help on geforce gtx 295

[siddharthuniv]

Hey guys,

this is my first time posting here. I wanted to get a geforce gtx 295. I was looking at MSI's

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...10009933%26prodlist=at

and at BFGs

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814143167

I see that its a PCI-E 2.0 card. I have nForce 4 SLI intel edition motherboard. My board supports x16. But i'm not sure about the PCI-E (2.0 version) that i see on card. Will this card work on my board? I have a pentium 4 D 3.00 ghz. Basically my system is dell xps 600 and i just want to replace the graphics card. So is this card good for my system?

Please comment or any suggestions would be appreciated before i shell out 500 bucks!!

-Sid

 

[darXoul]

Don't make the mistake of pairing the fastest video card on the market with a pretty much ancient CPU. A 3.0+ clocked Core 2 Duo/Quad (not necessarily stock, it could be an OCed Q6600, for instance) or AMD equivalent should be the absolute minimum for the GTX 295.

For this CPU, IMO already a GTS250 would be plenty.

 

[error8]

What darXoul said. Your cpu is way to slow for this card. It will limit it in every game and bechmark and at any resolution. The PCI Express 1.0 slot will also be a limiting factor for this card. Even the GTS250 will be bottlenecked by your cpu, but not that bad.

 

[TheDoc9]

I third this, You'll probably also need a psu upgrade if you did - $700 minimum for everything and you won't get the most out of it.

 

[siddharthuniv]

Thanks guys...my fears were confirmed. Now I am not actually interested in playing all the high def games out there. While i do play sometimes..(maybe once in a week or two), my main purpose is to work graphics programming and working in 3d applications. So i wanted to have a taste of physx. I was also considering that if i buy a brand new desktop in a year or so..the gtx295 would be of some help. But i guess i can worry about it at that time.

So are you guys suggesting a GTS 250 would be a good card for this system? to lets say play say games like crysis on a high setting and work on 3d apps?

-Sid

 

[TheDoc9]

well if it's going to be about year I wouldn't spend more than $100 - $150 or so. ATI 4850 - 4870 might fit this. Certainly no higher than a gtx 260, plus it might have some resell value by the time your next upgrade...probably $90 or so on ebay.

If you pick up a 295 now, you'll want a better card for your next build, so it's not worth it. It will probably only resell for $200 or so on Ebay in a year as well. Plus the PSU really is an issue. I'm using a rather high end psu for mine and I wasn't worried about hooking up the 295 until I saw it needed 3 six pin connectors!! These aren't the pussy 4 pin connectors that power your hard drive, dvd player, ect. It turned out it wasn't a problem but my jaw did drop a bit.

Good luck!

 

[darXoul]

Huh? The 295 needs one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector.

As for the original question, you have to make up your mind Either you want a casual, allround system that should handle games decently or you want a PC that handles hardware hogs like Crysis @ high settings. If it's the former, a GTS 250 will be a fine card. Not too loud, not too power hungry, and performing decently in all games. If it's the latter, we need one more piece of info - monitor/resolution. Crysis is a real hog, if someone wants to play it @ all high settings in 1920*1200 for instance, at least a GTX 260 core 216 is needed, preferably GTX 280/285.

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: TheDoc9
I wasn't worried about hooking up the 295 until I saw it needed 3 six pin connectors!! These aren't the pussy 4 pin connectors that power your hard drive, dvd player, ect. It turned out it wasn't a problem but my jaw did drop a bit.

What are you talking about? 3 six pin connectors? Where?

It needs one 6 pin and one 8 pin connectors.

 

[garritynet]

I updated my video card from a 9800GTX(GTX250) to a GTX295 when I was running a AMD 6000+ and I did not notice near the improvement that I expected. It was not until I moved to the PhII 940 that my fps jumped through the roof.


error8- I use 3 six pin connectors as well. If your PSU dose not have an 8 pin connector you can use the supplied [2 six pin > 1 eight pin] adapter.

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: garritynet


error8- I use 3 six pin connectors as well. If your PSU dose not have an 8 pin connector you can use the supplied [2 six pin > 1 eight pin] adapter.

Now I understand.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: TheDoc9
well if it's going to be about year I wouldn't spend more than $100 - $150 or so. ATI 4850 - 4870 might fit this. Certainly no higher than a gtx 260, plus it might have some resell value by the time your next upgrade...probably $90 or so on ebay.

