Recommendation GPU for Vista upgrade

[figgly]

I have a GIGABYTE GA-965G-DS3 board and using on board graphics.

I want to move from XP to Vista. Can you recommend a reasonably priced graphics card so I won't have any hiccups with Vista Aero. Maybe play back some videos but no real gaming.

On a separate build. Any feeback on the Asus 8600GT Silent board? For a machine for photoshopping, some video encoding. Not for gaming. Thanks.

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: figgly


I want to move from XP to Vista. Can you recommend a reasonably priced graphics card so I won't have any hiccups with Vista Aero. Maybe play back some videos but no real gaming.

Click

 

[pukemon]

Although the GMA X3000 in the G965 can handle Aero and video playback just fine, an ATI Radeon HD 3450 (like above) or a Geforce 8400GS would probably be somewhat better for the lowest price, and would give you a DVI output... (assuming you have a monitor with a DVI port)

 

[jaqie]

if you just want aero and video playback ability, any DX8 or newer card will be plenty. I say find a 6xxx pcie nvidia card and use it if you don't game. aero works fine with my system that has an nvidia 6100 built into the mobo.

 

[superstition]

I say find a 6xxx pcie nvidia card and use it if you don't game.

If you can get a much more modern design for $22.50, why waste time on old tech?

 

[jaqie]

Someone may not wish to spend ~$23 on newer tech then is needed. It's all up to the person doing it.
Some 6000 series cards are quite low-power as well, IIRC, as an additional incentive.

 

[superstition]

Originally posted by: jaqie
Someone may not wish to spend ~$23 on newer tech then is needed. It's all up to the person doing it. Some 6000 series cards are quite low-power as well, IIRC, as an additional incentive.

So, there are free 6000 series cards lying around?

 

[jaqie]

Excuse me? I assumed you meant $22.50 more then a 6000 series.

 

[jdkick]

FYI. When I moved to Vista enabling Aero would cause the fan on my 7900GS to spin fast enough that it was definitely audible when just sitting at the desktop (fan was silent with Aero off or under XP). Some people found workarounds, tweaking temp thresholds to control the fan RPM, etc. I ended up installing an Accelero S1 (passive cooler) tho as I wanted a quieter system in general, even during gaming, so that took care of the problem for me. Just something to think of when shopping for a card.

 

[Binky]

For non-gaming machines, the ATI/AMD cards are pretty nice for dirt cheap. Check out the 3450 that Sylvanas linked, or one of the many 3650's. You could also run a 2600XT (recent hot deal at $25AR) and it would be perfect for what you describe.