Which Video card from this lot would you choose?

livEwirE

Hi all,

I RMA'd my PC back to the manufacturer 'Ankermann' due to many problems with the machine. They've emailed me to say there are major problems with the Video card (GTS 8800 640MB) and asked me if I want to upgrade to a newer card(for a price). From the list below what would you guys choose? Please pick 2 or 3 in order of preference. I don't really do a lot of gaming to be honest but wouldn't mind having a descent card for the playing Crysis now and again, I don't wanna spend a fortune though. I do watch a lot of movies on my pc especially Hi-Def stuff. Ignore the prices beside the cards as I think they are for adding to new PC's. I've always had Nvidia cards and they seem to always have strange problems with drivers etc. Are ATI cards better in your opinion? HDMI out would be a bonus!

My Ankermann PC:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 (Gigabyte P35-DS3R)
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 226BW (Max 1680 x 1050)
OS: Windows 7 64Bit
4GB RAM

All feedback appreciated

Just a though, when I bought the machine 2 years ago, the 8800 card was about €300 extra so I want something of equal value today I suppose so I won't feel like I'm getting an inferior card if you know what I mean



ZZ ASUS EN7200GS/HTD GF7200GS PCI-E 256MB +0.00 Euro*
ZZ ATI Sapphire HD2600Pro T2D AGP 512MB DDR2 +1.19 Euro*
ZZ XpertVision GF 8400GS TD PCI-E 256MB DDR2 +3.15 Euro*
ZZ MSI GF NX8400GS-TD512E PCI-E 512MB DDR2 +11.78 Euro*
ZZ Club3D GF 9400GT 512MB PCI-E DVI/TV/CRT DDR2 pass +15.11 Euro*
Sparkle 9500GT 1GB DDR2 passiv +20.23 Euro*
ZZ Club3D GF 9500GT passiv 512MB PCI-E DVI/TV/CRT DDR2 +23.80 Euro*
Sparkle 9600GT 1GB DDR3 +47.60 Euro*
Sparkle 9800GT 512MB DDR3 +55.93 Euro*
ZZ Club3D GF 9600GT+HDCP 512MB PCI-E 2xDVI/TV/CRT GDDR3 +59.50 Euro*
ZZ Gainward GF9800GT 512MB 2xDVI/HDTV DDR3 +63.07 Euro*
XpertVision GF 9800GT T2D PCI-E 1GB Super+ +67.83 Euro*
XpertVision GF 9800GTX+ T2D PCI-E 512MB +92.82 Euro*
ZZ XpertVision GF GTX260 PCI-E 896MB DDR3 +122.57 Euro*
ZZ ASUS ENGTX260/HTDP/896M/A PCI-E 896MB DDR3 +142.80 Euro*
ZZ Leadtek WF GTX260 PCI-E 896MB DDR3 +190.40 Euro*
Sparkle GTX285 GeForce with CUDA 1GB Dual DVI HDCP +273.70 Euro*
ZZ ATI Sapphire RX3650 T2D PCI-E 512MB DDR2 +20.68 Euro*
ZZ Powercolor HD4850 512MB DDR3 +91.63 Euro*
Powercolor HD4850 OC 1GB DDR3 +123.75 Euro*
ZZ Powercolor HD4870 512MB DDR5 +123.76 Euro*
ATI Sapphire HD4870 T2D PCI-E 512MB DDR5 +176.69 Euro*
ZZ Gigabyte R487-512H-B 4870 PCI-E 512MB DDR5 +186.37 Euro*
Powercolor HD4870 PCS+ 1GB DDR5 OC +196.35 Euro*
Powercolor HD4890 1024MB DDR5 +214.20 Euro*

docmol

depends on your monitor, what res is it? Unless you have a very high res monitor there is no point going for the really high-end. I use an ATI 4850 and get good fps in crysis/farcry 2 etc but my monitor is only 1280*1024(19") My mate uses the same card on a 21" 1900*1080 monitor and crysis looks good on it too. Is you motherboard sli/crossfire capable? If so you might want to add a second card at a later stage. Here is a list of video cards sorted by power, and you may find the rest of the article interesting. Also as far as I know only ATI allow audio over hdmi without an internal cable (if that is relevent is up to you)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu,2398-6.html

farna_boy

It really comes down to how much you are willing to spend and your monitor as docmol said. I think the article docmol wanted to direct you to was this though.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2387-7.html

Given that you had a 8800GTS, according to that table to upgrade you should go up at least 3 tiers, so maybe a 9800GTX would be the very least you should look at. Certainly you should't go below the 9800GT.

livEwirE

Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 226BW (Max 1680 x 1050)

AFAIK my mobo is not crossfire/sli compliant.

jonny72

The 8800GT is a tiny little bit faster than your current card and is only 55 euro there. The 9800GT is exactly the same card basically.

