Graphics Card Advice

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Joey D

Joey D

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So I'm pretty sure my 8800GTS is dying, last night while playing Dragon Age everything switched into funny colour mode with pinks, greens and whites all over the place and the resolution dropped. The frame rate went to about 2fps as well. It also smelled faintly of burnt electronics and was hotter then the fiery gates of hell themselves.

I ran a stress test and the graphics card pretty much failed that. So I guess I'm in the need of a new one.

Since I'm going to do this I'm going to at least run and SLI setup, but I need some advice on what to get. I have an old 7800 in there right now just so I can have it working, but honestly I don't want to keep that because it makes my soul cry when I try to play games.

My budget is $400 for two cards. I play all sorts of games and I do some Photoshop work. My monitor runs in 1280 x 1024 resolution although I do occasionally hook my computer up to my 1080p 42" TV.

Thanks for the help!
 
Or save yourself about half that money, buy a 4870 as no game will utilise the 5870 anyway.
 
It's probably worth mentioning that I am allergic to Radeon cards. Out of the three I've had, one caught on fire (well it smoked pretty good), one died 30 minutes after install and the one caused me rather unexplained computer issues.
 
Maybe 2x GTX 260
You can get that for under $400 and it wont give you allergic reactions :P
 
Would it not be worth splitting that money up in to two areas. A GTX260 and a 1920x1080 monitor. It makes gaming so much better than on a 4:3 1280x1024 monitor.
 
Hmm that might be a good point. I could go with a GeForce 260 and a 23" monitor, or should I go with a bit more cowbell in a graphics card? Honestly I haven't bought one in a while and don't really know anything about the 2XX series from nVida.
 
FYI, you generally get better returns spending the same money on one card than splitting it between two cards, from what I've read.

And getting a legit monitor is completely worth it. I don't think I could play at 1280x1024 after so much 1680x1050 playing. And I'd probably go with an ATI card, despite your allergy/being a noob.
 
Ya ya ya n00b or whatever :p.

Alright, say I take some e-Claritin so it can suppress my allergy. What ATI card should I look at? The HD 4870 seems to be fairly highly rank and it is under $200 which would be good since a decent monitor is about $200 as well.

Actually for a monitor I'd probably get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001308
 
If you can stretch your budget to 500 then you should be able to find a 5850.
It's one of the latest cards that has directX 11 support so you wont need to upgrade later.
At the moment the only programs i know that use directX 11 are windows 7 and dirt2 but atleast you know that later when more games are 11 capable you will be there ready for it.
 
Actually I'm in a similar position (sorry if this hi-jacks your thread—was hesitant to start a new one) with an 8800GTS:

I was wondering if it was worth upgrading to a GTX280/285, or just find another 8800GTS and go SLI?

(I'm also open to ATI solutions, but my whole rig is nVidida/EVGA/BFG-based so I'd like to stick to that route for the sake of consistency. And I do acknowledge that ATI's cards age better than nVidia's, but the 780i mobo was *too* tempting.)
 
If you can afford to go GTX280/285 then go for one of them if you don't want to run ATI.
 
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I don't think I want to drop $500 on one card, the only reason I said $400 was that I was looking for 2 cards to go SLI/Crossfire. But after thinking about it one higher end graphics card and a monitor seems like a better use of my money.
 
Joey D
Ya ya ya n00b or whatever :p.

Alright, say I take some e-Claritin so it can suppress my allergy. What ATI card should I look at? The HD 4870 seems to be fairly highly rank and it is under $200 which would be good since a decent monitor is about $200 as well.

Actually for a monitor I'd probably get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001308
Click to expand...

A 4870 and that monitor is pretty much identical to what I have (My monitor is a P2250 which I think is Euro only, couldn't find it on Newegg), and I couldn't recommend it more. Samsung's are excellent, 4870's are too.

With the 4870 you will need two PCI-E power leads from your PSU for the board, if you've got a decent PSU this shouldn't be a problem as you'll either have the power cables, or have spare Molex adaptors which you can buy these for:

PCI%20Express%204%20pin%20to%206%20pin%20power%20adapter.jpg


Don't worry about DX11, it'll be 3-4 years before you actually need it for gaming, and unless you are planning on moving to 7 (or if you have) you can't use DX11 with XP anyway. 4870 supports DX10 you're fine with that for a good few years yet.

I did pretty much an identical upgrade to you. 4870 + full HD Samsung monitor, cost me about £270 which is about $400. I couldn't be happier, games are excellent, everything looks excellent.

Do check that your tower will fit a 4870, it is quite big and you may need to re-seat your HDD, but that is simple.

For me, if you're going to upgrade the graphics side, you need to change the monitor as well, especially if you're gaming.
 
Joey D
I don't think I want to drop $500 on one card, the only reason I said $400 was that I was looking for 2 cards to go SLI/Crossfire. But after thinking about it one higher end graphics card and a monitor seems like a better use of my money.
Click to expand...

