Graphic Cards Graphic card buying advice

ragzdiablo · Jun 25, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

saROMan said:
Ok hunting for GFX after long time & new terms like 4850/5450/5770/4870 /GTX/GTS making my head spin ..:S ..any ways let me try my luck

1.What is your budget?
6k -7K

2.Current rig Specs
CPU -Q9550
Motherboard-Abit Ip35-e
RAM-OCZ+Gskill Total 6GB
Monitor-Viewsonic 19"

3.Which PSU/SMPS will you be using?
CM 460W + VIP 400W

4.Primary use? (Casual gaming, Hardcore gaming, Just for display, Movies/HTPC)
Video Encoding /Casual gaming

5.What resolution do you game on?
1400x900

6.Interested in Crossfire/SLI?
Dont have a 2nd PCIx port so No

7.Open to both Nvidia/ATI?
already have Nvidia wanted to check ATI

i will play games like - Gears Of War/Crysis /L4D II /CODMF2 etc

people have givin me crap that my 460w wont work so can dedicate either 1 only for GFX & 2nd for my Rig.

Also can go for used one with 5K max budget

At a budget a 7k...a GTS 250 should be a good choice..
but, you should go with the HD 5770 ~ 9k..
its a very good card..future proof too..
and the extra investment is worth it..

For the PSU..
inorder to run two PSU's..
hotwiring is required..which i dont recommend in any case..
its better to get a corsair VX 450 ...its available under 4k these days..and is a great buy..and it will give you good headroom to overclock both your quad proccy and you GPU..

IF increasing your budget is a no go..
then GTS250 it should be..
coupled with a gigabyte superb 460 or a FSP 400w..the PSU should cost you around 2k..

saROMan · Jun 25, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

ragzdiablo said:
At a budget a 7k...a GTS 250 should be a good choice..
but, you should go with the HD 5770 ~ 9k..
its a very good card..future proof too..
and the extra investment is worth it..

For the PSU..
inorder to run two PSU's..
hotwiring is required..which i dont recommend in any case..
its better to get a corsair VX 450 ...its available under 4k these days..and is a great buy..and it will give you good headroom to overclock both your quad proccy and you GPU..

IF increasing your budget is a no go..
then GTS250 it should be..
coupled with a gigabyte superb 460 or a FSP 400w..the PSU should cost you around 2k..

Thanks for the advice actually i had HD 4850 in mind but have seen a HD 5770 in the Market section , also when i say i have 2 PSU that means i am actually using 2 PSU's:bleh: , CM for my Mobo+Proccy+GPU & VIP for my 5 HDD's + DVD RW + [120mm x 2 + 80mm x 2] Fans ..., any ways can you suggest a Future proof GFX (eg. 9800X2 - released in 2008 but still packs a punch)

tajendra · Jun 26, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

can you plz tell me the RMA policy of sapphire, as my local sapphire distributor told me that if i buy sapphire card from out side jaipur (my place) or from net then they will not RMA it locally and i have to send the card to respective city from where i bought, is it correct?

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

saROMan said:
Thanks for the advice actually i had HD 4850 in mind but have seen a HD 5770 in the Market section , also when i say i have 2 PSU that means i am actually using 2 PSU's:bleh: , CM for my Mobo+Proccy+GPU & VIP for my 5 HDD's + DVD RW + [120mm x 2 + 80mm x 2] Fans ..., any ways can you suggest a Future proof GFX (eg. 9800X2 - released in 2008 but still packs a punch)

could you plz plz plz :bounce: help me with 2 PSU thing i guess i might need it when i buy my second 5770 (and 9600gt/9800gt for physx) can't wait to crossfire them:yahoo:

Mephistopheles · Jun 26, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

ragzdiablo said:
At a budget a 7k...a GTS 250 should be a good choice..

but, you should go with the HD 5770 ~ 9k..

its a very good card..future proof too..

and the extra investment is worth it..

For the PSU..

inorder to run two PSU's..

hotwiring is required..which i dont recommend in any case..

its better to get a corsair VX 450 ...its available under 4k these days..and is a great buy..and it will give you good headroom to overclock both your quad proccy and you GPU..

IF increasing your budget is a no go..

then GTS250 it should be..

coupled with a gigabyte superb 460 or a FSP 400w..the PSU should cost you around 2k..

Dont get a 5700 for that resolution of yours and if you really are looking for future proof then too 5770 is not a good choice. AMD will be coming up with their 6XXX series cards and till then I dont think you'll be getting yourself a new monitor so stick with HD5670 as of now and you wil be able to max almost every game with plenty of eyecandy enabled.

