lower end card suggestions needed

[Zargon]

SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST AS ITS BEEN UPDATED!


sooooooo the integrated graphics my second machine are terrible, cant do 1080p video and its becoming an issue

i had a 5670 but I gave it to a buddy of mine, and lo and behold now i need one


the 560 was probably overkill, but I had read so many reviews of how underwhelming the 5450/5570 were for the $$$ and I got a decent deal on it.

I recall the gt 240 being its competitor back when I purchased the 5670 in the fall/winter

the integrated stuff is borking itself on flash games and stuff as well.

I dont need much

my list of wants/needs are this"
1. low power consumption - the machine uses 40w right now
2. passive is a plus, I have just the top 200mm fan on the p180 mini on low in the system, its whisper quiet
3. handle x234 1080p video and random flash games
4. hdmi out prefered, DVI is fine

dont needs:
-sli/xfire
-surround/eyefinity


at the moment its going into the 40w machine in my sig:
AII 240, GB-UD3-785G, , Vertex30, 5400.6 320gb, Xigmatech S1283 Passive

but I'm going to freeNAS that hardward and build something a little faster, either a core i3-2100t, or a pentium dual core rig like my wifes, which is a g41 chipset and a e5300. she uses the on board on that and doesnt complain, somehow, but I also offered her 22" eyefinity and she didnt want it





NEW

my list of wants/needs are this now
1. low profile/half height. going into a very small matx chasis
1. low power consumption - the machine goal idle is about 50w or so.
2. passive is a plus, its a small case with little going on inside
3. handle x234 1080p video and random flash games
4. hdmi out prefered, DVI is fine.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Well you're pretty much looking at the same cards: HD 5570, HD 5670, and GT 240.

But you can consider some others: HD 6450, GT 430, GT 520, HD 6570, GT 220.

Any of these cards should handle the tasks you want to do.

 

[Zargon]

Well you're pretty much looking at the same cards: HD 5570, HD 5670, and GT 240.

But you can consider some others: HD 6450, GT 430, GT 520, HD 6570, GT 220.

Any of these cards should handle the tasks you want to do.

yeah im now sorting thorough the AT reviews of the newer ones, the 6450, gt520

 

[Zargon]

the 6450 would be perfect if I could find a friggin gddr5 one, let alone a fanless one.

I got time to wait, and see what else releases.

 

[apoppin]

the 6450 would be perfect if I could find a friggin gddr5 one, let alone a fanless one.

I got time to wait, and see what else releases.

Can anyone find one in stock?

AMD sent me their (Sapphire, probably) GDDR5 HD 6450 for evaluation against the GT 520 but i can't find one (in stock) anywhere. i asked my friends in Europe and checked the OEMs also - nada. There is only one brand, Sapphire, that makes a GDDR5 6450 as far as i can tell.
:'(

It is OoS everywhere.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102936

i ended up getting a HIS HD 6450 for a fair comparison against the (GDDR3) Galaxy GT 520.

 

[betasub]

^ UK etailer: Sapphire 6450 GDDR5 (with fan)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/265349

(Although their DDR3 version is £10 cheaper: that's significant in this low-low price bracket).

 

[apoppin]

Thank-you.


So it is just one Sapphire DDR5 card. It is priced more competitively over there to reflect what DDR5 costs over the DDR3 version. Here it is priced very close to the DDR3 version and it is almost always out of stock.

And strangely, the ddr5 version is the one that is most often reviewed.
:\

 

[Zargon]

yeah I'm hoping in a few weeks there is more stock........

how did the comparo turn out for you?

 

[apoppin]

yeah I'm hoping in a few weeks there is more stock........

how did the comparo turn out for you?

i don't like what i am seeing.

i am really surprised that there is no forum outcry on AMD's practice of sending a higher-clocked halo HD 6450 to the reviewers but to only sell the slow-clocked versions.

Do you guys like what AMD is doing? The guys here complained to high heaven that Nvidia sent out an overclocked GTX 460 - and look what AMD is doing now. At least you could BUY the EVGA GTX 460 FTW. All of the tech sites got the high-clocked/GDDR5 version to review from AMD; i had to get my own regular HD 6450 from Newegg.

i don't think there will ever be any good stock in the USA of the GDDR-5 Sapphire-only version - not at a similar price to the GDDR3 version. Make sure to get on Newegg's auto notify list and jump on it if it ever comes in.

 

[apoppin]

The Sapphire HD 6450-512MB GDDR is back in stock.

SAPPHIRE 100321DDR5L Radeon HD 6450 512MB 64-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814102936

---it's up to $55, but $10 shipping kind of kills it


Just as i was finishing up my article about it, it came back into stock and it made it very current. There will also be a Powercolor HD 6450-GDDR5 version clocked at 750MHz on the core if they follow through on their announcement. There is also an ASUS HD 6450-1GB GDDR5 version available in Europe and it is a passively cooled version - and rather expensive.

