Diablo 3 computer build VC help

[Vaulter]

I need help finding a cheap but good video card for a computer I'm building to last me through college after i graduate this year. Really the only thing i need it to do is play Diablo 3 when it comes out with absolutely no lag at the highest settings I can on my POS 19in flat panel monitor. And some blu-ray movies I guess.

specs:
[FONT=&quot]AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz OCed to 4.0GHz
[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]ECS BLACK SERIES A790GXM-AD3 AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD
[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Antec Earthwatts 380w PSU
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Antec 300 Mid Tower Case[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM[/FONT]
WESTERN DIGITAL RAPTOR 74GB 10,000RPM
WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR GREEN 1TB SERIAL ATA


What would be a good video card addition so i can play glitch free diablo 3? maybe some left for dead 2.

 

[nyker96]

if your 19in is just doing 1280 then I think it will be enough to get a video card around 150s or so like the new hd 5750 or 5770s. of course no one is sure what requirement for this game is, still I played D2 and Starcraft, I think blizzard generally make reasonable requirements on their games. I just hope they don't delay it any further can't wait.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Isn't Diablo 3 projected to release no sooner than 2011?

That combined with your smallish monitor makes a recommendation kind of hard. On the one hand if you want to buy now and expect staying power for an unknown quantity, your best option is a Radeon 5800. On the other hand a 5800 would be overkill for such a resolution.

 

[Wreckage]

Isn't Diablo 3 projected to release no sooner than 2011?

That combined with your smallish monitor makes a recommendation kind of hard. On the one hand if you want to buy now and expect staying power for an unknown quantity, your best option is a Radeon 5800. On the other hand a 5800 would be overkill for such a resolution.

Yeah I recommend a new monitor now and whatever you can afford when the actual game comes out.

 

[happy medium]

Yeah I recommend a new monitor now and whatever you can afford when the actual game comes out.

+1


Edit : just noticed you now have no video card?

If you wanna play Left 4 dead 2 with high settings @ 1280x1024 a 4870/260gtx will do fine

 

[HalfCrazy]

I would not be shocked at all. Given some time you will see duped items. Like you seen in Diablo 2 all the time. lmao

I would have to agree with what happy posted about. If you plan on running games 1280x1024 with high settings. Something like a HD4870 would work out fine. I'm using a HD4670 graphics card with a 20" LCD widescreen monitor. The LCD monitor was giving to me just last night. They bought a bigger widescreen and gave me his old one. Just got the graphics card like 3 days be for Thanksgivings day. Just kinda wish I add more funds in order to buy a HD4890. Least the HD4670 can hold me over till next year sometime. Till I get the funds to build my self a brand new system.

For now, got to make sure I can put food on the table. Then pay all the bills and roof over my head. lol

 

[Washoe]

I need help finding a cheap but good video card ... the only thing i need it to do is play Diablo 3 when it comes out with absolutely no lag at the highest settings ... on my POS 19in flat panel monitor

tough to make a recommendation. key words that stick out for me: cheap, but good, "absolutely no lag at the highest settings", but then you'll be on a 19" monitor.

Can you be more specific when you say "cheap"? no lag at highest settings - even at 1280x1024 might require at least a buck-fifty for your card

 

[Vaulter]

The motherboard has built in video, so i may stick with that for awhile to cut costs, but the monitor works pretty well, i have it running at 1280x1040 not alot but better than my last one, and i doubt ill be able to afford a new one anytime soon, i just plan building this right after graduation, i'm just trying to get a bunch of input on it. I dont need bleeding edge, so i figured this made a decent mid-range computer that i could upgrade further into the future with relative ease.

