Should I swap my graphics cards?
I need some advice about two graphics cards I already have. My husband, John, has built me a new computer and I wanted to try it out playing Sims 4. I used to play Sims 2 a long time ago, but as my old computer aged, I stopped playing. Anyway, that story isn't relevant 😇
Apparently there's a shortage of graphics cards for sale now and what is available has gone up in price over the last few months. When John shopped for one, the ONLY card he could get locally was an NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. My old computer has an AMD Radeon R5 220. According to the info at Can You Run It? The Sims 4 System Requirements, my new graphics card meets the minimum requirements but they recommend that I upgrade. When I check the old computer, they tell me the graphics card meets both the minimum and the recommended settings even though the drivers are very old. (Almost all the other specifications for the old computer fail!)
My question is this: Is it worth it to swap the AMD for the NVIDIA? Will it make much difference in performance? John doesn't care about games or graphics so he really doesn't know enough to answer my question for me, although he says it'll be simple for him to switch the cards. If I don't switch them, it may be a while before I can afford a better graphics card because the prices online seem crazy right now. Thanks in advance!
@justcherie The GT 710 is significantly better than the R5 220 in terms of performance, so you should stick with that. Neither is going to run Sims 4 particularly well, but the difference in benchmarks is obvious. On the other hand, you could try each one out for yourself if you wanted. Keep in mind that if you did so, you'd need to clean uninstall the old graphics driver before installing the new card and its appropriate driver.
Yes, prices are pretty bad for graphics cards right now, but you might be able to get something good and older for a reasonable amount. Nvidia and AMD recently announced that they were dropping driver support for their 600- and 700-series (Nvidia and 200- and 300-series (AMD) cards, basically tanking the price of these used cards. But a GTX 660 for example should run Sims 4 reasonably well, and the game will probably still run fine on the last compatible Nvidia driver in a year or two.
If and when you do get a new card, please make sure that your power supply supports it. Some older cards are not particularly fast by current standards, I mean fast enough for Sims 4 but not in the same league as what's available today, but they consume power like a new $1,100 model. The manufacturer's specs should list overall power consumption and a recommended wattage for the PSU.