That little HIS of mine managed 725/900MHz (!!!) Spectacular for DDR3 and for a passive cooler. The GT 520 is also a nice little card.

 

[Binky]

Anything in the low-end AMD line would be great for this. Even the 3 year old stuff as low as the 3450 would work great.

 

[Pohemi]

I just bought a 1GB 128bit Nvidia GT430 for ~$65 to throw into an old P4 Dimension...upgraded from a Radeon X300 and it's a huge difference. No more choppy Netflix streaming, and games can actually look half decent again.

 

[Madcatatlas]

Wow, apoppin, why dont you make a topic about it? THE horror of AMD sending out a higher clocked 6450.....6..4..5.0 .. the horror.

I think its definetly comparable to what in effect saved nvidias bacon on the fermi release. Ye, lets compare the very late, very minor card, 6450 to the lifesaver which 460 OVERCLOCKED, was for nvidia...

Get a grip.

 

[Arkadrel]

I just bought a 1GB 128bit Nvidia GT430 for ~$65

The 5570 or 6570, are much faster, like ~40% (on the cysis benchmarks I just looked) and only cost like 49$-74$ (the 6570 is the 74$ range, while you can get the 5570 for like 49$).

Id say 65$ for the 430 is bad value compaired to a 5570, thats much faster and you can get for like 50$.

I think on the lowend, a 5570 for around 50$ is about as good as things get.
So if you want to go cheap, id def. recammend getting a 5570.

 

[Arkadrel]

ment to edit, ended up makeing a double post.

 

[apoppin]

Wow, apoppin, why dont you make a topic about it? THE horror of AMD sending out a higher clocked 6450.....6..4..5.0 .. the horror.

I think its definetly comparable to what in effect saved nvidias bacon on the fermi release. Ye, lets compare the very late, very minor card, 6450 to the lifesaver which 460 OVERCLOCKED, was for nvidia...

Get a grip.

So you think what AMD did with their GDDR5 version of HD 6450 is comparable to what Nvidia did with the EVGA FTW GTX 460?


i do too. However, 6450 is not a "minor card" .. and i don't bother to make posts about it here; you read my opinion in a single thread ... Instead, i wrote about it in my evaluation of GT 520 vs HD 6450-DDR3 vs 6450-DDR5 (and i got the Passive-cooled HIS DDR3 GPU to equal the performance of the AMD Halo GDDR5 GPU - which i found much more interesting than the Games that PR plays)
:sneaky:

 

[Zargon]

reading your article now!

i swear the 6950 sapphire was 60 shipped for about 10 minutes afte rit was back in stock

59.95 w free shipping, but I guess it didnt last long!

 

[Zargon]

i don't like what i am seeing.

i am really surprised that there is no forum outcry on AMD's practice of sending a higher-clocked halo HD 6450 to the reviewers but to only sell the slow-clocked versions.

Do you guys like what AMD is doing? The guys here complained to high heaven that Nvidia sent out an overclocked GTX 460 - and look what AMD is doing now. At least you could BUY the EVGA GTX 460 FTW. All of the tech sites got the high-clocked/GDDR5 version to review from AMD; i had to get my own regular HD 6450 from Newegg.

i don't think there will ever be any good stock in the USA of the GDDR-5 Sapphire-only version - not at a similar price to the GDDR3 version. Make sure to get on Newegg's auto notify list and jump on it if it ever comes in.

its pretty annoying for sure. and the almost complete lack (total lack in US) of a passive ddr5 card sucks. it makes me want to do as Arkadrel posted, and get a decent passive 5570.

espcially since all the reviews seem to mention how LOUD the nonpassive 6450 is compared to other offerings.

I need this card to go in this case with a pair of these fans. a pentium dual core e5800 and lots of ddr3(because I have it already).

its going to be sitting right on my desk so I really want it to be quiet.

getting a HSF for the CPU is a real bitch due to the small size. but thats a topic for another thread....

 

[apoppin]

reading your article now!

i swear the 6950 sapphire was 60 shipped for about 10 minutes afte rit was back in stock

59.95 w free shipping, but I guess it didnt last long!

You are correct. These cards cannot be priced the same as the DDR3 version or there is no profitability. When it first came out, it was $54 and with free shipping - but it was always out of stock. It came back in at $60 and a few minutes later went up to $70 with shipping.

This is about what the GDDR5 versions are priced in England - ten pounds more than the DDR3 version.

Strange that AMD would only ship GDDR5 versions to the US tech sites while there were none in the channel - just artificially low-priced ones that no one could buy. There are no OEM GDDR5 versions of HD 6450 neither.

