Best bang for buck card under $100

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ponyo

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,689
2,811
126
I ordered this Dell Optiplex 380 mini-tower. http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/483...0gb-hdd-gma-4500-win-7-professional?#comments

I'm thinking I need to add a graphics card to use HDMI and DVI. Is this XFX 5670 the best card I can add to this PC? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150467

I don't want to spend over $100 on a graphics card. I haven't played any games on my PC in years. My current desktop is ancient, Athlon64 with AGP graphics card. I plan to do some light gaming with the new rig. Power supply on the Dell is rated at 300 I believe. Will this be enough? If not, what cards will work with it?

Thanks for any help and suggestions.
 
MentalIlness

MentalIlness

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2009
2,383
11
76
Some people do not like dealing with rebates. Do you like rebates OP ?

I've never mailed in one myself. Doesn't seem worth the time, since they are hardly ever honored anyway. "At least that is what I have read"

So $20 cheaper to purchase....and will probably run at a 5770 level with a little overclock.
 
ponyo

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,689
2,811
126
Are you guys sure those cards will run in the system? I think only single slot card will fit and the power supply I think is rated at 300. Could be slightly lower. I do require DVI and HDMI connection. Else I wouldnt even bother with the card and just use onboard VGA.

I do hate mail-in-rebates. I always assume I will never get the rebate and just look at the pre-rebate price. I'm just looking for the best bang for buck for that Dell.
 
MentalIlness

MentalIlness

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2009
2,383
11
76
Exactly what cooler from the 7 series Nvidia cards ? I have a 7900 GTX, EVGA 7600GT OC in storage, and a relative has a 7900GT. And the cooler on this 5750 is nothing like those at all.

OP....the 5750 / 5770 cards are a lot faster than the 5670. Would take "almost" two 5670's to equal a **50/**70 card.

Does your Dell have a 6 pin plug ?

But, if you don't plan on playing many games "do you game" then maybe the 5670 would be better.

Resolution ? Absolute maximum price without rebate ?
 
ponyo

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,689
2,811
126
MentalIlness said:
Exactly what cooler from the 7 series Nvidia cards ? I have a 7900 GTX, EVGA 7600GT OC in storage, and a relative has a 7900GT. And the cooler on this 5750 is nothing like those at all.

OP....the 5750 / 5770 cards are a lot faster than the 5670. Would take "almost" two 5670's to equal a **50/**70 card.

Does your Dell have a 6 pin plug ?

But, if you don't plan on playing many games "do you game" then maybe the 5670 would be better.

Resolution ? Absolute maximum price without rebate ?
Click to expand...

I dont know if the Dell has the 6 pin plug. My guess is no. Even if it did, I'm worried about the power supply requirement. 5670 lists 400w as requirement. I know Dell used to underrate their PS in the past but I dont know if that's still the case. How much of a downgrade is HD 5555? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131355 Im thinking that might be a safer bet.

The last game I played on my PC I think was FarCry or Oblivion. That was many years ago. All my TV and monitors are 1080p but I dont have to run everything at the highest resolution. PS3 games look good to me and that's at much lower res and detail.

I would like to stay under $100 if possible. I dont know how much light gaming I will do. I will likely use it mainly for browsing the web and videos. I just want the option to some light gaming if desired.
 
Skurge

Skurge

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2009
5,195
1
71
MentalIlness said:
Exactly what cooler from the 7 series Nvidia cards ? I have a 7900 GTX, EVGA 7600GT OC in storage, and a relative has a 7900GT. And the cooler on this 5750 is nothing like those at all.

OP....the 5750 / 5770 cards are a lot faster than the 5670. Would take "almost" two 5670's to equal a **50/**70 card.

Does your Dell have a 6 pin plug ?

But, if you don't plan on playing many games "do you game" then maybe the 5670 would be better.

Resolution ? Absolute maximum price without rebate ?
Click to expand...

Looks almost like this.

xfx%20geforce%206800gs%20video%20card.jpg


And yes, that is a 6800gs.
 
A

Arkadrel

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2010
3,681
2
0
I dont know if the Dell has the 6 pin plug. My guess is no. Even if it did, I'm worried about the power supply requirement. 5670 lists 400w as requirement.
Click to expand...
a 5770 uses ~17w idle, 72w avg load, and around 85w at peak.

So you still have like 200watts for the rest of your pc, if you go with say a 5770.

And it is possible to get a 5770 for 99$ (after MIR) with free shipping.
Its the perfect card for your psu, and budget limits.

And a 5770 will def. allow for light gameing.

You might want to set your CPU back down to stock volt's though... if you overvolted to get it running as high as you did. Your CPU at stock + 5770 at stock should be okay.
 
Last edited:
toyota

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
those of you suggesting a 5770 with a cheap oem psu might want to reconsider. Dell uses companies like hi pro and other low end venders for their 300 watt psus now. he doesn't have 300 watts to play in the first place with since nearly all the power will need to come from the 12v rail. it is rated for 18 amps and you can bet your butt its not able to make more that 15-16 in real world conditions. so realistically you are looking at under 200 watts on the 12v which is where 90% of the power needs to come from. an 80 watt+ video card and 65 watt cpu plus all other components would be be pushing that cheaply made psu fairly hard at times. a 5750 is is the absolute most I would recommend for his pc with a cheap oem psu.
 
Last edited:
tweakboy

tweakboy

Diamond Member
Jan 3, 2010
9,517
2
81
www.hammiestudios.com
Easy everyone knows the answer to this q.

Grab a 8800GT or 9800GT for way under 100 bucks.. maybe 60 to 80 bucks or soo. Just know you cant use AA and u shouldnt go higher then 1920x1200 or it will slow down big time.
 
spdfreak

spdfreak

Senior member
Mar 6, 2000
920
62
91
9600GT is a good card for cheap... I have one in my HTPC and it will play most games on med with no AA. Older games you can crank up a bit. Plus they are low power and usually single slot designs.
 
S

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
14,377
19
81
It seems as though you can get the EVGA GTX 460 from tigerdirect for $90 after some rebates and coupons. Check out the hot deals forum for details. :)
 
ponyo

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,689
2,811
126
Ok. I did lot of reading today trying to get a general idea of the current videocard tech. I stopped following videocards and general computer tech after I bought my x800xt agp card many years ago. Lot has changed. It seems the best gaming card I can add to the Dell is the HD 5670. TomsHardware videocard buying guide was really helpful getting the overall picture.

I am going to wait til the computer comes before I buy the card so I can get an idea of how much pci slot space I have to work with. I like the Sapphire HD 5670 recommended by Toms for $75 at Amazon. Cooling design looks good on that unit. Question will be fit.

Thanks everyone for their suggestions. Maybe this new rig will rekindle my interest and get me to build a better rig later.
 
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