My new GPU has been decided!

Today I finally took the plunge and purchased the first GPU that I've bought in nearly 4 years. My last GPU (which was also the only other one that I've ever bought) was an MSI GTX 1050 TI low profile card. The card that I purchased today is a bit of an upgrade over that card performance wise. After getting a little money today, I went through various eBay auctions and lost several before I decided to look at the "Buy it now" listings and I found a card for a great price that I'd been wanting to get since I got my new budget PC last week. It just so happened to be a new listing and at a really good price point. At this point you're probably wondering what it is. Well it's a...

drumroll

Sapphire Pulse RX 570 4GB!!!

When I seen this listing I knew it was the right card at the right price for me. While I would have preferred a GPU with 8GB of VRAM, the price to performance of these budget kings can't be beaten! With this card and my CPU (3.4 Ghz i5-3570) I should be able to run most games at high/very high settings at 60fps at 1080p with some titles even able to achieve ultra settings.

What's really great about this card in particular is that not only is it an open-box item (meaning it's practically brand new and barely used if even used at all) is that it's the shortest "full length" RX 570 at only 9 inches long. While that may not sound like much of a difference compared to most other full length cards which range from around 10-11 inches, it means that I won't have to remove my HDD cage in order to fit it as I had right at 10 inches of clearance to fit in a GPU. That extra inch also means that I may not have to remove my front USB connectors on my PC, but if for some reason I need to make that sacrifice, I will without hesitation. I will probably have to give up my CD/DVD drive, but I'm totally fine with that as I don't use it anyways.

A couple other things that I really like about this GPU is that is has an aluminum backplate which is really cool since I've never owned a GPU with one. A backplate will help with both protecting the PCB from any possible damage as well as helping a little with cooling the GPU. The second thing that I really like about this GPU which I believe is unique to Sapphire cards is that if for whatever reason one (or both) of the fans decide to die on me down the road, they're magnetic (I believe) and can easily be pulled off and replaced without needing any tools or disassembly of the card! Very cool feature Sapphire... very cool.

For a practically brand new RX 570, I paid $81 with free 3 day shipping! Most RX 570s were more expensive than that and were in much worse shape... ok maybe not terrible shape but definitely not in as good of shape as this one. The listing was for $89.99 but with an eBay promo, I got to save 10% off of my entire purchase... so thanks eBay! :) It was both a new listing and with only one available so I'm really glad I snagged it! The seller had other RX 570 4GBs listed for $140 in similar condition so maybe they priced this one too cheap?? Either way, there's a decent chance that I'll get it this week! I'm very happy!

I bought one last thing which was a PCIe wifi card. My internet speeds with my $2 wifi adapter have been horrible! like... 0.30 mbps and it was taking around an hour just for a 100mb game to download. With my new external wifi adapter I should see speeds equal to or better than my phone which gets around 30 mbps so definitely a big (and very much needed) upgrade!!!

If you're curious, here's the actual listing that I bought.

I'm happy and I can't wait for both things that I ordered to come in!!! :)

In total (minus the wifi stuffs which many people wouldn't need) my budget gaming PC cost me right at $190. To be able to play any game that I want... I'd say I got an INCREDIBLE deal!!! If you want to build a PC that can play even the newest titles and want to save some money... shop around! Great deals are out there, you just have to look! :)

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you have an awesome day! :)