Recommend Nvidia Graphics Card

Tar.Aldarion

Got a 3d monitor and the nvidia vision kit so need to sell my ATI card and get an Nvidia. Any suggestions?

I haven't had an Nvidia for years so know nothing about them atm. Something for 150-200 would be good. I'm replacing a 4870 1gb so I'd like it to be better than that anyway!

deconduo

A bit over budget after shipping, but something like this:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-gainward-gtx-560-ti-40nm-4008mhz-gddr5-gpu-822mhz-shader-1644mhz-384-cores-dvi-hdmi

Anything less isn't really worth it as you won't see much of a difference between it and the 4870.

Tar.Aldarion

Cool thanks, I was looking at that or is there much difference between that and this

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-msi-gtx-560-ti-twin-frozr-ii-oc-40nm-4200mhz-gddr5-gpu-880mhz-shader-1760mhz-384-cores

??

deconduo

The MSI one has a much nicer cooler and is factory overclocked. It will probably be quieter as well.

Tar.Aldarion

thanks, might get that one.

How do they compare to
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1536mb-asus-gtx-480-40nm-3696mhz-gddr5-gpu-700mhz-shader-1401mhz-480-cores-mhdmi-plus-farcry2

deconduo

The GTX 480 would be more powerful by about 10-15% but:
-Consumes ~100W more under load
-Is ~20dB louder
-Is ~20C hotter

If you don't mind high ESB bills and your case+psu can handle it then the 480 is a better buy. But the extra power consumption adds up really quickly

Tar.Aldarion

Thanks a lot, will have a look at some more and pick. My case is small and crap :P Don't mind about ESB but cooler one might be better.

Serephucus

The 480s don't run that hot. My 280 ran hotter, back in the day. Even if it does, it's excellent value for money in comparison to the 560.

Tar.Aldarion

Serephucus wrote: »

The 480s don't run that hot. My 280 ran hotter, back in the day. Even if it does, it's excellent value for money in comparison to the 560.

Hmm really not sure whether or not to get the 480 or the 560 overclocked now!

Serephucus

Well post your specs, as well as your case, and any fans you replaced, etc. I should be able to give you a temperature estimate for the 480.

Tar.Aldarion

Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 (4MB L2 Cache)
Patriot 2GB PC6400 (800MHz)
ATI HD 4870 1GB
motherboard is nForce 650i Ultra
PSU Corsair TX 650W

This is my current computer, so quite old, originally i bought this computer from a gaming cafe and it had a 8800gts 320 meg and **** 500 watt psu.

I have no idea what the case is, it's a small one and all it says on it is made in china. heh. It has like one fan at the back.

Serephucus

Hmmm... I'd maybe suggest getting the 560 if it's a good bit cheaper, maybe put the money towards a new case, or a CPU cooler for OCing. A 480 is going to be held back by a slow dual core.

Tar.Aldarion

560 ti £180.
The OC'ed 560ti £191
480gtx £196

I want a new case, motherboard and ram but wont be getting them for ages.

Serephucus

I'd get the 480 in that case.

As for cases, there's a few decent but cheap ones on Adverts at the moment.

http://www.adverts.ie/hardware/coolermaster-elite-370-atx-matx-case-brand-new/581502
http://www.adverts.ie/hardware/antec-300-case/330808

deconduo

With a cheap single fan case you shouldn't be going anywhere near a GTX 480. Heres a test of various GPUs under load (reference cooler)


With the Twin Frozr cooler you would be getting even lower temperatures than shown there, and you could overclock to 1000MHz which would give it roughly the same performance as the 480 anyway.

Serephucus

You have to remember that most sites like that will test with an ambient temperature of closer to 25°C, which is way higher than we have.

In a good case - NZXT Tempest and ATCS 840 - I've never seen my 480 get above 85°C.