Here is the Sapphire (625MHz core) at Newegg Canada
http://www.canadapost.ca/shopper/items/7456726/SAPPHIRE-100321DDR5L-Radeon-100321DDR5L

in England at an even higher cost
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/265349

This is the announced Powercolor (750MHz core)
http://powercolor.com/us/products_features.asp?id=337

And here is the ASUS passive 1GB DDR5 version (625MHz core)
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...3%28lp%29.html

look at the price
£52.99 inc vat
(£44.16 ex vat)

 

[cusideabelincoln]

You are correct. These cards cannot be priced the same as the DDR3 version or there is no profitability. When it first came out, it was $54 and with free shipping - but it was always out of stock. It came back in at $60 and a few minutes later went up to $70 with shipping.

This is about what the GDDR5 versions are priced in England - ten pounds more than the DDR3 version.

Strange that AMD would only ship GDDR5 versions to the US tech sites while there were none in the channel - just artificially low-priced ones that no one could buy. There are no OEM GDDR5 versions of HD 6450 neither.

So you think what AMD did with their GDDR5 version of HD 6450 is comparable to what Nvidia did with the EVGA FTW GTX 460?

Sapphire 6450 DDR5 - $55 free shipping.
Cheapest DDR3 - $52 free shipping

I don't see the problem here. Prices and availability will settle over time. I don't know about him, but I don't see the two situations as being the same.

 

[apoppin]

Sapphire 6450 DDR5 - $55 free shipping.
Cheapest DDR3 - $52 free shipping

I don't see the problem here. Prices and availability will settle over time. I don't know about him, but I don't see the two situations as being the same.

OP QUICK - buy THAT ONE!!!!!!!!!

This one is ten dollars shipping

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814102936

The *issue* was that AMD sent their impossible-to-get-at-the-time "halo" product to the tech sites for review - eschewing the commonly available DDR3 version in favor of showing good results against the DDR3 GT 520.
- My HIS HD 6450-GDDR3 for my article's evaluation came from Newegg

 

[cusideabelincoln]

The *issue* was that AMD sent their impossible-to-get-at-the-time "halo" product to the tech sites for review - eschewing the commonly available DDR3 version in favor of showing good results against the DDR3 GT 520.
- My HIS HD 6450-GDDR3 for my article's evaluation came from Newegg

The GT 520 doesn't even come in DDR5, while at least the 6450 does (or will, at the time of the review). Everyone needs to pay attention when buying a card in the crowded low end segment anyway. AIBs are more prone to throw in different memory types, different memory buses, and different clockspeeds but call the cards under the same name.

 

[Pohemi]

The 5570 or 6570, are much faster, like ~40% (on the cysis benchmarks I just looked) and only cost like 49$-74$ (the 6570 is the 74$ range, while you can get the 5570 for like 49$).

Id say 65$ for the 430 is bad value compaired to a 5570, thats much faster and you can get for like 50$.

I think on the lowend, a 5570 for around 50$ is about as good as things get.
So if you want to go cheap, id def. recammend getting a 5570.

I made a hasty decision on this card but I'm not sorry about it due to how well it runs. I might have gotten something cheaper (and/or faster) but one of the things I looked at was power requirements, and the GT 430 seemed to be the lowest power reqs in that "class" of card...I had doubts about whether ANY of them would run in this old Dell, but I've had no problems with this one so I'm satisfied.

 

[apoppin]

The GT 520 doesn't even come in DDR5, while at least the 6450 does (or will, at the time of the review). Everyone needs to pay attention when buying a card in the crowded low end segment anyway. AIBs are more prone to throw in different memory types, different memory buses, and different clockspeeds but call the cards under the same name.

So you think it is OK that AMD sends *only* GDDR5 versions of HD 6450 that were impossible to find at the time - only one SKU by their big partner made at 625MHz - but the TEST CARD made available to the tech sites is clocked at 750MHz
In fact, there are still no 750MHz GDDR5 HD 6450s yet available (only announced). And these are the ones that the reviewers put against the GT 520 for the HD 6450 launch (while the DDR3 versions have been common since the launch).

On the other hand, Nvidia is *evil* for sending out overclocked GTX 460s that never ran of stock ....


Please explain the difference to me; i am confused. i see outrage on one hand and acquiescence on the other depending only on which vendor does it.

 

[Arkadrel]

explain the difference to me; i am confused. i see outrage on one hand and acquiescence on the other

Their equally wrong in methode.

However the 6450 is a slow arsed htpc card, that no one likely buys for gameing. Ultimately its performance in gameing doesnt really matter much for most of the people that buy it.

The 460 is differnt, as if the level of overclock. You game with it, its a serious gameing card for alot of people. This makes it the greater evil in most peoples eyes probably.

Also you justified the 460 oc review by putting small text of (oc) next to the 460 in some of your benchmark results right? Didnt you just do the same with the 6450?