New Player Question on Graphics Card

[SentinelBasch]

Hi, all!

I have been an avid FF fan since forever, and have just started playing FFXIV this week. Having fun so far!

I just bought a new desktop a few months ago (XPS 8930, 8 GB RAM), and it came with an integrated graphics card. I am looking to buy a dedicated graphics card for FFXIV, but do not have a lot of knowledge when it comes to video card specs.

I reached out to Dell and based on my $200 budget they recommended a PNY XLR8 GeForce GTX 1650 - Overclocked Edition. It has 4 GB GDDR5 - PCIe 3.0 x16. I see the recommended system requirements for the pixel and vertex shaders, but am unsure where this video card falls for those areas.

Will I be able to run FFXIV on higher graphics settings with this card? I apologize if this is in the wrong forum - it's not an issue per se, so didn't know if the tech support forum was appropriate.

Thanks for any help!

[ScottDoom]

A GTX 1650 will be plenty enough.

[Urthdigger]

I've run it on a friggin laptop before. You'll have to use the lower graphical settings, but it should run.

[Canadane]

You could probably find yourself a 1660 instead of a 1650 if you want a little more bite with a hard budget of $200.
But both will run the game very well, it's not designed for enthusiast builds.

You also have a choice of using an AMD card instead of Nvidia, the Radeon RX 580 would probably suit your needs.
It'd probably outperform a 1660 by a little bit. But again, check prices and see what's reasonable for you.

The world of graphics cards can get deep into your pockets lol.

[SentinelBasch]

Thank you all so much for the responses!

I looked up the Radeon RX 580. It took me to the page for the Radeon RX 5500. It appears that it does outperform the GeForce GTX 1650 by a good deal, and it has 8 GB instead of 4 GB.

On Dell's website right now, the Radeon one is usually $275.99, but is on sale for exactly $199.99. I will take that as a sign and go for that one.

Thanks again!

[SentinelBasch]

Hi, all!

Just wanted to drop an update on this...my AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT arrived today. I installed it and WOW, what an incredible difference over my integrated card. Before, I had the graphics on standard and it was still a bit choppy. With this new card, FPS is set to 60 and graphics are set to maximum and it is smooth as silk. No choppiness anywhere and load times between zones are significantly reduced. Very happy with this card.

[Canadane]

Nice glad it worked out for you!

[SentinelBasch]

I had a realization yesterday...something I forgot because it has been ages since I installed a GPU...is my power supply up to the task?

It is a 360W PSU. My new card recommends a 450W. I see that manufacturers give a pretty wide variance, but I do not want to risk damage so I am wondering if I should get maybe a 500W. Any thoughts if it really matters? I only want to play FFXIV in a blaze of glory in the metaphorical sense, not the literal one.

[MistakeNot]

I had a realization yesterday...something I forgot because it has been ages since I installed a GPU...is my power supply up to the task?

It is a 360W PSU. My new card recommends a 450W. I see that manufacturers give a pretty wide variance, but I do not want to risk damage so I am wondering if I should get maybe a 500W. Any thoughts if it really matters? I only want to play FFXIV in a blaze of glory in the metaphorical sense, not the literal one.

The recommended PSU wattage for graphic cards is usually given with a pretty wide margin to account for sub-par PSUs.
You will most likely be just fine, but if you push your whole machine to the max you might get close to what the PSU can deliver - depending in no small part on what CPU you have.

[Canadane]

360 is small, but if you're able to power on and play the game, with the card boosting without issue, you're fine.
There's always room for improvements, like if you wanted to overclock the card or something you'll want more wattage supplied. However if you're happy with things now, don't sweat it. Only worry about it if you run into issues, imo.

Unless you have unlimited money to just throw at the ultimate gaming PC, but you clearly stated the opposite.