I'm not saying it's not hot, it is, but it's designed to handle temperatures of up to 105°C, so who cares?

deconduo

Yeah but the problem is there's a huge difference between the NZXT Tempest with what 6? 120mm fans and a crappy generic case with a single rear 80mm one.

Serephucus

Yes, which is why I pointed him to the Antec 300. It's an upgrade he'd need to make if he wanted to upgrade most of his components anyway, but in particular the graphics card.

deconduo

Serephucus wrote: »

Yes, which is why I pointed him to the Antec 300. It's an upgrade he'd need to make if he wanted to upgrade most of his components anyway, but in particular the graphics card.

Even the Antec 300 would give problems considering that it lacks cable management and the TX650 isn't modular. Even if you added 2 front fans to the Antec 300, the airflow probably wouldn't be good enough for the 480.

Tar.Aldarion

Thanks guys. I think I've decided to make a new thread.

I will buy a new case, mobo, processor, gpu and ram in 2 months instead of just a gpu/case now. I will try and piece together what to get on that thread! As the case and gpu are going to be presents I should be able to get some good stuff.

Serephucus

deconduo wrote: »

Even the Antec 300 would give problems considering that it lacks cable management and the TX650 isn't modular. Even if you added 2 front fans to the Antec 300, the airflow probably wouldn't be good enough for the 480.

I have a friend with an Antec 300 and an overclocked 480 that hasn't hit 90 who would like a word.

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Thanks guys. I think I've decided to make a new thread.

I will buy a new case, mobo, processor, gpu and ram in 2 months instead of just a gpu/case now. I will try and piece together what to get on that thread! As the case and gpu are going to be presents I should be able to get some good stuff.

If you're waiting two months, the 7xxx/6xx series might be out by then, meaning lower prices on current series.

deconduo

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Thanks guys. I think I've decided to make a new thread.

I will buy a new case, mobo, processor, gpu and ram in 2 months instead of just a gpu/case now. I will try and piece together what to get on that thread! As the case and gpu are going to be presents I should be able to get some good stuff.

If you are getting the GTX 480 I'd recommend these cases:
CM 690 II Advanced
CM HAF 912
CM HAF 922
NZXT Hades
Thermaltake Armor A90

deconduo

Serephucus wrote: »

I have a friend with an Antec 300 and an overclocked 480 that hasn't hit 90 who would like a word.

Modular PSU? Changed the normal fans? Lives in Antartica? If not I'm impressed, I really didn't think the 300 would be good enough.

Tar.Aldarion

Serephucus wrote: »

I have a friend with an Antec 300 and an overclocked 480 that hasn't hit 90 who would like a word.



If you're waiting two months, the 7xxx/6xx series might be out by then, meaning lower prices on current series.

Hoping that will be the case!

deconduo wrote: »

If you are getting the GTX 480 I'd recommend these cases:
CM 690 II Advanced
CM HAF 912
CM HAF 922
NZXT Hades
Thermaltake Armor A90

Thanks, I'll have a look at them. Suppose I'll make the thread in a month or so and decide what card to get! I do however like the idea of a cooler quieter card. Maybe the 570 will be cheaper then


what problems will i be running into without a modular psu?

Serephucus

deconduo wrote: »

Modular PSU? Changed the normal fans? Lives in Antartica? If not I'm impressed, I really didn't think the 300 would be good enough.

Don't know. Nope. England. I was too, to be honest.

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

what problems will i be running into without a modular psu?

Cable clutter. If you have a big-ish case though it's not really a problem. Might be a little difficult to hide away all the cables in something like the 300, but it can be done.

Tar.Aldarion

Ah thought that was all, I can do well with that, seeing as I have a tiny case and cable tying ingenuity I'll be back looking for you guys when the time is right to spend lots of money

deconduo

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

what problems will i be running into without a modular psu?

I have the TX650 and HAF 922 and there are no problems as the case is big enough to hide away the unneeded cables. Should be the same for any of the cases I mentioned there.

Tar.Aldarion

Good stuff! See you next month for my i7