In need of GPU purchasing advice? Please be sure to READ this thread.

[RavenSEAL]

Hello fellow ATers,

Myself and many of the fine folks here at the Anandtech Video Cards and Graphics forums enjoy helping everyone out when it comes to making purchases regarding graphic processing adapters. However, this can be quite trivial at times due to many factors that come alongside such decision and that tends to lead to threads that take several pages to come to a viable conclusion.

Recently, I have reached out to our moderators in charge(jvroig & Idontcare) in order to make the process for enjoyable for both the assisted and the assistee. This thread is the result of such request and I hope that many here will make use of the system we would like to set in place.

In the post below, the template will be attached. In order to keep the formatting as intended, please take the following steps:

1. Read the post below and gather the information requested. Put it on paper or in your mind.

2. Click the "Quote" button and copy the content that will be displayed in the new reply box.

3. Head back to the main page of the Video Cards and Graphics forums and create a new thread with whatever title you may see fit.

4. Paste the template and fill out the information. You may remove the quote script from the text if you wish. This can be done by simply deleting the [ quote] and [ /quote] marks.

5. Be sure you provide us with as much information as possible, this will severely expedite the process.

6. Sit back and relax, our team of geeks will be right there to address your purchasing concerns!


Making a sticky.

Administrator Idontcare


Thread Locked.

Reason for lock: Some members seem to be confused, and post their actual "please help me choose" threads here. This is a "Read Me" thread that shows a good template to use so that members can help you better. You are not supposed to post your actual requests for help here, because nobody will reply to you and most regulars will not be checking here.

Moderator jvroig

It has been decided to unsticky this thread - Super Moderator BFG10K.

 

[RavenSEAL]

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU:


II. Current Graphics Card:


III. Display Resolution:


IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:


V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):


Purchase Details:

I. Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.


II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?


III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?


IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?


V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?


VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?


Additional Notes

Feel free to add any details that you feel were not covered within this template!

 

[badb0y]

Finally.....thank you.

 

[Stuka87]

This will be very nice provided people use it.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Template isn't final, I'm still clearing up some details. Also still needs moderator approval.

Thanks for the thumbs up badb0y & Stuka87!

 

[RavenSEAL]

Thanks IDC!

We are officially rolling folks! Feel free to shoot me any contributions via PM which you think will make this a better template to follow!

 

[Idontcare]

Recently, I have reached out to our moderator in charge(Idontcare) in order to make the process for enjoyable for both the assisted and the assistee.

FYI, moderator jvroig has taken the helm on S.S. VC&G, he is now el capitán in this sub-forum. I am second-fiddle.

Administrator Idontcare

 

[RavenSEAL]

FYI, moderator jvroig has taken the helm on S.S. VC&G, he is now el capitán in this sub-forum. I am second-fiddle.

Administrator Idontcare

Fixed!

 

[conorvansmack]

Very helpful and comprehensive, I like it.

 

[Borealis7]

i would also add to the template: "your current VGA card"

so we could know if its a worthwhile upgrade/sidegrade/downgrade

 

[jvroig]

I approve of this message... err... thread

I would suggest to everybody, especially those who often find themselves answering rookie questions about "what GPU for upgrade" or "what GPU to buy", to contribute to this thread. I do not necessarily mean providing more questions - it could be making more precise questions that eliminate the need for multiple questions. Or it could be structuring or ordering the questions better so that information is more organized and easier to understand.

As for the template itself, my only nitpick - and it is a very minor one - is that it took me several confused seconds to find where the resolution is specified. I was expecting it to be somewhere in the system specs, but it turns out it was somewhere way below in the template. That is strange for me because resolution is a vital aspect that I expect to be part of the initial info (system specs). If case specifications were included at the top, I assumed something as important as resolution would be too.

Like I said, just a minor nitpick.

All in all, I approve. Good initiative RavenSEAL :thumbsup:

 

[RavenSEAL]

I approve of this message... err... thread

I would suggest to everybody, especially those who often find themselves answering rookie questions about "what GPU for upgrade" or "what GPU to buy", to contribute to this thread. I do not necessarily mean providing more questions - it could be making more precise questions that eliminate the need for multiple questions. Or it could be structuring or ordering the questions better so that information is more organized and easier to understand.

