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A Trip Down Video Memory Lane

 |  ESTIMATED READING TIME:  2 MINUTES

EliteGroup GeForce 7300 GT 512MB AGP

The start of a gaming adventure.
My first “decent” GPU, the EliteGroup GeForce 7300 GT, arrived from LeBonCoin.fr for €45, courtesy of my brother-in-law. With it, I managed to dive into games like Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. It may have been a budget card, but to me, it unlocked a whole new level of gaming.

EliteGroup GeForce 7300 GT 512MB AGP
EliteGroup GeForce 7300 GT 512MB AGP

Gigabyte Radeon HD 3870 512MB PCIe

The Gigabyte Radeon HD 3870 was my next upgrade, snagged from a local cybercafe for 500 Moroccan Dirhams (~$50). This card was a workhorse, powering me through the Assassin’s Creed series, from the original to Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. It delivered just enough power for those early Ubisoft titles, making every leap and climb feel smooth.

Gigabyte Radeon HD 3870 512MB PCIe
Gigabyte Radeon HD 3870 512MB PCIe

XFX GeForce 8800 GT Alpha Dog Edition 512MB PCIe

For just €35, my brother-in-law picked up the XFX GeForce 8800 GT Alpha Dog Edition from LeBonCoin.fr. It was a beast at its time, especially in its iconic Alpha Dog edition. I took on The Amazing Spider-Man and marveled at how smooth it ran.

XFX GeForce 8800 GT Alpha Dog Edition 512MB PCIe
XFX GeForce 8800 GT Alpha Dog Edition 512MB PCIe

ASUS GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB PCIe

This one’s a bit of a blur—an ASUS GeForce 8800 GTS that I don’t quite remember how I got. I ended up selling it to someone who scammed me for 800-900 Moroccan Dirhams (~$80-90). It still stings, but I made sure their rig had enough games to keep them busy. (Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider, Age of Empires, you name it.)

ASUS GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB PCIe
ASUS GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB PCIe

XFX R9 270X Double Dissipation 2GB PCIe

Paired with my Core-2-Quad Q9300, the XFX R9 270X struggled with Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, but after upgrading to a Core i7-5820K, the game ran smoothly, along with Assassin’s Creed: Rogue, Watch Dogs, and Rise of the Tomb Raider. This card was a significant leap, and it helped bridge my gaming into higher settings.

XFX R9 270X Double Dissipation 2GB PCIe
XFX R9 270X Double Dissipation 2GB PCIe

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming OC 8GB PCIe

My current powerhouse, the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, has been with me since October 2019. Not only did it let me enjoy games like A Plague Tale: Innocence and its sequel, A Plague Tale: Requiem, but it also supported my foray into deep learning with tools like Stable Diffusion and Ollama. This GPU has been more than just a gaming rig; it’s been a tool for creativity and exploration.

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming OC 8G 8GB PCIe
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming OC 8G 8GB PCIe

 


Scammer Saga: Yassine Ahabri

Unfortunately, not all GPU purchases were good experiences. I got scammed by Yassine Ahabri, who sold me a faulty NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 1GB (artifacts in BIOS) and a Radeon HD 3850 that didn’t POST. His brother later confirmed Yassine had a history of scamming people, including his own family. Lesson learned, but not forgotten.

NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 1GB PCIe
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 1GB PCIe
ATI Radeon HD 3850 512MB PCIe
ATI Radeon HD 3850 512MB PCIe

Honorable Mentions: Sapphire Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB

This card has an interesting story behind it. I swapped my Sapphire Radeon HD 2600 XT for a 19″ HP monitor from a former bestie, trading in my LG 17″ VGA monitor. The Radeon HD 2600 XT even found its way into a music studio rig that I had built from a mix of second-hand parts. I still remember watching one of my bandmates playing Batman: Arkham City on that setup.

Sapphire Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB
Sapphire Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB