Comparing video cards

[TheComedown]

Since the integrated graphics on my computer is nvidia, could I still get an ATI?
And is there a place were I could buy cards from a store? I would rather not buy online if possible.
I dont even know how soon I can get an extra $30 dollars.

Yeah I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to get an ati card. What motherboard do you have? It does have PCIe slots doesn't it?

Buying from a store, I don't know of any major stores I'd trust that actually do parts like this, but if you really want to buy from a store, go down to you local computer store they may have to order in the parts you want tho. I get my parts from one of these (my dad works there, get stuff wholesale ) keep in mind you will pay a little more then buying online, but the guys at these kinds of places are generally nice and will have loads of advice for you.

 

[Silvance]

Isn't the GTS 250 a budget card? If you have the money and really want to spring for a good card, get a GTX 400 series. If not, the 250 is great.

 

[Stoic raptor]

Since the integrated graphics on my computer is nvidia, could I still get an ATI?
And is there a place were I could buy cards from a store? I would rather not buy online if possible.
I dont even know how soon I can get an extra $30 dollars.

Yeah I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to get an ati card. What motherboard do you have? It does have PCIe slots doesn't it?

Buying from a store, I don't know of any major stores I'd trust that actually do parts like this, but if you really want to buy from a store, go down to you local computer store they may have to order in the parts you want tho. I get my parts from one of these (my dad works there, get stuff wholesale ) keep in mind you will pay a little more then buying online, but the guys at these kinds of places are generally nice and will have loads of advice for you.

How can I check the mother board?
If it can, I think I might get the Radeon 5670, since It is in my budget. I will try to get a GT 250, but maybe not. Which one is better?
I would go to my near by Micro Center. Much cheaper, and all about electronics and computers.

 

[Hateren47]

How can I check the mother board?
If it can, I think I might get the Radeon 5670, since It is in my budget. I will try to get a GT 250, but maybe not. Which one is better?
I would go to my near by Micro Center. Much cheaper, and all about electronics and computers.

Mate don't get a 200-series, it will come back and bite you in the ass. When shopping for a video card go for the best card you can afford in the newest generation. I'm sure you have a MB that can handle the newer card but if you want to check google System Info for Windows (SIW.exe) and navigate to the hardware tabs. It will tell you anything you wish to know about your computer down to which week your RAM was manufactured.
As an AMD fanboy I suggest you go for the 5670 or faster or look at nvidias 400-series. The 250s are rebranded 9800 GTX+s.

 

[TheComedown]

Since the integrated graphics on my computer is nvidia, could I still get an ATI?
And is there a place were I could buy cards from a store? I would rather not buy online if possible.
I dont even know how soon I can get an extra $30 dollars.

Yeah I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to get an ati card. What motherboard do you have? It does have PCIe slots doesn't it?

Buying from a store, I don't know of any major stores I'd trust that actually do parts like this, but if you really want to buy from a store, go down to you local computer store they may have to order in the parts you want tho. I get my parts from one of these (my dad works there, get stuff wholesale ) keep in mind you will pay a little more then buying online, but the guys at these kinds of places are generally nice and will have loads of advice for you.

How can I check the mother board?
If it can, I think I might get the Radeon 5670, since It is in my budget. I will try to get a GT 250, but maybe not. Which one is better?
I would go to my near by Micro Center. Much cheaper, and all about electronics and computers.

what OS you running? in 7(so probably vista) type in "dxdiag" and hit enter, the mobo is about half way down "system manufacture" and "system model" then just google search the model number to get the stats on the board.

 

[migo]

I'd go with a 5670 since it's what im using right now it's pretty good or for a bit more you could get a 5770 that has twice the processing powa

Depends on what your definition of good is. I'd go for a Radeon 5670 1GB at that price.

Like this?
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0345506
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0329808
Seems very good, and just $10 more than the $240
Better deal?

Definitely. nVidia is strong when it comes to open source drivers (as in for open source OSes, actually open source drivers you need Intel) and support for older systems, but if you're running Windows 7, there's no reason not to go with ATI - way better bang for the buck. Just any time you buy ATI, whichever model it is, it always has to be 3600/4600/5600/6600 (when it gets released) or higher, due to the 128 bit memory bus. A 5530 for example might seem appealing, but performance will be significantly hampered, and so far if you're going for a budget GPU, DirectX 9.0c support is sufficient as all it's going to do for you is handle Aero effects.

