Vid card upgrade

[dawgtuff]

I'd like to upgrade my vid card from a 7600GT PCI-E to a newer card. My Antec Sp-450 PSU has a split rail 12v (15/17amp) capability. What's the cheapest, good quality,compatible, OC' able vid card? I'd prefer a Sappire brand.
System:
Opty 144@2.6
Asus A8N-e (on chip memory controller)
2gb Corsair DDR400@2-3-3-8 1T
Sunbeam copper CPU HS w/120mm fan(which also helps cool the Mobo/ram and Vid card)
WD 250gb SATA
Antec SP-450 PSU
Xp Pro 32

 

[AstroManLuca]

What games are you playing? What resolution? Those are important to know what to recommend. Without knowing those things I'd say a Radeon 4830 or 4850 would be good choices. Not too expensive and good for most games.

 

[cbn]

Originally posted by: dawgtuff
I'd like to upgrade my vid card from a 7600GT PCI-E to a newer card. My Antec Sp-450 PSU has a split rail 12v (15/17amp) capability. What's the cheapest, good quality,compatible, OC' able vid card? I'd prefer a Sappire brand.
System:
Opty 144@2.6
Asus A8N-e (on chip memory controller)
2gb Corsair DDR400@2-3-3-8 1T
Sunbeam copper CPU HS w/120mm fan(which also helps cool the Mobo/ram and Vid card)
WD 250gb SATA
Antec SP-450 PSU
Xp Pro 32

Next week if the price of HD4770 is good enough I would consider that one.

But I think your PSU should easily be able to handle a 4850 also.

 

[dawgtuff]

Oh, my bad. I forgot to say I have 2-21" full screen(not wide screen) Viewsonic monitors @1400x1050. I guess this rules out needing anything more than a 512mb vid card.
A 4850 was one of picks.
I'm a gamer,but I like single shooter space sims that are joystick capable . Like Independence War 2,Wing Commander,FreeSpace2,etc. DarkStarOne is the latest I like best,but it's circa 2006. I'm having problems finding these type of games.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

4830, 4770, 4850 would all be good choices. I don't think you could go wrong with any of them. They would be pretty good matches when paired with your processor and shouldn't overload your PSU.

 

[vj8usa]

You mentioned you prefer Sapphire? There's actually a Sapphire 4850 for $90 after rebate, with free shipping, at Newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102824 (use the coupon code VGA851 for $10 off)

Just a heads up about your PSU, though. The smartpower line wasn't exactly high quality. I had the exact same PSU you did (450W smartpower 2.0, 15+17A 12V rails, came with my Sonata II case), and it was NOT enough for my 4850. I was surprised, as it powered my X1900XT just fine, but it just wasn't good enough for the 4850. I don't know if my experience is typical for that PSU. Maybe I had a mildly defective unit, or maybe it was just getting old (I'd had it for 2 years when I got the 4850).