Hardware Video Card Question

[Taxman66]

Apologies in advance as this doesn't directly relate to C2C.
I'm asking the community because I've found you guys to be trustworthy.
I'll be happy to take it off line via message if this is deemed not appropriate for here.

Anyway, I'm looking to upgrade the video card on my 2 computers (7 & 3 years old respectively, specs below).
Searches on web, either get me Adds or information that is too technical for me to decipher what I need.

I know enough to be dangerous (like to look at the chipset identifier and not the card id (e.g. GT ### or GTX ###) as they play with those identifiers as new cards get released. I also know that the processor/motherboard are likely the limiting factors, particularly on the older machine, and not the bus (PCI 2.0x16 & 3.0x16 respectively).

If I could be pointed at a web site that would, in simple terms, help me figure out what I'm limited by or quick and dirty explanation (even via message) I would be greatly appreciative. As you might guess I'm not looking for a max out frames/sec first person shooter solution either. Just something that could play current paradox games for example and last another 4-5 years (yeah I know that would be pushing it for the 7yr old machine).

Thanks in advance.

Specs:
7 yr old
ASUS P75P55D-E LX motherboard Intel P55 Chipset Dual Channel DDR3 (16GB)
I7 870 Processor (4x2.93GHz/*MB L3 Cache)
PCI-E 2.0x16
700 Watt Power Supply
Current Card: Nvidia GTS450

3yr old
Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6 GB/s Motherboard DDR3 (16GB)
I5-3470 Ivy Bridge 3.2GHz (3.6GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
PCI-E 3.0x16
500 Watt Power Supply
Current Card: Nvidia GT640

 

[Dancing Hoskuld]

My limited understanding of these things suggest that the power supply can be a big limiting factor. When I last upgraded my machine to a GT960 I also had to upgrade the old power supply. However even that power supply is not good enough for the GT1070 and SSD I would like to upgrade to soon. In my case it appears it would be better and cheaper to get a whole new machine.

 

[Toffer90]

The graphic card is mostly independent, it doesn't rely on much else than a motherboard that have a corresponding socket and a power supply that has enough wattage to support its need.
Both your computer have motherboards with PCI-e v2.0 sockets, but PCI-e v3 cards are backward compatible and will work in PCI-e v2 sockets.

So here are my recommendations for you:
♦ Make sure you get a card with GDDR5 memory. DDR3/GDDR3 is just no good for gaming.
GDDR5X and HBM is too darn expensive and most games won't perform much better with it, especially not in a PCI-e v2.0 socket.
♦ It is reasonable to pick something with 2-4 GB VRAM, the 4GB cards are atm more reasonable than the 2-3 GB cards.
↓↓ 1GB ↓↓ is too low for most modern games, and ↑↑ 5 GB ↑↑ are getting more expensive than they are worth unless you want the card to work well with VRAM-heavy games 2-4 years from now.
♦ RX 550 4GB is very reasonable. ( around 140 USD ) it will perform well with all strategy games.
♦ If you insist on a NVIDIA card then I would not recommend any cards cheaper than the cheapest GTX 1050 Ti. ( around 200 USD )

 

[Taxman66]

Thank you both for your advise,
I did find some under $200 4GB GDDR5 GTX 1050 Ti on Microcenter's web site (one actually for $150).
Unfortunately due to some recent unforeseen expenses it looks like my purchase will have to wait for December holidays or possibly into the new year.

 

[Toffer90]

Thats a pretty good price, my numbers were Norwegian prices converted to USD.
The RX 550 costs 98 USD on www.microcenter.com/RX550.

As you can see here, it would be a decent upgrade.
RX 550 compared to GTS 450
RX 550 compared to GT 640

GTX 1050 Ti compared to RX 550 ▬ A relatively small upgrade
They both have the same Memory clock speed, bus width and VRAM size.
RX550 is a bit slower on the graphical math (read special effects and polish) but is equally decent on games that are memory heavy (uses many and/or big models/textures).
Open world environment games such as FPS, 3PS, and open world sandbox games tends to be the games that utilize a lot of heavy special effects and polish because the gamer has the camera so close to the environment.