Sorry to keep coming back to the well for advice. I'm just trying to figure out how much to spend on a GPU for new SB build.
1) not a gamer
2) want to make sure I've got no compromises for HD video playback and editing
3) wrestling with how much to spend NOW vs future flexibility
My options are
a) EVGA GT240 $41 AR
b) Sapphire or XFX 5670 $65-70 AR
c) XFX 5770 $100AR
I have a good handle on the relative FPS and power performance between the 3. Have read lots of reviews. Questions (and what would YOU recommend)?
1) Are ALL 3 equal in terms of HD video playback and editing?
2) I am not a gamer now and unlikely to be one in the future. While I continue to "trade up" in my mind as I research (eg 5670 is good, but 5770 is really a lot better and its only $30 more....) I'm trying to decide whether paying up to get a more powerful card will net me any benefits UNLESS I play games. Its always nice to have the power just in case I change my mind, but I could also rationalize that its better to get the cheapest card now, and IF I decide to get into gaming in 1 or 2 years, just upgrade to whatever card is state-of-the-art at that time. A negative of the 5770 is that it takes more power and requires a PCI power. I will be using an Antec 380watt PSU, but it seems that load system power on all 3 is still no more than 250Watts.
3) re GT240 vs the Radeons, the Radeons have a few "newer" features like Eyefinity and something about bitstreaming sound, but I'm not likely to ever have 3 monitors and apparently the 5670 is too weak to really play games anyway at Eyefinity level. So are there any OTHER compromises that I'm making if I went for GT240 (besides a few FPS on Crysis or Batman which I won't be playing anyway). Any generic issues like "NVidia is worse than ATI so its better to go Radeon vs GEForce" or anything like that?
Thanks for any advice.
1) not a gamer
2) want to make sure I've got no compromises for HD video playback and editing
3) wrestling with how much to spend NOW vs future flexibility
My options are
a) EVGA GT240 $41 AR
b) Sapphire or XFX 5670 $65-70 AR
c) XFX 5770 $100AR
I have a good handle on the relative FPS and power performance between the 3. Have read lots of reviews. Questions (and what would YOU recommend)?
1) Are ALL 3 equal in terms of HD video playback and editing?
2) I am not a gamer now and unlikely to be one in the future. While I continue to "trade up" in my mind as I research (eg 5670 is good, but 5770 is really a lot better and its only $30 more....) I'm trying to decide whether paying up to get a more powerful card will net me any benefits UNLESS I play games. Its always nice to have the power just in case I change my mind, but I could also rationalize that its better to get the cheapest card now, and IF I decide to get into gaming in 1 or 2 years, just upgrade to whatever card is state-of-the-art at that time. A negative of the 5770 is that it takes more power and requires a PCI power. I will be using an Antec 380watt PSU, but it seems that load system power on all 3 is still no more than 250Watts.
3) re GT240 vs the Radeons, the Radeons have a few "newer" features like Eyefinity and something about bitstreaming sound, but I'm not likely to ever have 3 monitors and apparently the 5670 is too weak to really play games anyway at Eyefinity level. So are there any OTHER compromises that I'm making if I went for GT240 (besides a few FPS on Crysis or Batman which I won't be playing anyway). Any generic issues like "NVidia is worse than ATI so its better to go Radeon vs GEForce" or anything like that?
Thanks for any advice.
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