For the PSU, get a Gigabyte 460W/Seasonic 380W/Corsair 400W according to your budget

saROMan said:
Thanks for the advice actually i had HD 4850 in mind but have seen a HD 5770 in the Market section , also when i say i have 2 PSU that means i am actually using 2 PSU's:bleh: , CM for my Mobo+Proccy+GPU & VIP for my 5 HDD's + DVD RW + [120mm x 2 + 80mm x 2] Fans ..., any ways can you suggest a Future proof GFX (eg. 9800X2 - released in 2008 but still packs a punch)

HD4850 is also an overkill for that resolution, but if you want to...you can get it and when you do upgrade your monitor then get yourself a 6XXX series GPU.

But if you still want future-proofing you should go for 256-bit bandwidth cards which would overshoot your budget, so dont think about that.

buddingwhizkid · Jun 26, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

either get gigabyte 460w or fsp saga II 450 ! both will be around 2.4k ! get 5770 if you plan to upgrade your monitor !

ragzdiablo · Jun 26, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

HD 4850 is not an overkill for the resolution of 1440 x 900..
its doesnt give good frames when crysis is maxed out at that resolution..
and with games like crysis 2 coming out in november..
dont even think that HD 4850 will handle it smoothly at that resolution...
9800GX2 was launched at a price of 36k..thats why it still packs a punch..
the card never picked on good though..the dual gpu always gave problems in some games..

HD 5770 is your best choice for now..
If you want to stick to your budget..
get a GTS 250..

Mephistopheles · Jun 26, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

ragzdiablo said:
HD 4850 is not an overkill for the resolution of 1440 x 900..

its doesnt give good frames when crysis is maxed out at that resolution..

and with games like crysis 2 coming out in november..

dont even think that HD 4850 will handle it smoothly at that resolution...

9800GX2 was launched at a price of 36k..thats why it still packs a punch..

the card never picked on good though..the dual gpu always gave problems in some games..

HD 5770 is your best choice for now..

If you want to stick to your budget..

get a GTS 250..

Actually, it does give..its not an overkill only if you want to play Crisis. I has a 4670 on that resolution and I maxed almost every game there was (except Crisis)

HD5770 can handle almost everything at FUllHD (1920x1080)..it can handle even crisis but not when everything is maxed out.

Dont get a GTS 250, get a HD5670 instead, runs cool n very low on power + is sufficient for your needs.

ragzdiablo · Jun 26, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

Mephistopheles said:
Actually, it does give..its not an overkill only if you want to play Crisis. I has a 4670 on that resolution and I maxed almost every game there was (except Crisis)
HD5770 can handle almost everything at FUllHD (1920x1080)..it can handle even crisis but not when everything is maxed out.
Dont get a GTS 250, get a HD5670 instead, runs cool n very low on power + is sufficient for your needs.

If he decides to get a HD 5670 or a GTS 250..he obviously will consider to buy something more futureproof when the new series comes out from any of the manufacturers ...
till that time..
a GTS 250 makes more sense..
HD5670<9800gt<GTS250...

no point on getting the HD 5670 because of DX11..as we know its just for name..it wont be able to play DX11 titles on DX11 properly..
HD 5670 cost around 5.2k..while the GTS 250 costs around 6.2k..
so at a difference of 1k..the GTS 250 gives much more performance than the HD 5670..

saROMan · Jun 26, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

We as far as Monitor goes current i have no intention of changing it , also i am never a big fan of playing @ Max Resolution, Franky till now never had any problems with any games (Even Crysis) with my GSO , never thought of parting with it till it gave up on Gears of War/NFS Shift @ 2xAA

, currently playing Mirror's Edge @ 1280*1024 with 2xAA with out any glitch.

Anyways if i am correct its HD5670>>GTS 250>>HD5770 , GTS seems a viable option for now & 5770 may go for next 1year or so. question is should go for GTS 250 1 GB OR GTS 250 512 Mb Also out of MSI & Zotac which will be advisable

tajendra said:
could you plz plz plz :bounce: help me with 2 PSU thing i guess i might need it when i buy my second 5770 (and 9600gt/9800gt for physx) can't wait to crossfire them:yahoo:

@tajendra Please note adding 2 PSU's are never advisable and i did it only for phun, please try it on your own risk

any ways you can check the following link for more info

Adding 2nd PSU

ragzdiablo · Jun 26, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

Well...go for the 512mb version...the 1gig version is only helpful only very high resolution...

tajendra · Jun 27, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

saROMan said:
We as far as Monitor goes current i have no intention of changing it , also i am never a big fan of playing @ Max Resolution, Franky till now never had any problems with any games (Even Crysis) with my GSO , never thought of parting with it till it gave up on Gears of War/NFS Shift @ 2xAA , currently playing Mirror's Edge @ 1280*1024 with 2xAA with out any glitch.

