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Recommend a graphics card?

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11-29-2008 , 03:14 PM

Beavis68

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 5,814

I currently have a 7600 GS.

I would like a card that:

1. Has dual DVI-D
2. Single card height
3. Is better for gaming.
4. Is ~100$ or less

I am running XP so DirectX 10 performance isn't an issue.

My system has a PCI-e x16 port (isn't 2.0 back compatible?)

I only game lightly, my current setup handles Battlefield 2 and HL 2 at max settings, but the newer games and demos kill the system.

Processor is an E6700, and I have 2GB of RAM. I am not a heavy gamer obviously so I am not going to drop big coin on a card.

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11-29-2008 , 03:35 PM

RodeoBlue

old hand

Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,294

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...d&Order=RATING

Pick one (doesn't matter for you), the first two have a substantial amount of near perfect consumer reviews. Yes, PCI-E 2.0 is backwards compatible.

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11-29-2008 , 03:48 PM

funkyworms

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 4,250

ATI: 3870 or 4830

Nvidia: 9600 GT

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11-29-2008 , 05:35 PM

Bremen

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 15,799

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkyworms

ATI: 3870 or 4830

Nvidia: 9600 GT

+1

4830 is the best of the 3 and will run you slightly more than $100 it seems.

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11-29-2008 , 07:31 PM

Beavis68

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 5,814

Great thanks, seems like so many cards have come out in the last year or so I am lost as to what is what.

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11-29-2008 , 07:35 PM

eastern motors

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 9,208

I have this:

XFX PVT98GYDLH GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

$99 after rebate

You can get it bundled with Call of Duty 4 for $10 more or FarCry2 for $20

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11-29-2008 , 07:39 PM

Beavis68

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 5,814

Thanks, I had pulled the same list on newegg, but there are quite a few different engines here.

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Originally Posted by RodeoBlue

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11-29-2008 , 07:45 PM

Grinder At Law

enthusiast

Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 58

I would go with any of the newer NVIDIA cards that meet your criteria and steer clear of ATI...Although ATI does make some attractive cards, I have seen a lot of compatibility issues with motherboards/software...also my roomates in undergrad were computer engineers who built computers and they swore to never buy ATI again after the problems they had...

FWIW, I'm running 3 monitors on a GeForce 8500(PCI-E) and GeForce 6200(PCI) and they work great. However, I'd upgrade cards from my current setup if I was doing any gaming at all...

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11-29-2008 , 08:48 PM

Mr_Pathetic

veteran

Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,474

ATI is fine and no issues with boards unless you are getting a 3870x2 or 4870x2 then you will have to update your bios. DFI x38 and x48 boards do not jive with the 3870x2 and need a bios update for the 4870x2. I imagine other x38/x48 boards are in same boat.

OP I would go with 3870 or 4830 like others have said. Not sure if things have changed since this summer but the most bang for the buck was with ATI then.

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11-29-2008 , 10:04 PM

#10

RodeoBlue

old hand

Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,294

If you're gonna be gaming, just ship the extra 20-30 bucks for a 8800 or 9800.

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11-29-2008 , 11:08 PM

#11

Beavis68

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 5,814

yeah, I may opt for a 4850 or a 9800GT,

eastern thanks for that link, that is a great find.

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11-29-2008 , 11:24 PM

#12

ADBjester

grinder

Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 495

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bremen

+1

4830 is the best of the 3 and will run you slightly more than $100 it seems.

QFT. The added bonus of the 4830 is that come December 10th, if you ever want to do any video editing, it will blow the doors off anything else due to new drivers that enable Stream technology:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ATI...rter,6594.html

In short, this card allows appropriate software to move video encoding over to the purpos-built graphics card, which can blow through a video resizing / rendering way faster than even the fastest CPU on the market.

And its still very good for games, and still close to that $100 price point.

Jester

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11-30-2008 , 12:31 AM

#13

Beavis68

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 5,814

wow, that is funny, that is my birthday.

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11-30-2008 , 04:28 AM

#14

Josem

human chemical weapon

Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 18,247

Tom's Hardware Review of Graphic Cards imo

There's not much subjective about this stuff, as I see it - just get the most powerful one for your money.

Radeon HD 3870 or GeForce 9600 GT is their recommendation. I prefer ATI for no obvious reason, so I'd go with that, although I'd suggest that you keep all your video cards in your house the same manufacturer since Vista doesn't like video cards from different manufacturers to be running at the same time.

I currently have a silent 3850 which is pretty awesome and I like it a lot.

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11-30-2008 , 04:35 AM

#15

Solid_p

adept

Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 828

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josem

[url=http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2064.html]
I currently have a silent 3850 which is pretty awesome and I like it a lot.

Same here, really good buy.

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12-02-2008 , 02:40 AM

#16

homanga

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 15,403

Thoughts between ATI 4830 and Geforce 9800

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12-02-2008 , 04:20 AM

#17

Josem

human chemical weapon

Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 18,247

Quote:

Originally Posted by homanga

Thoughts between ATI 4830 and Geforce 9800

Tom's Hardware ranks them as even.

I'd suggest that you buy whichever card is made by the same manufacturer as your current card. That way, you maximise compatibility with Vista and your existing settings.

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