As for the template itself, my only nitpick - and it is a very minor one - is that it took me several confused seconds to find where the resolution is specified. I was expecting it to be somewhere in the system specs, but it turns out it was somewhere way below in the template. That is strange for me because resolution is a vital aspect that I expect to be part of the initial info (system specs). If case specifications were included at the top, I assumed something as important as resolution would be too.

Like I said, just a minor nitpick.

All in all, I approve. Good initiative RavenSEAL :thumbsup:

Thanks! I went ahead and fixed the template according to your suggestions!

i would also add to the template: "your current VGA card"

so we could know if its a worthwhile upgrade/sidegrade/downgrade

Nice catch! Done!

 

[gorobei]

for multi gpu we need to know what motherboard they have and how many/type/location of pci-e slots.

for multi monitor we need to know what monitors (brand/model/inputs/paneltype) they have and what monitors they can afford to buy. [though the answer will usually be any monitor with native displayport. paneltype is significant if any one wants to try portrait orientation.]

 

[guy120]

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU:

Intel i5 2500 @ stock

II. Current Graphics Card:

Gigabyte HD 6770 (defective)

III. Display Resolution:

23" Asus monitor @ 1920x1080

IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:

Corsair 550W, less than a year old

V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):

N/A, some crummy small case

Purchase Details:

I. Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.

~100-150 dollars CAD/USD


II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?

Preferably nVidia,or AMD if it's comparable to the nVidia card no other preferences.

III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?

No.

IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?

Perhaps the 6850/6870, or newer version, but I'd like to see some suggestions.

V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?

Games: League of Legends, TES V: Skyrim, Left4Dead 2, Portal 2, mainly skyrim though.


VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?

Yes, if possible.

 

[prathamesh]

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU:
Intel i7 2600/ xeon e3-1275

II. Current Graphics Card:
NVIDIA QUADRO 2000

III. Display Resolution:
Smasung 19" LCD monitor

IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:


V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):


Purchase Details:

I. Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.
Rs. 90000

II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?
Cooler master extreme

III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?


IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?
hp 210 miniworkstation

V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detaillevels?
i want to work with autodesk and adobe applicatio

VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?


please suggest me a motherboard that supports this graphic card.

 

[dsnyder]

Great thread. Thanks for making it so easy.

 

[Isura]

aaa

 

[MrMuppet]

aaa

I don't think any cards do Hi10P decoding at this point, while pretty much all current cards do CUDA or DXVA2.

(Yes, the 10-bit profille offers much higher efficiency even for 8-bit material, due to less banding iirc.)

 

[redroark]

Well, it's time to upgrade the rig I built three years ago! Not a hard core gamer, just someone who enjoys unwinding with the occasional FPS and RPG.

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU:

INTEL CORE I7 920 2.66Ghz (LGA 1366 socket)

II. Current Graphics Card:

SAPPHIRE Toxic 100269TXSR Radeon HD 4890 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102840

III. Display Resolution:

1 x 1920 x 1200 (I usually game on this monitor)
1 x 1920 x 1080

IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:

PSU ANTEC| SG-850 850W RT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371024

V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):

Antec p183 (LARGE, Air Cooled, LARGE)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129061

Not silent, but very quiet. I have special quiet case fans mounted using rubber grommets and am using Noctua heat sink on CPU:
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?lng=en&products_id=14&show=productview

Purchase Details:

I. Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.

~$250. However, I would be buying Borderlands 2 anyway, so the free deal with the Ti 660 is basically money in my pocket. Conversely, I already own Deus Ex: HR and am not interested in either of the other two games in the current AMD bundle floating around.

Rebate is fine. Retailer agnostic, as long is it's reputable.


II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?
Nope. In general, quieter is better, but absolute silence is not a necessity. Also, I won't be upgrading the video card for another ~3 years, so durability is a must.

III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?
No.


IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?
I tend to think that the 660 Ti would do the trick.


V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Borderlands 2
Team Fortress 2
Probably a future Bethesda RPG at some point

Of course I want to play everything on the highest level of detail! I'll take what I can afford though. I'm more interested at being able to play games that come out in 2014 at a reasonable level of detail than playing today's games maxed out.


VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?
No, unless I am convinced that it is so stupid easy and reliable that I am an idiot not to.


