Cheapest Graphic card that meet system recommendations

[crazytalk]

The only game I am going to be playing is civ VI. I just want a graphics card that will run it and I figure if I am going to buy one I should get it that has the recommend specs. I cant figure out which one to get any help would be greatly appreciated I don't mind spending a hundred or two but when i google "AMD 7970" or "Nvidia 770" I see cards that are $400 that seems very high for what I need.

 

[wam]

I'm playing with a MSI radeon 6850 Pe/Oc. It's about 6 years old and it wasn't a high end card back then, but it works fine. No idea of it's stil being sold. If you want a current budget card, try an RX 470 4GB or GTX 1060 3 GB. Or get the oldest card you can buy that has at least 1 GB of memory. Good luck.

 

[Skybolt]

The only game I am going to be playing is civ VI. I just want a graphics card that will run it and I figure if I am going to buy one I should get it that has the recommend specs. I cant figure out which one to get any help would be greatly appreciated I don't mind spending a hundred or two but when i google "AMD 7970" or "Nvidia 770" I see cards that are $400 that seems very high for what I need.

I hubristically expected my desktop pc with its 2Gb ATI Radeon 4650 to easily cope with Civ VI (No, I didn't closely check the minimum requirements). An unexpected message informing me of my lack of a suitable graphics device prompted a quick DirectX diagnostic check, which immediately revealed the inadequate 3D DDI / DirectX11 performance of my aged graphics card. Casting around for a suitable - read cheap but adequate - replacement, I went for a 2GB Sapphire 11190-09-20G AMD Radeon HD 6450 Silent DDR3 Graphics Card. £39.99 from Amazon.co.uk.

This I received and installed yesterday, and the game loaded and played just fine.

 

[Vransak]

The only game I am going to be playing is civ VI. I just want a graphics card that will run it and I figure if I am going to buy one I should get it that has the recommend specs. I cant figure out which one to get any help would be greatly appreciated I don't mind spending a hundred or two but when i google "AMD 7970" or "Nvidia 770" I see cards that are $400 that seems very high for what I need.

I run a 750ti and play on medium settings mostly.

New: Keep and eye out for Microcenter sales if you are near one. They can be the lowest around when on the right sale. Otherwise, check out pcpartpicker.com It's a wonderful site. Amazon, Ebay, ect.

Used: Amazon, Ebay, Craigslist (if you are feeling lucky). Video cards go out of style every couple years, so should be a lot of working used hardware out there.

I usually buy New and just wait for sales, though. So can't speak to 'smart' things to do when buying used. I've bought loads of 'refurbish' stuff in my life though. Usually good.

Around $200 dollars you are looking at entry-level VR cards (especially refurbs), so depends if you think that is something, otherwise you can get away with lower priced cards.

Depending on what you NEED from Civ? Some people feel they NEED a $1,000 graphics card for it

Graphics will lower/raise your resolutions, CPU will help determine AI turn length.

Very Important: You may need to upgrade your PSU, depending on the specs.

 

[callan]

I'm playing with a MSI radeon 6850 Pe/Oc. It's about 6 years old and it wasn't a high end card back then, but it works fine. No idea of it's stil being sold. If you want a current budget card, try an RX 470 4GB or GTX 1060 3 GB. Or get the oldest card you can buy that has at least 1 GB of memory. Good luck.

While the RX 470 is a decent GPU I think the 1060 3GB has the edge here. It's also slightly more expensive but you should be able to get either for $200 or so. BUT the 1060 3GB uses a new low-power technology that means it doesn't require extra power connectors. You'll need to check your current PSU in terms of maximum wattage and available connectors before buying most cards, especially if your current card doesn't use one.

 

[lordhaw]

I'm running a 750Ti on high settings and not having any issues. Haven't tried anything higher than a standard world and am not using hi res textures but it works well for me. I got it recently for $199 CAD. Before that I was using a Radeon R7 250 1GB card on medium settings and was having no issues either. Main reason for the upgrade was not Civ 6 but other more demanding games and my PSU limits me so I got the 750Ti.