Hi folks,
I currently run a Nvidia GT730 2048MB GPU on a system with an I3 3.5Ghz cpu and a 500W PSU, (PCIE 2.0).
Would a GTX750 run on my system in terms of psu capability and PCIE compatibility, if so, would I notice that much of a performance improvement over the 730?
I keep toying with an upgrade, but don’t want to spend over 100 quid if the gains are minimal.
Advice welcome.
What about the GTX 750 Ti instead of the GTX 750?. But even better, find out about the GTX 950.
I guess if your PSU is “true” 500W, you should have no problems with those cards. Here the specs:
All of them work on PCIe 2.0. Some of these cards may require 1x 6-pin connector. When you have chosen a card that you will buy, just do a google search about your motherboard just in case there might be some incompatibility reported between the card and the motherboard.
I guess with GTX 750 Ti or GTX 950 you should have a considerable improvement over the GT 730 (low end card). But if you can, try to get something with more vRAM (at least 4GB). I had read somewhere that there are versions of the GTX 750 Ti with 4GB of vRAM.
Could you tell me what time you get with the file for benchmark BMW27.blend with the i3 CPU?
You choose “CPU” and a size of tiles 32x32
There’s a few GTX 750 Ti’s on Amazon that are 100£.
If you get one with a 6pin PCIe power connector make sure your PSU has one, you don’t need to worry about your PSU as any card you buy around your price range won’t draw more power than your PSU can handle.
Thanks for the info chaps, guess I’ll be getting one when my pension comes up next month. I had considered both, for the extra 20 quid or so, wasn’t sure the difference between the 750 and 750ti was relevant but I suppose if I’m going for the upgrade, every added Cuda core helps. 
Don’t think the extra 5W power draw should impact my system overly, I only have 1 SATA 1TB drive, 8GB of ram, a DVD recorder and a couple of case fans to power, the current GPU draws a max of 28W so I suppose I’m only asking for an extra 30w.
Just did the BMW scene, not the results I expected at all, the GPU is barely quicker than the CPU, yet in some things I render, it outperforms it by some margin. I presume this is to do with things like DOF & motion blur etc, that there is a decreasing return when it comes to budget GPUS?
CPU: Intel i3-4150 3.5Ghz
GPU: NVidia GT 730
OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit
Time: 8 min 57.67 secs (GPU)
Time: 9 min 35.48 sec (CPU)
EDIT: Wait a minute, I had the auto-tile addon active - guess I’ll try again. 
EDIT Again: Spoke too soon, if anything, it made matters worse for the GPU, 9 min 3 secs with a 128 size tile on the GPU as opposed to the larger size determined by AutoTile.
you know the question sort of answers itself.
GTX 750,
Yes the performance boost is very noticeable.
Nvidia cards =
GTX AB0
A for generation
B for power
The CPU time isn’t really a surprise compared to the I7 quad core, in fact, I’ll take that difference ta muchly.
Just surprised the GT730 is so slow in comparision to the CPU, but as I say, I have found certain scenes I do where the CPU outperforms the GPU. Must admit, I mistakenly assumed the GPU trumped the CPU across the board, though granted, when you get to the high end GPUs it probably does.
Good to know, thank you for that. Just been checking power specs in terms of the 750, seems there is a big difference between a “500W” psu and a psu that actually delivers 500W. My PSU is theoretically 500w, but given it puts out 27A over the 12V rail, that comes out at only 324W, nowhere near 500W, so I guess I’d have to buy a quality PSU as well. (Currently it’s a Cit Premium 500U psu as supplied).
The GTX 750 Ti draws about 75 watts at max load and and there aren’t any i3’s on the market that are rated for more than 55 watts, that leaves about 150 watts left for your PSU’s 12V rail to handle if you consider secondary components, a new PSU would be money better spent on a more expensive graphics card.
In case you’re still not sure these links might change your mind.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7764/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-750-ti-and-gtx-750-review-maxwell/22
Intel+Nvidia really consume little power. I’ve been using well my i7 3770 and GT 430 on a PC with PSU that have only 14A on the 12V rail.
I guess, I’m not sure, you should have no problems with that PSU.
Looking at my PSU I think I will likely go for the MSI GTX750 ti 2GB as that doesn’t require an additional 6-pin power connector, which is good as my PSU doesn’t have any.
If I feel at all concerned about the power draw, I could probably dial back the maximum power values down towards the ‘std’ of 35W from what I’ve read in various articles, but I’ll only do that if my PC starts locking up or generally misbehaving.
Given I’m already running a 7000 series card and the WHQL drivers, I’m hoping all I’ll need to do is plug the new card in and the current nvdia drivers will handle it, but I’ll look at that more at the point I get the card.
Many thanks for the detailed help guys, very much appreciated.
Nvidia’s actually doing a promotion surrounding the 750 Ti and the 950. Buy a 750 Ti, and they’ll step you up to the 950 for free. Just got an email about it a little after noon where I am.
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GAMING STARTS HERE
This holiday, give yourself the gift of incredible gaming with a free GPU upgrade. Just configure your rig with the GeForce GTX 750 Ti, and we’ll step you up to the high-performance GeForce GTX 950.
That’s a 30% performance bump–free! Transform your PC into a gaming rig capable of playing the latest titles and your favorite MOBAs at 120 FPS with minimal input lag.
[/TABLE]
Unfortunately it ends on December 4th and it’s only for a few retailers: CyberpowerPC, iBUYPOWER, Cybertron PC, MAINGEAR, V3 Gaming, and Velocity Micro.