Anyways if i am correct its HD5670>>GTS 250>>HD5770 , GTS seems a viable option for now & 5770 may go for next 1year or so. question is should go for GTS 250 1 GB OR GTS 250 512 Mb Also out of MSI & Zotac which will be advisable

@tajendra Please note adding 2 PSU's are never advisable and i did it only for phun, please try it on your own risk

any ways you can check the following link for more info

Adding 2nd PSU

Ya friend,
i already read about how to run two psus and i am going to support my hdds, fans and dvd drive with secondary one just like you. Just want to know how long you are using two psus and did you face any problem of any kind?

nj_gamer · Jun 27, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

Hi All,

I currently have a XFX 8600GT and i would like to upgrade my GFX card. My budget is within 7.5K and My motherboard chipset is Nvidia 650i and my PSU is Coolermaster Extreme Power Duo 600W. As i was going through the thread, i guess HD4850, 250GTS and HD5670 comes under my budget. I won't be changing my PSU and i have no interest in DX11 for now. Just need the best card within 7.5K. The rest of my config is in my Signature. Although i'll be upgrading my RAM to 4GB along with the GFX card. I have a core 2 duo E4300 OC'd till 3.0 Ghz.

Also i read somewhere that ATi cards underperform in a Nvidia chipset, i donno if this is the case now.

So please give me some suggestions.
Regards
-Nj

pavasedge · Jun 27, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

@ saROMan

Don't get GTS 250 .Its not much better than your 9600GSO and not really worth additional 7k.For now i suggest keep your current card and be happy with it.Few months later upgrade to HD 5770 that would be sensible upgrade.

ragzdiablo · Jun 27, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

9600GSO<9600GT<9800GT<9800GTX<9800GTX+=GTS250..

not much of an upgrade?

although pavasedge is right..

its better to get HD5770...like i suggested initially..

whats the point of getting a GTS 250 now and then a HD 5770 a year later..

you can just add 2k to your budget and get a HD 5770 now..

If you think HD5770 is an overkill for your monitor..

just think that HD 5770 will churn out more frames at your resolution than the GTS250... for upcoming games..

going for HD5770 is a much better option..

neojjjk · Jun 27, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

saROMan said:
We as far as Monitor goes current i have no intention of changing it , also i am never a big fan of playing @ Max Resolution, Franky till now never had any problems with any games (Even Crysis) with my GSO , never thought of parting with it till it gave up on Gears of War/NFS Shift @ 2xAA , currently playing Mirror's Edge @ 1280*1024 with 2xAA with out any glitch.

Anyways if i am correct its HD5670>>GTS 250>>HD5770 , GTS .........

You will get a dx11 nvidia GPU after 1 or 2 months...IMO keep ur card and wait for nvidia's new fermi versions ... gf 104 and 106 soon..

ragzdiablo · Jun 27, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

neojjjk said:
You will get a dx11 nvidia GPU after 1 or 2 months...IMO keep ur card and wait for nvidia's new fermi versions ... gf 104 and 106 soon..

Well if you can wait..
nothing better than that...

even if the nvidia cards dont live up to the competition..
a price cut on the ati cards can will be seen..
double sweet!

nj_gamer · Jun 27, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

I guess my post got missed out somehow... What can you suggest? for ~7.5K

saROMan · Jun 27, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

nj_gamer said:
I guess my post got missed out somehow... What can you suggest? for ~7.5K

I am not a expert:rofl: but consider the following to make your choice

9600GSO<9600GT<9800GT<9800GTX<9800GTX+=GTS250..

And this

HD5670<9800gt<GTS250...

HD 5670 cost around 5.2k..while the GTS 250 costs around 6.2k..
so at a difference of 1k..the GTS 250 gives much more performance than the HD 5670..

And if you can stretch you budget a bit then this

whats the point of getting a GTS 250 now and then a HD 5770 a year later..
you can just add 2k to your budget and get a HD 5770 now..

just think that HD 5770 will churn out more frames at your resolution than the GTS250... for upcoming games..
going for HD5770 is a much better option..

In my case will go for a VX450 first :bleh: (as far as electricity goes running 2 PSU's is not cheap :ashamed

, hopefully selling my PSU's will cover approx. 60~75% of the cost

hyeah: and then will go for HD 5770. Thanks ragzdiablo for the help.:thanx:
off topic EDIT

Was going through this thread and wanted 2 know i have APC RS500 UPS so can it take VX450 ?? boy never thought for changing GFX need to change the PSU & UPS also :death:

nj_gamer · Jun 27, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

the reason for my confusion is because of my Nvidia chipset... thats why i want an opinion/guidance

ragzdiablo · Jun 28, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

nj_gamer said:
the reason for my confusion is because of my Nvidia chipset... thats why i want an opinion/guidance

the nvidia chipset wont make a difference..

for your 19'' monitor..

get a GTS250 512mb ver ~ 6.2k..