Forum Settings
       
« Previous 1 2
Reply To Thread

Shopping for a video cardFollow

#1 Jul 29 2010 at 9:31 AM Rating: Good
*****
10,564 posts
Oh knowledgeable folks of =25, I wish to purchase a new video card in the next month or two. I currently own a GeForce 8500, and while it works ok it seems to be getting more and more outdated with new games (most evidently with SCII). I built my computer 2.5 years ago, so I figure it's about time I start upgrading and figure video card is a good place to start. However, I'm not really sure what to look for or what I need to consider with my current system (e.g. any compatibility issues I should be wary of).

I'm expecting to spend $150-300 on a decent card that will last me a few years; is this reasonable? I don't mind waiting a little longer if there is something new on the horizon that would be worth the wait. Any thoughts, advice, or opinions are welcome.

Thanks!
____________________________
◕ ‿‿ ◕
#2 Jul 29 2010 at 10:51 AM Rating: Decent
I think the price point is good for a decent video card but I really don't know that much about them.

It might help if you list the rest of your system here too. So people can make a better informed reply.
#3 Jul 29 2010 at 10:56 AM Rating: Good
****
7,129 posts
The relatively new GTX 460 is a great buy at the $220ish (for a 1GB version) price point. They're quite potent in SLI as well if your system supports it, if you find you need a bit more oomph later.

I know that at least some of the driver revisions have issues with FFXI though, if you are actively playing that.
#4 Jul 29 2010 at 11:04 AM Rating: Decent
Isiolia wrote:
The relatively new GTX 460 is a great buy at the $220ish (for a 1GB version) price point. They're quite potent in SLI as well if your system supports it, if you find you need a bit more oomph later.


So am I right in understanding when you say
Quote:
(for a 1GB version)
that means that video cards come with RAM on card? I thought I heard that was were it was going (I really don't know much about hardware) to take a load of the system ram.
#5 Jul 29 2010 at 1:20 PM Rating: Good
***
1,025 posts
I second the Nvidia GTX 460, its one of the best of the cards in your price range. There is also the GTX 460 [768 MB] version as well for 200$, but its worthwhile just paying 20 more for the 1GB version. Avoid purchasing the GTX 465 as it is actually weaker than the the GTX 460.

A review of the card can be found here

The only new cards on the horizon in your price range seem to be the GTS 450 in September 2010, and maybe the GTX 475 in Q3 2010.
#6 Jul 29 2010 at 2:53 PM Rating: Good
****
7,129 posts
Quote:
that means that video cards come with RAM on card? I thought I heard that was were it was going (I really don't know much about hardware) to take a load of the system ram.


Any discrete card has at least some RAM of its own. Basically anything past the low, low end will use all its own memory, but there are cards that have a little RAM built in, and then use some of the system memory as well. Integrated graphics commonly will not have any of their own memory, and will simply use a chunk of the system memory.

Another possible point of confusion is that 32-bit Windows (without workarounds) can only actually address 4GB worth of memory registers...so it typically uses a chunk of those to address hardware instead of system RAM. More memory on the graphics card will mean Windows needs to use more of those addresses to talk to the card, so instead of say, using 3.5GB of 4GB of memory, it might only be able to use 3GB.

The GTX 460 comes in 768MB and 1GB flavors, but the price difference isn't that great, so the general recommendation is to go for the 1GB version.
#7 Jul 29 2010 at 7:22 PM Rating: Excellent
Avatar
******
29,919 posts
I third the 460 GTX. It has muuuuch overclock room in it, ruuns pretty cool too comparativly.
____________________________
Arch Duke Kaolian Drachensborn, lvl 95 Ranger, Unrest Server
Tech support forum | FAQ (Support) | Mobile Zam: http://m.zam.com (Premium only)
Forum Rules
#8 Jul 29 2010 at 10:11 PM Rating: Good
*****
10,564 posts
Thanks, that sounds like a good option.
____________________________
◕ ‿‿ ◕
#9 Jul 30 2010 at 8:12 AM Rating: Decent
Isiolia wrote:
All that stuff above.


