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justcherie's avatar
justcherie
Seasoned Novice
4 years ago
Solved

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...
pc
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    4 years ago

    @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.

puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
4 years ago

@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.

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