 

[Stoic raptor]

Since the integrated graphics on my computer is nvidia, could I still get an ATI?
And is there a place were I could buy cards from a store? I would rather not buy online if possible.
I dont even know how soon I can get an extra $30 dollars.

Yeah I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to get an ati card. What motherboard do you have? It does have PCIe slots doesn't it?

Buying from a store, I don't know of any major stores I'd trust that actually do parts like this, but if you really want to buy from a store, go down to you local computer store they may have to order in the parts you want tho. I get my parts from one of these (my dad works there, get stuff wholesale ) keep in mind you will pay a little more then buying online, but the guys at these kinds of places are generally nice and will have loads of advice for you.

How can I check the mother board?
If it can, I think I might get the Radeon 5670, since It is in my budget. I will try to get a GT 250, but maybe not. Which one is better?
I would go to my near by Micro Center. Much cheaper, and all about electronics and computers.

what OS you running? in 7(so probably vista) type in "dxdiag" and hit enter, the mobo is about half way down "system manufacture" and "system model" then just google search the model number to get the stats on the board.

Expansion Slots:
1 PCI Express x16 slot for graphics card
3 PCI Express x1 slots

I'd go with a 5670 since it's what im using right now it's pretty good or for a bit more you could get a 5770 that has twice the processing powa

Depends on what your definition of good is. I'd go for a Radeon 5670 1GB at that price.

Like this?
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0345506
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0329808
Seems very good, and just $10 more than the $240
Better deal?

Definitely. nVidia is strong when it comes to open source drivers (as in for open source OSes, actually open source drivers you need Intel) and support for older systems, but if you're running Windows 7, there's no reason not to go with ATI - way better bang for the buck. Just any time you buy ATI, whichever model it is, it always has to be 3600/4600/5600/6600 (when it gets released) or higher, due to the 128 bit memory bus. A 5530 for example might seem appealing, but performance will be significantly hampered, and so far if you're going for a budget GPU, DirectX 9.0c support is sufficient as all it's going to do for you is handle Aero effects.

I guess I am getting a 5670. Out of the 2 cards in the link, which one is the best?

 

[OtakuNinja]

Those are specs? What the hell is this shit? I see exactly 1 spec in that list.

Is it the GDDR5 version? GDDR3? All in all its good for maybe a small budget.

You could pick up a GTS 250 for about $100-$130, its more powerful. definitely a better deal.

2nd-ed

i got the gts 250 and it is a beautiful card

 

[migo]

I honestly couldn't say whether XFX or Sapphire makes better cards. You'd have to look up reviews of each one and find out reports from users to make that decision.

 

[Hateren47]

I honestly couldn't say whether XFX or Sapphire makes better cards. You'd have to look up reviews of each one and find out reports from users to make that decision.

Here a quick user report from a guy who had one of each (wow huh?). Go for XFX, my Saphhire started making clicking noises and had to be replaced by the XFX. Never had any trouble with that till it got dumped for an Asus HD4870 2 years later. Which I highly recommend. Always Asus, always.

 

[Stoic raptor]

I honestly couldn't say whether XFX or Sapphire makes better cards. You'd have to look up reviews of each one and find out reports from users to make that decision.

They are seem identical except for that the XFX has a memory bandwidth of of 64GB/sec while there is no mention of a bandwidth in the sapphire. What is a bandwidth? XFX also has a lifetime limited warranty, while the sapphire only has a 2 year limited warranty. The sapphire comes with a cd though and the description says it is a very good energy saver. So which one would you recommend. It sounds like the XFX is better.

 

[Stoic raptor]

I honestly couldn't say whether XFX or Sapphire makes better cards. You'd have to look up reviews of each one and find out reports from users to make that decision.

Here a quick user report from a guy who had one of each (wow huh?). Go for XFX, my Saphhire started making clicking noises and had to be replaced by the XFX. Never had any trouble with that till it got dumped for an Asus HD4870 2 years later. Which I highly recommend. Always Asus, always.

Well you just picked it for me.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0329808
This is the card I will purchase, probably this Friday from the store, or from the website if getting it from the store is impossible.

