Times are pretty bleak right now for anyone trying to get their hands on some of the best graphics cards on the market, like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 and AMD Radeon 6800 XT. In fact, you'd be in a hurry to find a half-decent GPU at a reasonable price, which prompted MSI to resurrect a 2014 relic, the GeForce GT 730. If you've been trying to build a gaming PC or upgrade an existing rig in the last few months, it likely hasn't been successful due to continued shortages of components like AMD Ryzen processors. And the latest generation of AMD 'Big Navi' Radeon and Nvidia RTX 3000 graphics cards. This is due to a combination of issues, such as supply issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, with scalpers buying stock to resell for an incredible rise and cryptocurrencies rise in value, resulting in increased demand for crypto mining farms using what little hardware is available. Let's face it, the GT 730 is past its prime, which doesn't make it the most appealing alternative for those looking for even a budget card, but it might work if you're desperate (or a fan of less demanding titles from the same time). This is the Keplar version of the GPU, which means it packs 384 CUDA cores and has a 902MHz boost clock and 2GB of 3MHz DDR1600 VRAM. It also used only 23W of power, but MSI suggests playing it safe and using a 300W power supply. You won't be playing any new AAA games on this 'beast', but some old benchmarks provided by Quora user Swapnil Gore reveal that you can expect around 40 FPS in Grand Theft Auto 5 and 50 FPS in Tomb. Raider 2013 on Medium / High settings. It is important to note that Nvidia has announced that all driver support for Keplar graphics cards will end with the next GeForce driver update. So if you're serious about buying one, do so at your own risk. It's also unclear if this model will actually be sold outside of Japan, as the list price was 4565 yen (around €40 / €30 / AU$50). No matter how likely it is to sell, it paints a bleak picture of the current GPU market. With the RTX 3070 Ti slated to hit shelves today, we expect it to sell out as quickly as Nvidia's previous iterations, only to be available at retailers for a hefty sum. We can only hope that eventually something will give way so that PC gaming doesn't become even more expensive than it already was. The best graphics card deals right now
Through Tom's Hardware