Game:

Far Cry 4 (2014)

Duration: 8:47

148,956 views

179

I downgraded my 750ti to the stock 745 that came with the computer, and the results were ...depressing.

******** Update ---------

It seems that there is some interest or curiosity in how the GTX 745 performs for gaming duties, so I will be doing a write up at Ai-Everything.com to tell you guys my experiences I've had with it.

The short answer is that I ended up shopping around for different graphics cards and have found some very good ones that seem to work "plug and play" style with the Dell XPS 8700. I can link to a longer answer once I get it posted on my website.

Thank you for your interest, and I hope to be able to pass on some of what I've learned. I've spent dozens of hours trying to figure out a reasonable way to have a good gaming experience.


++++++Update 2: Jan 29th, 2015

I have a new video showing my actual computer setup.
http://youtu.be/8GW1kNKrs90

I replaced the OEM GTX 745 with a GTX 970. The GTX 970 seems to work fine in my Dell XPS 8700. That graphics card is the only change to an otherwise stock computer tower.

Long story short: The GTX 745 could barely hang onto to 30fps with all of the settings on LOW. This is fine for several, if not most indie games and things like DOTA. (I assume it works fine for DOTA)

But I play first person games. I don't expect anything fancy like running three monitors or even playing in 4K, but I do want 1080p to stay at a reliable 60fps. The GTX 970 does that for me and lets me keep my stock computer. I consider it to be a fairly easy and elegant solution, and the cost was reasonable.

If you do decide to go with a 970 in your OEM computer, please do some research first, as it may not work in all towers. I have a Dell XPS 8700 with a power supply that is weaker than what Nvidia recommends. I do not know if it is necessarily "wise" to use this card with my setup, but on Dell's own forum, their moderators tell customers how to install the GTX 970 in this computer, and they do not mention upgrading the power supply. The card works in my computer, but I do not know if there could be any long term implications from using it. Proceed at your own risk. (I have done a great deal of research suggesting that Maxwell architecture is efficient enough to work just fine on "weaker" power supplies, but the final call on something like this is with you) If you do buy a new power supply, retailers like Best Buy will sell you a good one for around $80. Cheaper options are available if you shop around.

If you want a good card that should work just fine in a tower like mine with no worries about power supplies or anything like that, the GTX 750ti from EVGA is a card that I had good results with. It was plug and play. An even newer card, the GTX 960 is out now, but I have not used it, so you will have to do research to see if it works "plug and play" with your tower.

***Update 3:
I played the game on my i7's integrated graphics, and it was a DISASTER. So... I guess the GTX 745 is actually "playable" compared to the alternative. (but I still think a $200 graphics card like the 750ti, 960, or something comparable from ATI is vastly preferable to the 745 or the integrated graphics)

Here's an example of this game running on integrated graphics. http://youtu.be/J18DkYYIKQY

+++ Update 4 +++

In the link below, I physically show three graphics cards, including this one: The- GTX 745, GTX 970, and the GTX 980. I give an overview of the cards, themselves, and my experiences with them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18IZYQKijMA

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