If you want a bit more power go with the ATI 4850.

No need to spend more than 100 euros

docmol

I'd go the 4850 as I have good experience with it on two pcs. The audio over hdmi is handy if you intend plugging it in to a tv at any stage and the extra money for the 1gb frame buffer would be nice if you can stretch to it. Certain cards are better with certain games but at that res it should be more than powerful enough for whatever you throw at it. You sometimes get extra software for overclocking your video board included with the package and I'd say don't bother installing it. As for drivers, ATI release every month and I have had no issues with their drivers and I have being using ATI cards for the last 2 years. The HDMI is supplied through a dongle so make sure they include same!

livEwirE

Cheers for all the feedback guys. Its been very useful and an education

I'm gonna ask for a price on each of these...

ZZ Powercolor HD4850 512MB DDR3
Powercolor HD4850 OC 1GB DDR3

Thanks again!

livEwirE

Ok, they came back with these prices so I guess I'll go with the €65 OC version

ZZ Powercolor HD4850 1024MB DDR3 = 60,- EUR
Powercolor HD4850 OC 1GB DDR3 = 65,- EUR

TheDoc

Not to start a new thread or hijack

But I've been offered to cards to purchase and the choices are

Nvidia 9600gt 1gb
ATI Radeon 4870 x2 2GB

Now I believe the second one isnt two cards, its just one big motha ****in card.

I'm currently running a 8800gts and have some spare cash and want a rpetty decent upgrade in performance.

I use a 26" HD telly as my monitor.

Advice a welcome please

Effluo

TheDoc wrote: »

Not to start a new thread or hijack

But I've been offered to cards to purchase and the choices are

Nvidia 9600gt 1gb
ATI Radeon 4870 x2 2GB

Now I believe the second one isnt two cards, its just one big motha ****in card.

I'm currently running a 8800gts and have some spare cash and want a rpetty decent upgrade in performance.

I use a 26" HD telly as my monitor.

Advice a welcome please

Who's offering you those cards and at what price?

Also are you sure those are the two cards being offered.
One is a bottom of the range and one is a top of the range!

TheDoc

Effluo wrote: »

Who's offering you those cards and at what price?

Also are you sure those are the two cards being offered.
One is a bottom of the range and one is a top of the range!

Just to cards im being offered by mates, I do not want to start yet another thread, thought id throw it in here.

Seems the radeon 4870x2 is the winner, but will require me to upgrade my psu wihich will cost another few bob.

Effluo

the 4870X2 is one of the best cards on the market right now!

link
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/2GB-XFX-HD-4870-X2-PCI-E-20-3600MHz-GDDR5-GPU-750MHz-1600-Cores-CrossFire-2x-DL-DVI-I-HDTV

out of interest what exactly will you be doing with this pc?
and what other components do you have and what's your psu.

If gaming what resolution is your screen and do you play the latest games?

Solitaire

There's virtually nothing between the (old) 8800GTS and the 9600GT. The HD4870X2 on the other hand is total overkill

What resolution is that telly? 1080p (1920*1080)? Or the more usual 720px (1366*768)? The X2 borders on overkill... for the larger! The 9600GT would struggle with 1080p.

And bear in mind that 1GB means nothing with the 9600GT and the HD4850 - they have neither the memory bandwidth nor the raw GPU grunt to actually utilize the extra memory in 3D

TheDoc

Well...


I have a 26" 720p telly.

I ran a psu test earlier with a fantastic website that said my setup requires a 450w psu to be comfortable, im running a 600w.

I'm getting this card for €150 of a mate who owes me a favour so I figure I mightaswell grab it, overkill as it is, it means i can run my simple wow game on top settings, and other games like arma 2 will get a boost, plus it will keep me future proof in a while

I currently run

Intel dual core E5200
4GB ram
Windows 32bit os
MSI something or other motherboard

The car will fit, my only concern is the card requires absolutely outragous space and connectors, but i think thats sorted.

