New graphics card, so confused, please help a returning pc addict

[bramdo]

Dear all,

Three years ago i was quiet busy in overclocking, pc mods etc. Two kids later I finally picked up my hobby again. Thanks to this forum i picked a mainboard (gigabyte 965), case and memory, etc. All decent material but not state of the art so that i can experiment and replace.
However, I own a geforce 6800 gt card (agp) now and i want to buy a card that is:
- quiet this time
- decent but not high end performance (occasional 3d shooter)
- pci-e interface

Now, since directx10 is coming up and I'm having windows vista so what can I buy. Does it needs to be directx10?
All help welcome,
Bram

 

[igloo15]

8800gts is your best bet!

 

[f4phantom2500]

it doesn't *need* to be dx10 to work on vista and all that, but it does if you want to run dx10 games when good ones show up. the 8800gts 320mb is pretty high end and a fairly good price. what's your budget? you can pretty easily get a 7900gs or x1900gt or so in the fs/ft forum for around $100.

 

[acole1]

8800GTS 320mb is the best bang for your buck IMO, but it all depends on your budget.

 

[jae]

Originally posted by: acole1
8800GTS 320mb is the best bang for your buck IMO, but it all depends on your budget.

it seems like this is all the people on AT know. he just said he wants something decent, doesnt have to be high tech. he plays a shooter every now and then... why suggest one of top most expensive and best cards if he wont use it.

 

[bramdo]

Hello,

I was indeed not the most eloquent person writing my post
My budget is between 125 and 200 usd and since i'm an occasional 3d shooter on a 19 inch display highend isn't necessary,
So besides the 8800, what can improve the 6800 gt i have now witthout crashing the sound barrier,
thank you and,
Bram

 

[jkresh]

well if you want a dx 10 card you are looking at an 8600 which will be faster, if you cant wait on directx 10 then something like an x1950 pro, will be around the same speed and alot cheaper (both are around the same speed (check recent reviews to be sure) but the 8600 has better hd handling (if you want to watch hd movies on your pc) and directx 10 support (though nobody knows how well it (or any directx 10 card out now) will run in dx 10 games when they are released later this year...)

 

[Noema]

Forget about DX10. No one who is buying a Video card today should use DX10 as a factor. There are no DX10 games yet, and no one knows how they'll run on current hardware. DX9 is where it is at, and where it will stay until the end od 2007.

Here's a very nice Passively Cooled 7950GT which is powerful enough to play new games with decent settings at high resolutions. It's considerably faster than your old 6800GT too.

And it's only $199.

And it should also be dead-silent

 

[jkresh]

7950gt is the fastest in your price range (though I wouldn't be surprised if a 8800gts320 gets close to $200 soon). Also Neoma while its true we have no idea how any of the current cards will work in dx10 (and I wouldn't bet on much performance from an 8600/8500) if you only upgrade every few years and are looking forward to crysis,ut2007,alan wake... and you cant wait till they are out to buy then you have to look at dx10 hardware now (or decide to buy something now and sell it and buy new in 6-12months).

 

[Roguestar]

7900GS/X1950 Pro/7950GT depending on which deals are best at the time and if you can find one with a special or passive cooler.

 

[gorobei]

if you dont mind buying a new card when a DX10 game you want comes along, then I would get a 7900GS for ~$120. It should be good for any 3d, video app, or DX9 game short of Oblivion.

if you dont have any DX9 games you want to max out, the 8600GTS series has equivalent power at a slightly higher price ~$180. It also does hd video processing.
(IMHO: the 8600 may not run DX9 games as fast as it should, but the first DX10 games that dont have all the DX9 baggage may run just fine. DX10 gets rid of a lot of inefficient code and pipeline issues.)