Is this a good GPU? Could I do better?

If this were any other video game I would say you're on the right track, but minecraft is a unique case.

Minecraft's internal code is very VERY different from other video games, and has different requirements. One of the biggest differences is that, unlike other video games, minecraft barely uses the GPU for anything. It instead relies on the CPU and main system memory for most of its processing.

If minecraft is having bad performance on your computer, your best bet would be a RAM upgrade. If minecraft is just straight up not starting at all, then it means there's some kind of malfunction somewhere and you need to post a new question describing exactly what happens when you try to play. Luckily, most of the common glitches with minecraft are software related and can be easily fixed without having to buy new parts.

hi dhilan

for the games your planning on playing the GeForce GT520 will just about be ok .. however don't expect to run more demanding games like battlefield 4 and metro last light as the GT520 wont cut it

in regards to another gpu well the "SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD 6670 1GB GDDR5 "( http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/amdr... ) is a excellent card or the price,and comes with the superior gddr5 memory resulting in much better memory clock speeds and thus higher memory bandwidth ( 64gb/sec )

theres a 800mhz core clock and 1gb of memory clocked a 4000mhz(effective) and with a 128bit memory interface this will run most games at medium detail ...and it will also work well with your Athlon II processor

I recommend this card on a regular basis and for one reason .. price to performance ...... granted its no speed demon compared to a HD7970 or GTX670 but these cards are five times the price ... and with most other sub £50 cards producing pretty poor gaming performance the SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD 6670 is a class act

im not going to recommend any NVidia card as these tend to cost more ... however ive found the " MSI GeForce GTX 650 OC 1024MB GDDR5"( http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics... ) for £78 ... and with a 1071mhz core clock and 1gb of gddr5 memory clocked at 5000mhz effective this will run the latest games ( including minecraft ) at high detail and resolution ... and although it costs slightly more than the HD6670 the performance is better which makes it worthwhile

you also need to remember that you may need to upgrade your power supply .... the HD6670 requires a 350w psu and no pci-e power connectors and the GTX650 requires a 400w and a 6pin pci-e power connector... however you may get away with a decent 300w psu for the HD6670 but the GTX650 wont run with anything lower than the required 400w

in summary the card you should get depends on your budget,however were possible you should go with the best ( the GTX650 ) but this also depends on your pc,s power supply ....

ive also included the specifications for both the GTX650 and HD6670 so you can compare the specifications such as core,memory and shader clock speeds

I hope this helps... any questions let me know

good luck mate !