to be a decent amount more powerful than the 590.

So if I can get a 1070 for around $150 that will most likely be what I go with. Thanks again for the recommendations. BG is better than any PC Reddit when it comes to asking for PC part advice!

Get a GTX 1070. Or if you can stretch the budget: A 2060 super.

Woah now! I've only got a 1660 Super myself. I'm not trying to get her a better card than I have! Even though the 1070 seems to be maybe a bit more powerful than the 1660 super.

1070's and 1070ti's are cheap enough now, they're a big upgrade in terms of performance and use a fuckload less power.

At one point in time before I bought an entirely new system and the R9 290X cards were going for fairly cheap I was actually considering buying a second one for Crossfire. That would have been a horrible idea! I'd have probably needed a 1000W PSU just to run the damn things! And not only that but the noise! One card with the fan cranked up sounds like a vacuum cleaner, double that would have been insane! Luckily I never went through with that terrible idea.

[ian]

Get the 2060 super for yourself and give her the 1660 super!

I'd only be paying at most $120 AUD for an RX580 (and I have in the past) fuck $120 USD!!! like $80 max.

I did have watercooled crossfired 290x's there for a while (after my fury nanos but before the single Vega 64 and 1070's in both single and SLI Configs.)
And yes, I had problems with an 800 watt PSU, but a GOOD Corsair 850w handled 2 of them just fine.

It's really hard to suggest ANY amd cards these days. Unless they're half the price of the NVIDIA equivalent.

For me to consider an AMD GPU at all again I'd be needing the RX 6950XT for the price they're currently selling the 6700XT for.

Any more than that and you may as well get a better performing GPU that uses less power, has less driver issues and costs a similar amount.

I really want AMD to come back to good graphics like they did with CPU's with Ryzen, but they simply can't do it and have been an also ran since 2016. An also ran that charges like they are a premium option.

[pixel]

Get the 2060 super for yourself and give her the 1660 super!

Agreed. That's how I handle any upgrades: Everything gets moved over to the next machine.