GPU choices and outcomes

[nintendosensei]

I have a G3258 and I don't have a GPU yet. Heard a lot of goo things about the 750 TI but I know it isn't going to set the world alight with all the bells and whistles. With a G3258 clocked to 4.4GHz
and a 750 Ti what could I expect from the most demanding games? I am also considering getting a GTX 960, would that be enough to run most games at 4k?

This is for my HTPC/emulator machine.

[Garteal]

Unless you want a lower electricity bill, go for the GTX960 since it supports HEVC decoding and because it's faster than the 750Ti.
It can run games at 4k with a drop in certain games (source).
If you want specifics, either PM Link_to_the_past (since he owns a GTX960) or wait until he responds.

[nintendosensei]

I was leaning towards the 960 as I have a 4K TV. I am wondering if overclocking the 960 makes it a more viable performer at 4K

[Link_to_the_past]

I was leaning towards the 960 as I have a 4K TV. I am wondering if overclocking the 960 makes it a more viable performer at 4K

For 4K i think anything less than a 960 would be bad, especially if you also want to try pc gaming at that res. If you can grab a 970 even better, a 750 ti is not for 4k gaming.

[nintendosensei]

I was leaning towards the 960 as I have a 4K TV. I am wondering if overclocking the 960 makes it a more viable performer at 4K

For 4K i think anything less than a 960 would be bad, especially if you also want to try pc gaming at that res. If you can grab a 970 even better, a 750 ti is not for 4k gaming.

Thanks for the response. The 750 Ti was if 4K wasn't possible on a 960 so I would have just kept it super cheap and cheerful. As you have a 960, have you overclocked it and does it have any valuable difference on performance in Dolphin, like for example make playable games completely smooth?

[kirbypuff]

I have a G3258 and I don't have a GPU yet. Heard a lot of good things about the 750 TI but I know it isn't going to run everything with all the bells and whistles. With a G3258 clocked to 4.4GHz,
what could I expect from a 750 Ti ?

This is for my HTPC.

The GTX 750 Ti is too weak for 6xIR (4K) in Dolphin.
You're gonna need something with more 'juice'.

* If you're looking for a GPU primarily for Dolphin that's also dirt cheap, get the Radeon R9 270 non-X.
It can handle the most demanding titles at 6xIR (4K) or even 8xIR (5K) with post-processing effects and all the bells and whistles.
Since it's a card that's optimized for compute, it performs well in advanced video renderers that use OpenCL / heavy post-processing (e.g. madVR).
Non-reference (factory OC'd models with a fan) run cool and quiet, but some people take it one step further and cool them passively.

I've tested this card for a while and the performance (with the Direct3D backend) was surprisingly high:

7xIR in the most demanding titles without breaking a sweat (8xIR when overclocked)
Up to 12xIR (that's 8K!) in medium tiltles using Ishiiruka / D3D ... and at 12xIR, 2GB of VRAM was still more than enough (LOL)

The only drawback is the lack of fixed-function HEVC video acceleration.

Great GPU for Dolphin, but I didn't need such a "beast of a GPU" (the "good old" HD6850 @ 6870 clockspeeds still does the job, good enough even for 6xIR)

* If you need something with hardware HEVC acceleration and more power for hi-res PC gaming, get the GeForce GTX 960. The only downside is that it's much more expensive.