 

[lothar]

I need help finding a cheap but good video card for a computer I'm building to last me through college after i graduate this year. Really the only thing i need it to do is play Diablo 3 when it comes out with absolutely no lag at the highest settings I can on my POS 19in flat panel monitor. And some blu-ray movies I guess.

specs:
[FONT=&quot]AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz OCed to 4.0GHz
[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]ECS BLACK SERIES A790GXM-AD3 AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD
[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Antec Earthwatts 380w PSU
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Antec 300 Mid Tower Case[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM[/FONT]
WESTERN DIGITAL RAPTOR 74GB 10,000RPM
WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR GREEN 1TB SERIAL ATA


What would be a good video card addition so i can play glitch free diablo 3? maybe some left for dead 2.

Get FiOS or move to a campus that has better internet connection.

 

[Arkaign]

Dude we have no idea what will be needed to play D3 at max settings, as the game is not even close to coming out yet. If 2011 is to be believed, it's quite likely that a $200 value card in spring 2011 will outperform the $300-$400 cards of today.

 

[HalfCrazy]

If you even plan on getting like a HD4890 or higher. Maybe even say a Geforce GTS250 video card. You might want to think about getting a higher wattage PSU. Just something to think about and plan ahead for.

 

[Vaulter]

tough to make a recommendation. key words that stick out for me: cheap, but good, "absolutely no lag at the highest settings", but then you'll be on a 19" monitor.

Can you be more specific when you say "cheap"? no lag at highest settings - even at 1280x1024 might require at least a buck-fifty for your card

Alright, maybe that was a bit stupid, let me rephrase. Im sick of remembering my old computer freezing up for two minutes because the summoner necro decided he wanted to spawn a horde of skeletons and reborn cows on a baal run, and i died because while his lightshows are pretty, i cant move while theyre going on. though this was also on my pentium 3 1ghz proc with a 128mb sapphire radeon (which i loved!) and 384mb of pc133 ram.
I want to be able to play with me and my 7 summoning necromancer friends with decent quality video going on as we go around and rape the cow king's bovines. as for price, im trying not to break the bank, while also making a decent system. and like i said, ive had good experience with sapphire, so if theres a good card out there, please give me some idea of it!

 

[Vaulter]

If you even plan on getting like a HD4890 or higher. Maybe even say a Geforce GTS250 video card. You might want to think about getting a higher wattage PSU. Just something to think about and plan ahead for.

I did think about that, a couple extra bucks for the next step up from antec might be in order.

 

[Vaulter]

Dude we have no idea what will be needed to play D3 at max settings, as the game is not even close to coming out yet. If 2011 is to be believed, it's quite likely that a $200 value card in spring 2011 will outperform the $300-$400 cards of today.

True that, i guess im just trying to make a decent setup that will last me through college without too much money into upgrades later on. And diablo 3 is the only game i plan on really playing, so i figured that would be a good jumping off point for planning for.

 

[Arkaign]

Well crap, if D3 is the only game you plan on playing, stick a 4670 or something like that in there now, and wait to buy D3 + Video Card at the same time. I guarantee you'll get more for your $$ that way.

 

[Vaulter]

Well crap, if D3 is the only game you plan on playing, stick a 4670 or something like that in there now, and wait to buy D3 + Video Card at the same time. I guarantee you'll get more for your $$ that way.

Thanks! thats pretty much the reccomendation i needed. Though, one question, the last computer (current one) is a pre-built HP, and ive had it for several years, so i havent kept up on much. If i wanted to play around with sli/crossfirex, just to learn how to do it, would you reccomend it? like, could i buy 2 cheap ones and run em, or one good one to use, and one crappy one just to mess with linking it to? I dont know how difficult it is, or if ill ever use it in the future, but it just seems sortof cool to me.

 

[Vaulter]

ASUS EAH4670/DI/512MD3 Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail


from newegg at 45.00, seems pretty cheap and decent for what i need it for? Just as an opinion, when i build it there are going to be better deals out there, so ill probably look for a 1gb model when the day comes.

 

[HalfCrazy]

$45 dollars for a HD4670 is a nice price. Depending on the game you going to play on the system. You will be able to play at 1280x1024 with max settings. Any res higher then that you might see lower frame rate. Again that depends on what game you are playing of course.