If you pick up a 295 now, you'll want a better card for your next build, so it's not worth it. It will probably only resell for $200 or so on Ebay in a year as well. Plus the PSU really is an issue. I'm using a rather high end psu for mine and I wasn't worried about hooking up the 295 until I saw it needed 3 six pin connectors!! These aren't the pussy 4 pin connectors that power your hard drive, dvd player, ect. It turned out it wasn't a problem but my jaw did drop a bit.

Good luck!

Quote from the OP: "So i wanted to have a taste of physx. "

4850 and 4870 aren't very good suggestions for tasting PhysX.
And GTX295 utilizes 1x 6 pin and 1x 8 pin PCI-e power connections. Not 3 6 pin connectors.
Can someone delete that portion of his post before somebody sees it???


OP: For your rig, I wouldn't recommend anything over 9800GT. At most.

 

[TheDoc9]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: TheDoc9
well if it's going to be about year I wouldn't spend more than $100 - $150 or so. ATI 4850 - 4870 might fit this. Certainly no higher than a gtx 260, plus it might have some resell value by the time your next upgrade...probably $90 or so on ebay.

If you pick up a 295 now, you'll want a better card for your next build, so it's not worth it. It will probably only resell for $200 or so on Ebay in a year as well. Plus the PSU really is an issue. I'm using a rather high end psu for mine and I wasn't worried about hooking up the 295 until I saw it needed 3 six pin connectors!! These aren't the pussy 4 pin connectors that power your hard drive, dvd player, ect. It turned out it wasn't a problem but my jaw did drop a bit.

Good luck!

Quote from the OP: "So i wanted to have a taste of physx. "

4850 and 4870 aren't very good suggestions for tasting PhysX.
And GTX295 utilizes 1x 6 pin and 1x 8 pin PCI-e power connections. Not 3 6 pin connectors.
Can someone delete that portion of his post before somebody sees it???


OP: For your rig, I wouldn't recommend anything over 9800GT. At most.

I'm not going to defend or change anything I said because it's all accurate, mod. The ATI rec was a cost recommendation, knowing how almost worthless physx is right now.

Read garritynet's post about the 8 pin connector.

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: TheDoc9

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: TheDoc9
well if it's going to be about year I wouldn't spend more than $100 - $150 or so. ATI 4850 - 4870 might fit this. Certainly no higher than a gtx 260, plus it might have some resell value by the time your next upgrade...probably $90 or so on ebay.

If you pick up a 295 now, you'll want a better card for your next build, so it's not worth it. It will probably only resell for $200 or so on Ebay in a year as well. Plus the PSU really is an issue. I'm using a rather high end psu for mine and I wasn't worried about hooking up the 295 until I saw it needed 3 six pin connectors!! These aren't the pussy 4 pin connectors that power your hard drive, dvd player, ect. It turned out it wasn't a problem but my jaw did drop a bit.

Good luck!

Quote from the OP: "So i wanted to have a taste of physx. "

4850 and 4870 aren't very good suggestions for tasting PhysX.
And GTX295 utilizes 1x 6 pin and 1x 8 pin PCI-e power connections. Not 3 6 pin connectors.
Can someone delete that portion of his post before somebody sees it???


OP: For your rig, I wouldn't recommend anything over 9800GT. At most.

I'm not going to defend or change anything I said because it's all accurate, mod. The ATI rec was a cost recommendation, knowing how almost worthless physx is right now.

It is a cost recommendation, but if the op wants PhysX, even if you think it's worthless, you should recommend him a PhysX capable card. GTS250 or GTX 260 c216, fits in the same price department as the 4850 and 4870 and have PhysX.

 

[TidusZ]

GTS250 on a p4 3.0... Sigh. It's your money not mine. 295 on a p4 3.0? PM me info on your dealer and I'll work out a deal with you, you're clearly smoking some of the best shit ever.

A 9800 gt would be all the power you need and then some (quite a bit more, actually) and would cost ~$100 canadian as opposed to 600+ for the 295 and ~$200 for the gts250. And I'm talking 1920x1200. If you really have the funds to buy a $600 video card, you could afford a cheap mobo/processor/videocard upgrade that'd make you way better off. Either that or save for a year as you were saying, and buy something that's high end from the bottom up.

 

[garritynet]

TidusZ is right. For $600 you could build a very nice system with a GTX250 that I bet will run games much better than a P4 with a GTX295. Remember what I said about the 295 on a AMD 6000+. Not much improvement. A little bit smoother but seriously I was very let down.

Performance is CHEAP these days.

 

[error8]

What is the OP chip after all: a P4 at 3 ghz, or a Pentium D? Because if it is a P4 single core, a 9800 GT is totally overkill. A 9600 GT would be a better match for that very weak cpu.