Additional Notes

Feel free to add any details that you feel were not covered within this template!
I am on a GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 X58 mobo with plenty of open slots.
I also just got an SSD, which I will be installing when I install this card. Woohoo!

 

[sameermathad]

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU:
AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 4400+ 2.30 GHz

II. Current Graphics Card:
None

III. Display Resolution:
1920 x 1080

IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:

Brand: Zebronics
Wattage: 450w
Ampage: 10/6A
Age: Over 2 years old

V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2360#sp

Purchase Details:

I. Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.

100-150USD


II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?
AMD

III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?
No

IV. Have you previously looked at product(s) which you feel
would fit your needs?

Initally thought of getting this one:
http://www.flipkart.com/sapphire-am...DGQW&ref=58101e3b-101b-4c64-bb1e-04a8e400f6f5

However would like to look at new ones, hows this one guys?
http://www.flipkart.com/powercolor-...ZNTD&ref=58101e3b-101b-4c64-bb1e-04a8e400f6f5


V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?

Primarily gaming and sometimes design software photoshop, axure etc

Games:
Getting really greedy i know, but it would be great if it supports some of the upcoming games such as

• 
  Call of Duty-Black Ops

• 
  Hitman Absolution

• 
  Farcry 3

• and the New Need for Speed Most Wanted

Definitely need to support PES 2013. Play mainly shooter Action and sport games, so pls note.

I earlier used to play Just cause2 & PES 2010 on a nVidia 9800gt card and the performance was really good.



VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?
Well not sure about it, if recommended then YES

Additional Notes

Feel free to add any details that you feel were not covered within this template!

Please feel free to suggest any other better ones than what I have mentioned.

Thanks a ton guys!

 

[Jaydip]

@ sameermathad
Start a new thread of your own.I would recommend this one from your list
http://www.flipkart.com/powercolor-...ZNTD&ref=58101e3b-101b-4c64-bb1e-04a8e400f6f5
Your cpu and psu are weak though.Think about upgrading them as well

 

[toyota]

can we get system ram and operating system added to that template? really it should have it where ALL system specs need to be listed.

 

[j03h4gLund]

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU: i5 2500k @ 4.4Ghz


II. Current Graphics Card: 1GB ECS GTX 460


III. Display Resolution: 1920 x 1080


IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age): Antec EarthWatts EA650


V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent): N/A


Purchase Details:

I. Budget? $300


II. Any particular preferences: N/A


III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI? Eventually SLI, but I'm not opposed to buying a Radeon card (if the price is right) and selling it later to go back to a SLI configuration.


IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs? MSI GTX 660 TI or XFX 7870


V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels? Rift with everything maxed including super-sampling. Currently the GTX 460 I have runs Rift pretty decent except I am getting weird screen glitches where everything pauses for a split second and skips. Happens every 10ish seconds.


VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase? Undecided.

 

[SkepticalOne]

I. Processor/CPU:Intel Core2 Q6600 never OCed


II. Current Graphics Card:Sapphire 4670HD


III. Display Resolution:19 X 12


IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:Antec Earth Watts 500


V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):Antec 300 Stock air.

I. [/B]Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.
As little as possible on this aged system. It still does everything I want fast and I'd like to keep it viable another year or two.


II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)? Open to any suggestions.


III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI? No


IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?


V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?
I use this system as my personal work PC but also use Hauppage HD card and it's often used as a DVR while it's being used for surfing and work and study. I mostly play a few older strategy games that don't strain any video card. I run an older 26" Westinghouse 2610 LCD beside an old Dell/Samsung 19" LCD.


VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase? Not likely.


Additional Notes

Feel free to add any details that you feel were not covered within this template! [/QUOTE]
As old as this system is I just can't imagine any better CPU will do my basic tasks any faster. I run 4 2GB DDR2 DIMMs, a 128GB SSD, 3 SATA 7200 Barracudas for 1.5 TB extra storage and two USB2 docking stations with an additional 1.5TB storage and many many flash drives. I've been concerned about the power supply being too small for a while but it handles everything I throw at it so far. My 4670 does a fine job for me on a Gigabyte P35-DS3L, but I'm wanting to squeeze that last bit of performance without overclocking it.

 

[toyota]

lol, can you guys not figure out that you need to start a thread instead of replying here?