 

[Adrenaline]

Dude we have no idea what will be needed to play D3 at max settings, as the game is not even close to coming out yet. If 2011 is to be believed, it's quite likely that a $200 value card in spring 2011 will outperform the $300-$400 cards of today.

This is true. On the other hand though, Blizzard is notorious for not pushing graphics to the extreme. I honestly believe a 4870, or equivalent, will be fine for it fully maxed out on a 24" monitor and below unless Blizzard (when 2011 rolls around) totally changes the way they have been on every game graphically. I don't think Blizzard will change that. They make their games so everyone can fully enjoy them.

I ran WoW maxed out on a 21" monitor with a 7950 GX2 until I quit 5 months ago and it ran fine. The game has been out for 4 years now and it still runs great on older machines. They have done this with every game I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Painman]

Knowing Blizzard, the game will probably run quite well enough on a low-spec PC. Historically, their games have done so... WoW will scale with available resources, but it's still playable on a low spec machine.

Considering the history of Diablo however... I envision Blizzard capping the game at an effective 720P. Maybe 1080, but we'll have to see. They're not going to want players with better hardware clearing more "fog of war" than those with lesser hardware. In a top-down isometrically rendered multiplayer game, the party member who can see 1920*1080 pixels of dungeon has a distinct advantage over the party member who can only see 1280*720. So I imagine there will be some sort of forced downscaling for more powerful computers, but we'll have to wait and see how Blizzard attempts to create an even playing field.

 

[lothar]

Alright, maybe that was a bit stupid, let me rephrase. Im sick of remembering my old computer freezing up for two minutes because the summoner necro decided he wanted to spawn a horde of skeletons and reborn cows on a baal run, and i died because while his lightshows are pretty, i cant move while theyre going on. though this was also on my pentium 3 1ghz proc with a 128mb sapphire radeon (which i loved!) and 384mb of pc133 ram.
I want to be able to play with me and my 7 summoning necromancer friends with decent quality video going on as we go around and rape the cow king's bovines. as for price, im trying not to break the bank, while also making a decent system. and like i said, ive had good experience with sapphire, so if theres a good card out there, please give me some idea of it!

Isn't that caused by lag?
I used to experience that when I was playing on 56k/AOHell in 2002.
All that went away when we moved to broadband.

 

[Painman]

No, it's not all caused by internet bandwidth lag. D2 runs notoriously badly through D3D. It runs badly in D3D mode even on a GTX 285 despite the brute force. Folks in the know run it through a Glide->OpenGL wrapper that offers beautiful performance.

Summon Necros remain the most reviled party members, even though Javazons are responsible for far more game crashes.

 

[Adrenaline]

No, it's not all caused by internet bandwidth lag. D2 runs notoriously badly through D3D. It runs badly in D3D mode even on a GTX 285 despite the brute force. Folks in the know run it through a Glide->OpenGL wrapper that offers beautiful performance.

Summon Necros remain the most reviled party members, even though Javazons are responsible for far more game crashes.

My Windforce toting Strafeazon crashed Baal runs constantly with her torch.

 

[Vaulter]

Me and my friend both made zeal pallys and went around in hell cow levels with our torches, so i can imagine what it must have been like with a bowazon lol.

Im now thinking about skimping on the proc and ram and buying a good video card and monitor now, then when diablo comes out upgrade the other two, or just skimp on all 3, buy an amazing monitor, and pray I have enough money to upgrade when D3 rolls around, prices on what ima need should be quite a bit lower buy then. Does anybody use their TV to play? thats what I'd rather spend the money on instead of a monitor, and then give it a dual use.

 

[Haunting]

www.newegg.com

Nvidia GTX 260 Core 216
Fastest card you can buy in the value price range.
it's a little more than the 9x series but 3x faster than them.
It's faster than the standard clock 280s and cheaper than 1 as well.