Recommended video card for this setup?

[darklordbri]

i am building this setup and i have everything except the kind of video card. the computer will be mostly for games, dvd burning, movie editing, and possibly CAD use down the road. i'm just stuck at a stand-still of which root to go. i was thinkin nVidia 7900gt but i dunno.

Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
DFI INFINITY NF ULTRAII-M2
Patriot 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) 320GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache SATA
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Antec 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0

 

[darklordbri]

bttt

 

[Cookie Monster]

Whats your budget?
What resolution?

edit - what kind of games you playing?

 

[darklordbri]

well honestly my budget is open. everything will have cost ~$700 minus the video card. games being played will include oblivion, battlefield 2, titan quest and whatever else will be comin out.

 

[Cookie Monster]

From my knowledge, both ATi/NV excels in BF2. NV is faster in titan quest and ATi is faster in oblivion.

EVGA 7900GS HDCP KO for $199 After rebate

Quiet fan/cooling solution, fast performance, Good OCability, EVGA warranty + step up, cool and less power hungry, HDCP also.

OR

Sapphire X1900XT 256mb for $234 AR

Very fast performance (faster than a 7950GT), slightly better IQ in terms of AF

But if your looking for the ultimate performance.
1)
Sapphire X1900XTX $354

2)
Sapphire X1950XTX $429

3)
EVGA 7950GX2 $494

Its in performance order. The 7950GX2 is the fastest single slot PCI-e card right now. Up to 5~20% faster in HQ mode compared to the X1900XTX and X1950XTX.

 

[darklordbri]

that X1900XT looks really good for that price. i wasnt considering ATI but maybe i should. the only reason i wasnt was because some people had told me that with an nforce4 ultra chipset i should stay with nvidia. so cause of that i've been only lookin at nvidia.

 

[hmorphone]

Using an nforce 4 chipset won't make any difference. Unless you're planning on running crossfire of course. That X1900XT is probably your best choice. What monitor/resolution are you using?

 

[Ulfhednar]

ATI cards are generally faster in both Battlefield 2 and Oblivion (I play both religiously, and have done so with both brands aside from reading benchmarks.) I wouldn't know about Titan Quest though, never played it or seen it in benchmarks.

The X1900XT is the best value for bang-for-buck card going at the moment. I would buy that (and did), it also has the added bonus of being able to render HDR and antialiasing at the same time in some titles, which include Oblivion, Far Cry, and Call Of Juarez to name a few.

 

[darklordbri]

currently i have a samsung 153t lcd running at 1024x768

 

[hmorphone]

Is that what you're using on the new system?

 

[darklordbri]

yea i dont plan on gettin a new lcd anytime soon. maybe for christmas from my parents.

 

[hmorphone]

At that resolution you should be able to crank all the settings to the max with great framerates using the 256mb XT. You could probably even drop down to a less powerful card, but at that price it would have to be quite a bit cheaper to be worth it. This way you'll still be in good shape if you get a bigger monitor or some more demanding games come out.

 

[darklordbri]

yea i thought about comin down but then i realized i would def like to have a good card for newer games and if i get a newer monitor.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Buy the 7900GS in this case or even the 7600GT. If your monitor is at 10x7, then theres not much point buying X1900XT and above. (Unless you max AA/AF etc).

 

[Pabster]

7600GT sounds good. For 10x7 you don't need the ponies of the $400+ cards.

 

[akshayt]

Why don't you get a core 2 duo.

I suggest you get a 1900XT 512 + a new PSU, this one may not do.

 

[darklordbri]

^^ the x1900xt isnt $400...it's $234 AR which is quite managable for me at this time.

^ i am not gettin a core 2 duo system because components are way too expensive. plus i've read in several places the selection of mobos are not all that great.

 

[hmorphone]

Originally posted by: darklordbri
yea i thought about comin down but then i realized i would def like to have a good card for newer games and if i get a newer monitor.

There you go. I think you've awnsered your own question.