Cheap GFX upgrade

jozi

I upgraded my whole system about 2yrs ago but left out the gfx card at the time because I didnt have the spare money and I don't need something powerfull for gaming as I don't game.

The card is a ati x800xl from about 10yrs ago? It's been acting up a little lately, get a bit of artefact and and had a few bsod's when watching youtube and having a vid load up in the back ground so I think it's due replacement.

I don't have much to spend (under 50 if possible), don't mind 2nd hand either. Few requirements I have are that it's silent, needs to be ok for photoshop/lightroom/autocad/revit, work under a linux distro, decent tv (and hdmi a bonus) and an "upgrade" to the x800xl, I think any recent card from the last few yrs will prob be an improvement?

Looking at adverts I'm none the wiser as to what might be suitable

ED E

You wont get any help without posting any specs.....

jozi

I just need a gfx card, is spec really that relevant? Of the top of my head:

Amd Athlon x3 3ghz
4gig ram
x800xl - needs to go
60gig ssd
x-fi elite pro
win 7 but considering moving to linux

ED E

jozi wrote: »

I just need a gfx card, is spec really that relevant?

Ah but it is. You can put the top rated card in any machine that has the PSU to run it(and isnt AGP) but that doesnt mean you'll see any performance increase.

The trick is finding the bottleneck. In your case though, it'll be the GPU for sure.

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ati__amd/20082840/asus_radeon_eah6450_silent_di_1gd3_1gb_pci_e/details.aspx - As long as its not for gaming this'll give you 1080p playback etc.

jozi

Very true, good point. I forgot to mention my psu, I think it's a corsair, well able to take a lot more than what I'm powering.

What about this: http://www.adverts.ie/graphics-cards/radeon-4850-powercolor-vortexx-neo-akasa-fan/1746496#comment_8593500
How would that compare to the one you linked to?

---edit---

I'd like to go nvidia again, I've only ever had trouble with ati and linux (this might have improved since)

Also, My tv (also old) only takes scart, svideo or composite.

smileyj1987

http://www.dabs.ie/products/msi-geforce-gt-620-700mhz-2gb-pci-express-hdmi-84YC.html?src=3

What about something like this , I think it could be a good option especially if you don't want an ATI card .

jozi

I think that might be a slight bit more than what I want to pay really. I was just looking at this: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-gt-610-pcie-20-%28x16%29-40nm-1000mhz-gddr3-gpu-550mhz-48-cores-d-sub-dual-link-dvi-i-hdmi-lp-pa

I like the idea of fanless more so than having a fan. My x800xl is a HIS one with a vented cooler which runs pretty quietly if I control the fan speed dependant on temp.

I suppose anything is going to be more powerfull tham my current card?

smileyj1987

Well scan do charge about 12 pound delivery to ireland so i would say go with dabs because they only charge 7.66 delivery . I don't think the fan would be very loud unless you are playing a game on your pc .