Graphic Cards Graphic card buying advice

pcgamers · Jan 19, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

Can anyone advise what GPU should i buy if i plan to spend around $400? I am thinking whether to buy GTX 275 (i'm nvidia user since the beginning) or HD5850 as the card seems more powerful than GTX 285.

shall i upgrade my PSU? i am using Enermax 460W PSU right now. my spec wasshown at my siggy.

Thanks in advance...

sabby · Jan 19, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

You can get a 5870 within $400 ( assuming you stay in US ). And yes, a PSU upgrade will be safe.

Harshal · Jan 19, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

Please to suggest me a card for home rig-esh...

What is your budget-endra? Rs. 10,000 - 11,000/-
Current rig-esh specs:
CPU - Core i5 750
Motherboard - Gigabyte H55-UD3H
RAM - Gskill 4GB DDR3-1600
Monitor - 24" Dell
Which PSU/SMPS will you be using? Corsair TX750
Primary use? Hardcore gaming, Movies/HTPC
What resolution do you game on? Current:1440X900 After upgrade:1920*1200/1680*1050 whateva works with games
Interested in Crossfire/SLI? No
Open to both Nvidia/ATI? Both but DX11 = AMD now!!

madnav · Jan 19, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

HD5770 is in your budget..

Harshal · Jan 19, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

Yeah kinda figured it out after checking the Dealers Paradise section

ragzdiablo · Jan 19, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

pcgamers said:
Can anyone advise what GPU should i buy if i plan to spend around $400? I am thinking whether to buy GTX 275 (i'm nvidia user since the beginning) or HD5850 as the card seems more powerful than GTX 285.

shall i upgrade my PSU? i am using Enermax 460W PSU right now. my spec wasshown at my siggy.

Thanks in advance...

HD5870 is the best option in that budget..
Just checked amazon..listed at $415...

And yes again for the PSU upgrade, Enermax is a good brand..
But your its quite old..so a PSU upgrade is also recommended for a HD5870..

If $400 includes both a GPU and PSU..
Get a HD5850 and a corsair VX550..

Harshal said:
Please to suggest me a card for home rig-esh...

What is your budget-endra? Rs. 10,000 - 11,000/-
Current rig-esh specs:
CPU - Core i5 750
Motherboard - Gigabyte H55-UD3H
RAM - Gskill 4GB DDR3-1600
Monitor - 24" Dell
Which PSU/SMPS will you be using? Corsair TX750
Primary use? Hardcore gaming, Movies/HTPC
What resolution do you game on? Current:1440X900 After upgrade:1920*1200/1680*1050 whateva works with games
Interested in Crossfire/SLI? No
Open to both Nvidia/ATI? Both but DX11 = AMD now!!

A HD5770 is what you should get as you are looking for a DX11 card in that budget..

But if you can wait for sometime..it may give you a better option..
as HD5830 is going to launch on Feb 5th..(you will have to increase budget by minimum of 2k though)
And since you have a big monitor..A HD5830 is advisable over a HD5770

darkseid · Jan 25, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

My friend has a psu of iball 450watts

he is currently planning to buy 9800 gt ,willl it handle it alright if not please suggest something else for the cheapest price

ragzdiablo · Jan 25, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

darkseid said:
My friend has a psu of iball 450watts
he is currently planning to buy 9800 gt ,willl it handle it alright if not please suggest something else for the cheapest price

No..please dont try to run a 9800gt on a Iball psu..
Iball PSU's have extremely low efficiency and it is not recommended to run dedicated graphics cards on them..

Tell him to get a Gigabyte superb 460w PSU ~ 2.2k

sabby · Jan 25, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

No way that PSU can handle 9800GT safely neither it has PCIE connector. Ideally we wouldn't advise a graphic card on that PSU. A 4670 may survive if he must buy one.

ragzdiablo · Jan 25, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

A HD4670 runs on local PSU's..but that is not advisable aswell..As Sabby said...it should be done only in a must buy situation..

I remember my Iball PSU blowing up when i was using my HD4670 on it..

Tell your friend to invest in a branded PSU as well..

darkseid · Jan 25, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

thanks for the prompt reply guys

Gautham · Jan 27, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

So, I'm doing this for a little friend of mine. He's not really familiar with technical stuff and just wants to play games properly (Prototype, to quote an example). I couldn't get to his place so I couldn't check out his PC myself, but I got the details as best as I could.

1. What is your budget?

Up to Rs.7000

2. Current rig Specs

CPU: AMD ATHLON(TM) 64 PROCESSOR 3000+, MMX, 3DNow, ~1.8GHz (As seen in dxdiag system properties)
Motherboard: VIAK8M AWRDACPI (As seen in dxdiag system properties)
RAM: 1GB
Monitor: View Sonic (couldn't get the exact model number)

3. Which PSU/SMPS will you be using?

No idea as of now.

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

Casual/hardcore gaming.
I don't know what's the line between casual and hardcore, I'd say casual but decent 3D gaming.

5. What resolution do you game on?

1440x900 (max), 800x600 (min)
His desktop resolution is 1440x900, so I'm guessing these stats. He said he has no plans of upgrading his monitor.

6. Interested in Crossfire/SLI?

Nope.