Right on, thanks.
#10 Jul 30 2010 at 10:19 AM Rating: Good
*****
10,564 posts
So, searching Newegg for said card gives a handful of results, all of which I can only assume are the same card but different manufacturers (or just sellers?)... or are they actually different? If so, which should I go for? I haven't really heard of any of these before (the top two results are Palit and Sparkle).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600007323%20600062521%20600007779&IsNodeId=1&name=1GB
____________________________
◕ ‿‿ ◕
#11 Jul 30 2010 at 10:21 AM Rating: Good
Terrorfiend
*****
12,905 posts
Of those, the only one I recommend is the EVGA. And they arent all the same. Look at core speed, shader speeds, core processors and memory speeds
#12 Jul 30 2010 at 10:24 AM Rating: Good
*****
10,564 posts
KTurner wrote:
Of those, the only one I recommend is the EVGA. And they arent all the same. Look at core speed, shader speeds, core processors and memory speeds


The ones that are out of stock? Which one is best? These two seem to have the same specs... the only difference I can see is in the model #. Also, what do you think about this one? It seems to have the best and most numerous reviews.
____________________________
◕ ‿‿ ◕
#13 Jul 30 2010 at 10:34 AM Rating: Good
Terrorfiend
*****
12,905 posts
Vataro wrote:
KTurner wrote:
Of those, the only one I recommend is the EVGA. And they arent all the same. Look at core speed, shader speeds, core processors and memory speeds


The ones that are out of stock? Which one is best? These two seem to have the same specs... the only difference I can see is in the model #. Also, what do you think about this one? It seems to have the best and most numerous reviews.


No its not out of stock -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130568

And no, I personally wouldnt buy a Gigabyte, plus its not as good as the one i linked.

Edited, Jul 30th 2010 9:36am by KTurner
#14 Jul 30 2010 at 10:40 AM Rating: Good
*****
10,564 posts
So, SLI has to do with Crossfire, correct? And that is where you basically have 2 video cards for increased performance? I don't plan on actually doing this, but for general knowledge's sake, do they have to be the same card or can they be different?

Thanks again for your help and answers, it is greatly appreciated.
____________________________
◕ ‿‿ ◕
#15 Jul 30 2010 at 10:46 AM Rating: Good
Terrorfiend
*****
12,905 posts
AFAIK it has to be same card type, ie 2 GTX460s. I think the detailed specs and even manufacturer can vary. Not positive though.


SLI = nVidia, Crossfire = ATI


Edited, Jul 30th 2010 9:48am by KTurner
#16 Jul 30 2010 at 11:58 AM Rating: Good
***
1,025 posts
KTurner wrote:
Vataro wrote:
KTurner wrote:
Of those, the only one I recommend is the EVGA. And they arent all the same. Look at core speed, shader speeds, core processors and memory speeds


The ones that are out of stock? Which one is best? These two seem to have the same specs... the only difference I can see is in the model #. Also, what do you think about this one? It seems to have the best and most numerous reviews.


No its not out of stock -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130568

And no, I personally wouldnt buy a Gigabyte, plus its not as good as the one i linked.

Edited, Jul 30th 2010 9:36am by KTurner


Out of curiosity, what are some of the issues with Gigabyte cards? I know in terms of motherboards they're fairly decent, but not too sure on video cards. I ask since I was thinking of buying one around October.
#17 Jul 30 2010 at 12:09 PM Rating: Good
Terrorfiend
*****
12,905 posts
nothing specifically. From what ive read on nvidia video cards the best, common cards are EVGA, XFX and BFG. So i just stick with those to try to get as good a product as possible.
#18 Jul 30 2010 at 5:26 PM Rating: Good
****
7,861 posts
Quote:
nothing specifically. From what ive read on nvidia video cards the best, common cards are EVGA, XFX and BFG. So i just stick with those to try to get as good a product as possible.

I've had good results with PNY. I try and buy all PNY components, and only had 1 bad stick of RAM, that I think I might have even fried.
____________________________
People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome. ~River Tam

Sedao
#19 Jul 30 2010 at 7:26 PM Rating: Decent
****
5,159 posts
I've gotten a couple of video cards from PNY that I've also never had issues with. It's anecdotal at best, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again. (That's in-store though, I have no idea how their shipping is if you get it from their site.)
#20 Jul 30 2010 at 11:25 PM Rating: Excellent
Avatar
******
29,919 posts
A bit more info about SLI and crossfire. SLI (Scalable Link Interface) is Nvidia's multiple graphics card linking technology. It is theoretically possible to link up to 4 of specific models of cards on specific motherboards (The EVGA SR-2 motherboard for example) Most "gaming" motherboards will take 2 or possibly 3 cards. You generally want to have identical hardware, with identical bios revisions and hardware revisions, but that is not a 100% requirement. The Intel X58 chipset also supports "Asynchronyous SLI" where you can link2 different types of video card in SLI mode. This is an unstable, unholy abomination unto all the gods of computing, never do this. Ever. Yeah, I'm looking at you Apple.

Crossfire is also capable of going to up to at least 3 cards. I've never seen a 4 card crossfire array, but the SR-2 might be able to do it. You again would want to match hardware and bios revision, but crossfire plays a bit easier with differing cards in the same family. It's still a horrible affront to computer kind and your computer will explode out of shame if you do this. but you could if you want to.

