Hello everyone

Since 2 years ago I have been learning the basics in music production, in a OLD computer (2009) without video/graphic card. The problem now is the new plugins and some DAWs are, practically, demanding equip one.

I know nothing about computers and don't use the machine for something more demanding, so, maybe you could help me choose one that do the job without problems, but without going too much beyond.

My MB: Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L
CPU: Intel Pentium Dual E2220 2.4GHz

Thanks in advance.

 

Which plugins require GFX to run?
Otherwise nVidia GTX 750ti is probably best bet now.
AMD HD7750 is great and cheaper alternative too.

If you don't mind waiting, AMD R7 460 or GTX 1050 are upgraded versions of those two which will come out soon.

 

AMD video cards have come really far and i would even prefer them over Nvidia today for a simple reason.
You get a powerful card for half the price Nvidia costs.
Not to mention for some reason if you work with Cubase it runs smoother on AMD cards as if it has a problem with
Nvidia cards.

 

Some plugins or daws (cubase and nuendo, at last the latest versions) need glide driver support for rendering their graphics. I had a case where cubase just crashed without warning at startup just because the intel graphics driver i used had no glide driver (it was microsofts version that came with windows). so just go for something cheap, probably even passively cooled. you just need a "modern" card, no tremendous 3d performance as long as you don't game with that system .

your problem might even be fixable by finding the right driver for your onboard graphics. maybe you just need to download the intel drivers and dump the microsoft ones and you're fine

 

nVidia 750 Ti has good reviews and does not need too much extra power to run (it doesn't require any additional power connectors and consumes around 60W!). I use it for working with graphic programs. AMD cards are better for games.

 

Last edited: Jul 6, 2016

One thing to look for is that the Graphics Card Power (in Watts) falls within what your Power Supply Unit is able to output after powering everything else otherwise you'll be needing a new PSU too. The Minimum System Power requirement for the card should be less than the number of Watts your power supply can provide, hopefully with 30-50 watts to spare.

 

I don't know if a video card works in a different way for these kind of things than video games but any from these last few years should do it.
Brand new ones you have the Radeon RX480 for 230 aprox (depends on which version you buy), and I think tomorrow is getting out the GTX 1050/60 which are not better than the 1080 but is like an economic alternative for the buyers, a good alternative of course.
I think you would be fine with a simple GTX 970, they aren't real expensive on eBay as far as I cheked out and it's a hell of a card.

 

No, 1050 will come out in late Sep - early Oct 2016.
They aren't just economic alternatives, but overall less performing and thus less power demanding and more efficient cards.
GTX 970 needs external power and absolutely has to utilize active cooling -> more noise.

750Ti actually consumes around 10W when idle, 60W is the absolute maximum, not average.
HD7750 idles at around 4W and maxes out at 30W.

Is that a known issue, or just your experience?

 

Last edited: Jul 7, 2016

@Andrew
Known issue,its been mentioned several times on the Steinberg forum.