7. Open to both Nvidia/ATI?

Only nVidia (mainly for 3D Vision)

Any help greatly appreciated

PS: Also, since we don't know much about the PSU, feel free to suggest green/low-power editions too.

pavasedge · Jan 27, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

Check if motherboard has PCI E x16 or not.For that budget get MSI ,XFX or Zotac 9600GT 512MB (4.8k) (Sapphire or MSI HD4670 512MB (4.5k) and FSP Saga II 350 or Zebronics pro 350 PSU(1.6k)if you consider ATI).Your rest of system will be bottleneck so getting any card better than HD 4670/9600GT doesnt makes much sense.Also get 1GB(1.2k) more ram.

ragzdiablo · Jan 28, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

pavasedge said:
Check if motherboard has PCI E x16 or not.For that budget get MSI ,XFX or Zotac 9600GT 512MB (4.8k) (Sapphire or MSI HD4670 512MB (4.5k) and FSP Saga II 350 or Zebronics pro 350 PSU(1.6k)if you consider ATI).Your rest of system will be bottleneck so getting any card better than HD 4670/9600GT doesnt makes much sense.Also get 1GB(1.2k) more ram.

Nailed it..
Do make sure whether your motherboard has a PCI-E 16x slot or not..

Keep in mind you need a 120hertz monitor to use 3Dvision..

alcy · Jan 29, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

Hats off to the thread starter for taking upon himself this (seemingly mammoth) task. Well here's my query:

1. What is your budget? < 2-5k
2. Current rig Specs(not current, but pretty much closing on these)
CPU- Core i7 920
Motherboard- Intel DX58SO
RAM- Corsair 3X2Gb 1333 Mhz 1.5V
Monitor- Most probably an AOC 22''
3. Which PSU/SMPS will you be using? Corsair
4. Primary use? Movies/HTPC only. No games.

6. Interested in Crossfire/SLI? I guess not.
7. Open to both Nvidia/ATI? Yes, but... The thing is I work on linux only. There are two aspects: ATI has open source drivers, but somewhat weak implementation when it comes to video playback. This is in comparison with the closed source Nvidia drivers with better implementation & improved video playback due to VDPAU. Being a mostly open source guy, I do wish to have ATI, however, don't want to compromise on video playback quality...H.264 & such should be able to be played flawlessly.

I guess this is not probably the right place to ask this query, maybe I should bug the guys over at linux forums....however keeping aside for a moment my preferences & background, please suggest me a few cards to consider & then I will fight it over regarding Nvidia vs ATI.

Thanks.

ragzdiablo · Jan 29, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

alcy said:
Hats off to the thread starter for taking upon himself this (seemingly mammoth) task. Well here's my query:

1. What is your budget? < 2-5k
2. Current rig Specs(not current, but pretty much closing on these)
CPU- Core i7 920
Motherboard- Intel DX58SO
RAM- Corsair 3X2Gb 1333 Mhz 1.5V
Monitor- Most probably an AOC 22''
3. Which PSU/SMPS will you be using? Corsair
4. Primary use? Movies/HTPC only. No games.

6. Interested in Crossfire/SLI? I guess not.
7. Open to both Nvidia/ATI? Yes, but... The thing is I work on linux only. There are two aspects: ATI has open source drivers, but somewhat weak implementation when it comes to video playback. This is in comparison with the closed source Nvidia drivers with better implementation & improved video playback due to VDPAU. Being a mostly open source guy, I do wish to have ATI, however, don't want to compromise on video playback quality...H.264 & such should be able to be played flawlessly.

I guess this is not probably the right place to ask this query, maybe I should bug the guys over at linux forums....however keeping aside for a moment my preferences & background, please suggest me a few cards to consider & then I will fight it over regarding Nvidia vs ATI.

Thanks.

At that budget, 9600gt is the most obvious suggestion..
But since you dont intend to game on it, it will be useless..

So, 9400gt and 9500gt come into consideration, both of these will fulfill your requirement.
Out of these two, i recommend a 9500gt, incase you ever want to game..
it will play all the latest games, and you wont be dissapointed.

I have recommended only Nvidia here, the reason for being that..
My friend uses a Nvidia card with linux, no problems at all..
dont know anyone who uses ATI, so did not suggest that.

alcy · Jan 29, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

^^Thanks a lot man. I was deciding between 9600 & 9400(as suggested on the thread I started in the Linux sub-forums) and then you drop the bomb, well a bijli bomb. hehe. Guess I'll go with 9500 gt then.

cellar_door · Feb 2, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

Guys I got a small problem. I was having problems (corrupted display, green lines, freezing when gaming etc) with my 2 1/2 year old 8800 GTS. I have sent the GPU back to manufacturer (MSI) but they sent it back cause the problem didnt occur in their tests. One day after plugging the card in my system the problem happened again. So now I sent it back to MSI. Again. Assuming they dont do anything again I will have to buy a new card.

Ideally I want something cheap that will last me till the end of the year when I plan on making a new rig. Dont wanna spend more than 7k. So I am looking at a 4850, GTS 250 or the ATI 5670. I am leaning towards the GTS 250. Any counter thoughts?

I have a 500W Amigo PSU, I am guessing all of those three will work fine on that.

Lastly if MSI send the card back again as it doesnt show a problem in their tests do I have any other options?

ragzdiablo · Feb 4, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

If you only want to get a card to serve you this year, a DX11 card is not necessary..

So you better stick to a HD4850 or a GTS250, the GTS250 is slightly powerful than the HD4850..

Get anyone of these according to the availability in your locality..

If they send the card back, first of all..try it in your friends computer, if it works there..it means its not a problem with the card but a problem with some other PC component of yours..

try cleaning the slots..

pavasedge · Feb 4, 2010

Re: The Graphic Card Advisor

The issue you are facing could also be because of PSU, bad ram sticks or overheating.Check GPU temperature and report back.Don't get GTS 250 or HD 4850.It is risky to run these on your current PSU.It will be good if you try your 8800GTS at your friend's place and see if it happens again.In case it does work,then change your PSU .Get either of these -: Corsair CX400(3.3k),Cooler Master realpower pro 460(3.8k) or Corsair VX 450(4.2k).Alternatively also test your RAM using Memtest86+ .