Video card manufacturer ranking, in order of personal preference:
EVGA - best warranty support assuming you remember to register the card, best hardware overall in terms of components used on the board
PNY - occaisonal hardware issues, but almost as good warranty as EVGA
XFX - Comparable to PNY
BFG - tends to use really nice copper heat syncs, rest of the components are sometimes lacking.
Asus - good hardware, warranty can get annoying on the video cards.
Leadtek - not so much recently, but i've had good luck with their hardware in the past.

If your potential card isn't on that list, I wouldn't buy it.
____________________________
Arch Duke Kaolian Drachensborn, lvl 95 Ranger, Unrest Server
Tech support forum | FAQ (Support) | Mobile Zam: http://m.zam.com (Premium only)
Forum Rules
#21 Jul 31 2010 at 9:39 AM Rating: Good
*****
10,564 posts
Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll buy the EVGA one as soon as I get my extra paycheck this month. I don't think I want to buy 2 at the moment though... but perhaps down the road (say in a year) this would be a better option than waiting a few years and replacing it again?
____________________________
◕ ‿‿ ◕
#22 Jul 31 2010 at 12:13 PM Rating: Excellent
Avatar
******
29,919 posts
Vataro wrote:
Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll buy the EVGA one as soon as I get my extra paycheck this month. I don't think I want to buy 2 at the moment though... but perhaps down the road (say in a year) this would be a better option than waiting a few years and replacing it again?


Yeah. The trick is making sure you can get the exact same model number for best performance. but it is doable.
____________________________
Arch Duke Kaolian Drachensborn, lvl 95 Ranger, Unrest Server
Tech support forum | FAQ (Support) | Mobile Zam: http://m.zam.com (Premium only)
Forum Rules
#23 Aug 03 2010 at 9:56 PM Rating: Good
**
784 posts
Hey Vataro, long time no see.

Sorry Kaolian, I have to disagree. There has been a lot of talk on overclock.net about how Asus is now top dog when it comes to quality, because of the binning proceedures at EVGA, and while on paper the EVGA warranty looks better, a lot of people have been having trouble getting things RMA'd with them lately. I've also heard that for a lot of their products, they have recently changed from lifetime warranty to 5 year warranty.

The general consensus on overclock.net seems to be that the Asus binning process tends to yield better cards on average. They also allow voltage tweak out of the box, something most others don't allow (this is why so many enthusiasts who buy other brands flash their bios using an Asus bios).

Back to the matter at hand, I believe there is a deal going around that gets you 20% off GTX4xx series cards from gamestop. Someone was posting on the FFXIV boards a few days ago that they work at gamestop, and had a tonne of redemption codes that they would give away, all you had to do was PM them. Dunno if it's still going on, but worth looking into. I think one person actually managed to get a GTX 480 for around $250-300after the 20% off code, plus rebates.

I've recently myself moved from a HD 5870 to a GTX 480, and I'm getting a 2nd one for SLI next week when my tax refund arrives. Good times.
#24 Aug 04 2010 at 9:32 AM Rating: Good
*****
10,564 posts
Interesting, I'll look into that. Thanks.

So, can someone explain to me what the difference between the one linked above for $249 and this one for $199 is?

edit: Specifically, the $249 one is "superclocked"... what does that mean? Is that different than just overclocking it myself?

Edited, Aug 4th 2010 10:34am by Vataro
____________________________
◕ ‿‿ ◕
#25 Aug 04 2010 at 12:05 PM Rating: Good
Terrorfiend
*****
12,905 posts
Vat, did you even read the specs?

For starters, the cheaper one has 768MB memory, the other has 1 gig. the cheaper has slower clock, slower shader, slower memory, while the other has faster clock faster shader and faster memory.

Is it the same as overclocking? no idea. Comes out of the box at that speed, means its covered at that speed. Dont know how EVGA treats hardware failures due to user overclocking - ive never done it.
#26 Aug 04 2010 at 12:22 PM Rating: Good
*****
10,564 posts
KTurner wrote:
Vat, did you even read the specs?

For starters, the cheaper one has 768MB memory, the other has 1 gig. the cheaper has slower clock, slower shader, slower memory, while the other has faster clock faster shader and faster memory.

Is it the same as overclocking? no idea. Comes out of the box at that speed, means its covered at that speed. Dont know how EVGA treats hardware failures due to user overclocking - ive never done it.


Haha, I feel retarded. I could have sworn that other one also said 1 gig... thanks for pointing out my idiocy.
____________________________
◕ ‿‿ ◕
« Previous 1 2
Reply To Thread

Colors Smileys Quote OriginalQuote Checked Help

 

Recent Visitors: 95 All times are in CST
Anonymous Guests (95)