Graphic Cards Graphics card for Digital Photography

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astrono_me

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Hi all,

My XFX 6600 128mb PCI-E died on me and is currently in service. I am told it may take 15 days and I can't live without a PC for that long. So I am planning to buy a new card.

My requirements are:

1) Photoshop, photoshop and more photoshop

2) Should be able to run Vista when and if I upgrade

3) Should be able to support a high end TFT display (DVI output and all)

3) I don't play games at all, so that is not a criteria for me to chose my card

4) My budget is 6 - 8k

5) Should work well with my C2D system when I upgrade

Please help me find a card for the above requirements

I did some research and found lot of good reviews for the Sparkle brand. The price difference between Sparkle and XFX for the 7600 GS (256mb) is around 1k :cool2: Also, the GS is supposed to be bang for the buck and I don't think I require the extra performance of the GT. Please correct me here if I am wrong.

I don't like the fact that XFX is highly priced and yet they can't offer decent service here in Bangalore :@

So is the Sparkle 7600 GS 256mb right for me? Will I see noticeble difference as compared to my earlier 6600 128mb? Any other options (ATI maybe) in the 6-8k price range?

Thanks!

PS: My current rig is:

AMD 3000+ 939 pin

MSI K8 Neo-4 Platinum

Coupla SATA and IDE hdds

1 GB Kingston RAM (512x2)

Corsair HX620W PSU (just purchased last week :P )
 
A couple of months back my BIG 6600GT died and I was given for temp use a 6200TC with 16mb mem on board this was going to use a total of 128mb mem balance being from my system memory ... I was skeptical about this even booting my fully loaded XP and Vista setups - I use Photoshop a lot as well run PowerDVD and other graphics programs.

This 6200TC card ran everything perfectly even Vista (but not Aero) I had no problems opeing and working on large pictures in Photoshop or watching movies or browsing graphically heavy loaded pages. It was a bit slow - but what can one get from a 2k card !!

What I liked most about this card is that it ran COOOOOL ... GPU temps were around 40C when running graphics programs .... I could actually run a screen saver which has lots of graphics and which brought my 6600GT down to its knees and which strains even my 8800 GTS !! :O

It was a Leadtek brand 6200TC .... a picture ...

 
Thanks.
My questions have been answered at this rather exhuastive thread: linky

I am posting it for any one else who may have similar questions on their mind :hap2:
 
Nice thread .... but what I suggested was a temporary solution and by spending the min amount of cash :)

I got my card replaced from BIG and I have returned the 6200TC.
 
Get either of the 7600GS 256 MB .. as for as performance diff. from the 6600GT goes , u'll hardly see any diff. with general usage ... unless u use something that explicitly uses the card , ur not supposed to see any diff. between any cards ...

Ofcourse , u'll get HD decoding , but u'll need the PureVideo decoder ...

Also , if u buying any card , make sure u buy a 7 series card .. the added features are really good enough ... If u don't need the extra performance offered by the 7600GS , u can opt for a 7300GT ...
 
Astrono_me said:
I don't think I require the extra performance of the GT. Please correct me here if I am wrong.
Click to expand...

Well bro..performance is never enuf...the more the better..:P I think with ur budget of 6-8k you can easily get an XFX or Sparkle 7600GT..go for it..7600GS is good too..but the prices have come down..i bought my XFX 7600GS for like 6.5k in december last year..you can easily get a 7600GT in tht price now save for a few hundreds here n there..so my advice..go for the 7600GT!!
 
I purchased an XFX 7600GS for 6k. Thats the best price I got here in Bangalore. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. But I am happy with the card :)

Funny thing - after I purchased the card I nearly tore my hair trying to figure out how to connect the power supply to the device. Then I realized that this card doesn't need a separate power supply :ashamed:
 
but hey..if the card wont need a power supply..the fan wud..!! Now you'll say whrs the fan dude..so buddy, let me advice you tht b4 you even think of connecting the card and if you really dont wanna get it screwed, get an 80mm fan from the market, use tape, plastic wedge pin screws or whatever you think will help the fan defy gravity...fix the fan on top of the heatsink, then connect it to any of the 12v power connectors from the psu..all that hardwork b4 installing the card is worth it as it'll go a along way in extending the life of ur card and avoid bad patches and frozen pixels on the screen due to heat up...and mind you, the 7600GS without the fan does heat up pretty badly.. forget all tht crap on the box about silent cooling..tht silent cooling will kill ur card...

So take my advice..fit a fan as soon as possible on top of the heatsink..:)
 
^^You cud do tht and it'll keep ur card cool for sure... but mind you, you'll lose any and all warranty..and thts askin for a bit too much...3 yrs warranty is a lot to loose in a matter of minutes..i wudnt take tht risk if i were u..

i have simply fitted an 80mm fan on top of the heatsink with the help of plastic wedge pin screws..they can be pushed into the gaps between the heatsink fins easily..tht way, if a problem arises with the card, i can easily take the fan and the plastic wedge pin screws out without a trace and my warranty stays intact..:D

n i dont think u need all tht fancy stuff to keep ur card cool..the 80mm fan is doing its job pretty well in my case..now my card idles at 47C and peaks at around 53C which is fine with me..:)
 
Hmm if its supposed to be passive cooled. It should work that way, if it gets spoilt replace it as its under a warranty. Trust me the 80mm fan noise will drive you nuts, if you plan to keep the comp on in the nights...
 
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