It's about 300 for 1 5850 and then 200 for moniter
 
Get this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254044
and plug it into this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433
And you'll be all set.
My son has a 21.5 in Hanns G 1080p monitor and its real nice. He also runs his PS3 thru it.
What kind of PSU are you using?
I agree that the 1 card and a monitor upgrade is the best approach if your not using a newish monitor already. I'm running a 4870 1gb crossfire setup with a 22in Acer and am very pleased with the results. I didn't buy all this stuff at once though.
If I were buying a single card right now this one is hard to beat for the price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438
Comes with a lifetime warranty. Remember this is a very large card...
The new ATI 58xx cards are very hard to find and start at $260
 
Public'sTwin
The key is ONE GTX280/285 Vs. TWO 8800GTSs.

That is the dilemma. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I'm not an nvidia fan but i would go with one GTX rather than two 8800's,could add another GTX later even though you wont need it.
 
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The games are using more vram but in SLI/Xfire it still only use's the ram that is on each card,so if you have a 512mb cards you will still only have 512mb.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

GT3mich
What kind of PSU are you using?
Click to expand...

It's a 500W one, I'm not sure of the brand name on it. It was another one of those things that exploded and I needed a new one ASAP so I didn't have time to research anything out.

I do like that EVGA GTX 260, it's slightly more expensive at MircoCenter but I should just be able to drive down to the store and pick it up instead of ordering it and letting the UPS man doodle it.

http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0304633

I might go down there after work today and pick it up, it depends on the traffic report.

As for the monitor, I'm going to look around some more since I'm in no real hurry to pick one up. I'll probably end up getting it at Costco since that's where I got my last one at.
 
Would you be willing to wait till GT300/Fermi comes out? Or are you looking at doing this by next week. In other words, is there a time frame on this?
 
GT3mich
You might want to read this first.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2464-4.html
The card you picked is a good card but a bit on the pricey side. For $5 more you can get a 4890 from Newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438
Order today and you'll have it by next Wednesday at the latest. I doubt Costco will have 23.6 in monitor for $189. Its very hard to beat those 2 deals I posted. You just have to wait for delivery.
Click to expand...

I'm trying to like Radeon cards but I can't, plus I like nVida's PhysX which a couple of my games use. I really want to be able to play Red Fraction: Guerillas which I haven't been able to because of the faulty card. Why that game takes so much cowbell is beyond me. I still think I'm going to get the 260.

And ya that monitor deal is really good, but like I said I'm in no huge rush to get a screen. I might wait and see if there are any Black Friday deals worth getting up for. I have a hard time ordering from NewEgg too, it seems like everytime I order from them it comes to me damaged. When we got new computers here at the office I ordered all the stuff through NewEgg and two cases were destroyed and one video card looked like it had been driven over with a car. I wasn't happy.

===

Yes I'm on a time table to a degree, using a 7800 is painful.
 
If you do decide to buy the EVGA card don't forget to register it at their website. This will enroll you in the trade up program as well.
 
GT3mich
If you do decide to buy the EVGA card don't forget to register it at their website. This will enroll you in the trade up program as well.
Click to expand...

Hmmm I never heard about that until now, looks like a cool programme to be in. Thanks for the heads up.

I was e-mailing a buddy of mine who just bought the same card and said he loves it, the only problem is case fitment. I need to look into how much room I have since I only have a mid tower and not a full sized case. He's going to measure the card for me so I know.
 
Joey D
Hmmm I never heard about that until now, looks like a cool programme to be in. Thanks for the heads up.

I was e-mailing a buddy of mine who just bought the same card and said he loves it, the only problem is case fitment. I need to look into how much room I have since I only have a mid tower and not a full sized case. He's going to measure the card for me so I know.
Click to expand...

Id have a look here for the step up thingy:

http://www.evga.com/stepup/Default.asp

I WAS going to try and do that with my 8800GT but I never did get around to registering it in time. So learn from my mistake and the mistakes of others. If and when you do decide to get a 260 or 275 and want to step-up to the GT300 or something in between, just make you dot every I and cross Every T in the process.

Id also go for the Card+LCD option suggested previously.

EDIT: What is the exact make of your PSU? A generic 500W for a 260 is cutting it close.
 
It's an OCZ but past that I don't really know, I can look when I get home though.
 
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gtx_260_us.html

Specs side give you the dimensions.

Your PSU, OCZ 500W, only has one PCI-E converter, you'll need two for the GTX260. If you have two spare molex connectors you can buy a molex-pci-e converter, as mentioned before. They are dead cheap $3-4 or so, and of course the spare molex's will need to be close to the card, though you can buy Molex extensions if needed.
 
Sureboss
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gtx_260_us.html

Specs side give you the dimensions.

Your PSU, OCZ 500W, only has one PCI-E converter, you'll need two for the GTX260. If you have two spare molex connectors you can buy a molex-pci-e converter, as mentioned before. They are dead cheap $3-4 or so, and of course the spare molex's will need to be close to the card, though you can buy Molex extensions if needed.
Click to expand...
It should come with at least one of those.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Image...s 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

I see at least 2 in the group shot.
 

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