I agree its complete overkill, but I always buy for the future, and consdiering this card retails at close to 500, im getting a steal.

I will probably be upgrading the telly eventually, or going dual screen setup soon enough with monitors.

Anyway more thoughts are welcome

I use my pc prodominantly for gaming aswell as watching movies and hd content.

Effluo

Well it is complete overkill...
4870X2 retail closer to a bit less than 300 rather than five.

Arma II would benefit more from a cpu upgrade(to a quad or i7) rather than the gpu and WOW could be maxed out on a 50 euro card...

What exactly is your power supply, you may not need a new one

TheDoc

generic 550watt

I don't have the correct adaptors. I know its compelte overkill, but ****it its dirt cheap.

I am thinking of buying a corsair 650 watt from komplett, however my cheap graphics upgrade now looks like over 250 euro, ugh

marco_polo

TheDoc wrote: »

generic 550watt

I don't have the correct adaptors. I know its compelte overkill, but ****it its dirt cheap.

I am thinking of buying a corsair 650 watt from komplett, however my cheap graphics upgrade now looks like over 250 euro, ugh

If you buy a really good graphics card, you don't want it or any other components damaged by a no name PSU, no matter what wattage it says on the tin. so I think an upgrade would be in order myself.

TheDoc

Problem is the pin connectors.

I have an adaptor that lets me go from two molex to 6 pin, all i have is one 6pin for a graphics card, not the 8pin and 6pin required by the radeon hd4870hdx2


I think for the price, for 150 i can get a 4890, but the card im getting is way better.

I always use Toms Hardware down through the years and they never put me wrong, so I feel confident in good old Tommy.

I'm still concerned bout these molex to 8pin adaptors, I'm sure ill sort everything out, I'll let you know how i get on

Solitaire

TheDoc wrote:

I always use Toms Hardware down through the years and they never put me wrong, so I feel confident in good old Tommy.

Oh dear, I don't even know where to begin with that statement...

The only (and I mean only) thing of any substance left on that site is that wee GPU hierarchy chart, which is pretty sweet. But by the same token I'm waiting for the day it gets banned from the site for somehow offending the nVidia gods... :rolleyes:

"Generic" 550W PSU isn't enough to go on. Dish the dirt - give us the brand-name and range/model names on the label on the side, and the output ratings which should be on the same label in table form. But as a guide I would seriously think twice before even letting a HD4870X2 near a decent 550W like the Corsair VX550 (CWT) or Basiq 550 Plus (Delta). Jerry-rigging one onto a 550W HEC/Sirtec/FSP is a violent detonation just waiting to happen. Bear in mind that a HD4870X2 running at full tilt generally consumes 250-270W in the real world - that's over 22A load on the 12V rails for the GPU(s) alone! :eek: Even if it was a really good PSU that's half the potential maximum 12V output!

TheDoc

Solitaire wrote: »

Oh dear, I don't even know where to begin with that statement...

The only (and I mean only) thing of any substance left on that site is that wee GPU hierarchy chart, which is pretty sweet. But by the same token I'm waiting for the day it gets banned from the site for somehow offending the nVidia gods... :rolleyes:

"Generic" 550W PSU isn't enough to go on. Dish the dirt - give us the brand-name and range/model names on the label on the side, and the output ratings which should be on the same label in table form. But as a guide I would seriously think twice before even letting a HD4870X2 near a decent 550W like the Corsair VX550 (CWT) or Basiq 550 Plus (Delta). Jerry-rigging one onto a 550W HEC/Sirtec/FSP is a violent detonation just waiting to happen. Bear in mind that a HD4870X2 running at full tilt generally consumes 250-270W in the real world - that's over 22A load on the 12V rails for the GPU(s) alone! :eek: Even if it was a really good PSU that's half the potential maximum 12V output!

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=340676

Was looking at that as a possible upgrade...


Granted I've only ever looked at the gpu charts on tom, its always been a helping hand in making the right choice.


Is there any gfx cards out there that will give me a good performance boost, and run on my current psu.

The brand id Mehl, its a dirty ebay job, but has done me well the past number of years. It is a 500 watt psu.

Unregistered.

Solitaire wrote: »

The only (and I mean only) thing of any substance left on that site is that wee GPU hierarchy chart, which is pretty sweet.

Incidently, I was looking at the HDD charts last night and I couldn't help but wonder why the Seagate Barracuda drives were spear-heading all of the charts! Seemed just a bit too consistent!