 

[migo]

Yeah, better to hear from people who hear from both. Memory bandwidth should be the same on both, as they're both 5670s, but I'd definitely lean towards lifetime warranty over 2 year.

 

[10zack986]

I recently purchased the 5670 and it's great. It's also great because I didn't have to worry about getting a bigger PSU (currently 350 works fine).

 

[Stoic raptor]

Change of plans

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150467

I will be getting the same card from newegg. I save about 15 dollars.
The only difference is that it is 1GB and not 1024MB, but that seems trivial.
Going to order today.
Btw, what is normal temp for a vid card?
My 9100 (integrated graphics card) is 84C while running the internet and 104 when I play a steam game. Used to go to 128C when I had the lag problem.
Is this a problem? The card will have a fan, but should a get a cooling system anyway? Should I get a cooling system even without the card?

 

[Stoic raptor]

I honestly couldn't say whether XFX or Sapphire makes better cards. You'd have to look up reviews of each one and find out reports from users to make that decision.

I have both, although my XFX card was an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS and my Sapphire card is an ATI Radeon HD 4890. I think that XFX have the better reputation for graphics cards, although Sapphire are big sellers in the ATI world, whereas XFX was, until recently, an exclusively NVIDIA-aligned manufacturer.

My 9100 (integrated graphics card) is 84C while running the internet and 104 when I play a steam game. Used to go to 128C when I had the lag problem.
Is this a problem? The card will have a fan, but should a get a cooling system anyway? Should I get a cooling system even without the card?

Graphics cards are known to run hot, although your 9100 shouldn't be running that high - that's silicon melting territory. I think that idle temperatures of about 60C and load temperatures in the eighties should be safe. You may need more fans for your computer; this might necessitate modifying your case a bit.

Well, I do need to clean my computer soon, but I think the computer was always like this. If I got the new card, would it be that hot? Or would it be cooler? Couldn't I just put a fan next to the computer?

Change of planes again: I am going to have to go with the original plan of micro center

 

[Stoic raptor]

Well, I do need to clean my computer soon, but I think the computer was always like this. If I got the new card, would it be that hot? Or would it be cooler? Couldn't I just put a fan next to the computer?

Change of planes again: I am going to have to go with the original plan of micro center

Well, the whole thing about fans on the actual computer case is that it blows cold air in and hot air out, which helps cool the internals of the computer. If your integrated card is running that hot, the more powerful 5670 would presumably need additional cooling requirements.

Goddammit, that means I have to pay more money. I am already spending the last of it on the card.

*sigh*

This wouldn't be a problem if I had a stable means to acquire money. I don't mind waiting, but who knows how long I would have to wait for even 20 or 30 more dollars.

 

[Private Custard]

Change of plans

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150467

I will be getting the same card from newegg. I save about 15 dollars.
The only difference is that it is 1GB and not 1024MB, but that seems trivial.
Going to order today.
Btw, what is normal temp for a vid card?
My 9100 (integrated graphics card) is 84C while running the internet and 104 when I play a steam game. Used to go to 128C when I had the lag problem.
Is this a problem? The card will have a fan, but should a get a cooling system anyway? Should I get a cooling system even without the card?

That's fucking warm!

My GTX460 runs at 54 degrees with the fan running at 54%, and that's under heavy loads like FSX running high settings.

 

[Stoic raptor]

Change of plans

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150467

I will be getting the same card from newegg. I save about 15 dollars.
The only difference is that it is 1GB and not 1024MB, but that seems trivial.
Going to order today.
Btw, what is normal temp for a vid card?
My 9100 (integrated graphics card) is 84C while running the internet and 104 when I play a steam game. Used to go to 128C when I had the lag problem.
Is this a problem? The card will have a fan, but should a get a cooling system anyway? Should I get a cooling system even without the card?

That's fucking warm!

My GTX460 runs at 54 degrees with the fan running at 54%, and that's under heavy loads like FSX running high settings.

I am not sure if this was normal for my computer. I need to clean it up, tomorrow, then I will know. I really hope I don't need a cooling system added, because I really cannot afford it.

 

[Private Custard]

You can get an upgraded cooler for very little now. It's only when you start getting involved with liquic cooling and the like that it gets really costly.