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Video card advice

G

Gamerwife

Junior Member
I am the the wife of a gamer...there I said it. I'm am also a chef/teacher and have limited knowledge about computer set ups. My husband has been wanting to upgrade AGAIN and is currently running a GeForce 8800GTS. I wanted to surprise him for Christmas and get him a new video card (or two-maybe). Any suggestions on what would be better than this. His monitor is a big ass TV (36 in flat screen-I believe) and i don't know if that makes a difference. I would ask his clan buddies, but I want to totally surprise him. Thanks for any help.
 
First of all, he seems like an extremely lucky man.

Do you know if his (your?) TV is 1080p? Should say somewhere on it if it is. That way we know what resolution he will be playing.

Do you know any other specs on his computer? Dual-core? How old is it?

What is your price range? There are great cards for $120, $175, $225, $300+ price brackets...

This will help us help you pick out the perfect video card for him 🙂
 
seeing as he has a nvidia card do you kno if the brand matters. i kno alot of people prefer one or the other between amd and nvidia.
 
Doougin said:
seeing as he has a nvidia card do you kno if the brand matters. i kno alot of people prefer one or the other between amd and nvidia.
Click to expand...

Not knowing, should we stick with Nvidia in this case?

I will just openly suggest a GeForce GTX560ti. It seems to be the best all-around video card, and a helluva upgrade from a GeForce 8800GTS.

Where will you be purchasing this, Gamerwife?


Here is the 560ti:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130604
 
Knowing the motherboard and CPU would help a lot...

You can d/l this utility: ftp://ftp.cpuid.com/cpu-z/cpu-z_1.58-setup-en.exe

You'd then install it (be sure to uncheck the Yahoo Toolbar agreement so you don't install that also).

Then you just run it and you'll see this screen:
http://www.pcug.org.au/16bitsmag/16b2006/PCUG16b200606/CPU-Z%20mainboard.jpg

All we'd need is the "NAME" of the processor when you are in the CPU tab and then probably just the Manufacturer, Model and Chipset when you are in the Mainboard tab.

If you want to go through that much trouble, that's up to you, it is relatively painless.
 
stickin to nvidia would prolly be best. tho a price range would help alot with suggestions. the power supply also has to be considered in this so it has enough power to run it.
 
OK-here is more information. The TV is 1080p. His processor is an Intel Core Extreme X9650. He had 8GB RAM on his computer and an external thing with 1.36 TB. Hope that's enough info. I don't know about preference honestly, I start to glaze over a bit when gets going about those things, much the way I suspects he does when I start up about tweaking flavor profiles.
 
REALLY wish we knew what kind of PSU he has 🙂

For a $300+ video card, he will need a powerful power supply to be able to run it...

Look at it this way. If you get him a kick-ass video card, and his power supply isn't enough, will it be a big deal for you/him to spend another $80-$100 on a good power supply?

If that's not a big deal, then lets go shopping!
 
Without the PSU and motherboard Specs the safest bet is to go with a single video card solution. $400-$600 is a lot, you can get some pretty bad ass cards for that type of $$.
 
OK-just look through his system and I think this may help. This is all Greek to me. Here is some of the things listed:
something is a XFX781
XFXnForce 780i 3way SLI
 
Gamerwife said:
400-600 was the price i was thinking
Click to expand...

If your husband is using an 8800GTS, chances are that the rest of his computer isn't really fast enough to take advantage of a $400-600 graphics card setup. It would be very helpful if you knew what CPU/Processor his system has.

Otherwise, don't bother spending more than $170-200 on a GTX560/560Ti/HD6950. Also, to begin with it's ill advised to spend $400-600 on what essentially is a 2-year-old generation of graphics cards. We are really close to a very large performance increase in graphics after almost 2 years of limited gains. If you want to spend $400-600 on graphics, you should wait for HD7900 series, which is rumored to arrive in January 2012 (and probably make sure your husband gets a new CPU then!).

EDIT:

Gamerwife said:
OK-just look through his system and I think this may help. This is all Greek to me. Here is some of the things listed:
something is a XFX781
XFXnForce 780i 3way SLI
Click to expand...

That's a very old setup. Such a system can be using a 2-core processor or at best a slow 4-core CPU.

If you have a chance to access his computer, just click Start, and in the Search menu type:

Dxdiag.exe, press Enter

Under System, read out the Processor.

My guess is, something like an HD6870 or GTX560 is the best bet if he has a dual core CPU.
 
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I don't care about the power supply issue-if it needs to be updated that's OK. His set up is basically like his hobby. I'd rather have him pull and on-line gaming cession with some dudes from Germany than out drinking and what not. At this point his computer has it own small AC unit (it get like 105 here in the summer), so whats another 80 bucks. This really is his primary hobby-he works hard and he is a great husband, so I want to really make him happy. He was like a little kid a few days ago when he beat some battlefeild (?) game.
 
RussianSensation said:
If your husband is using an 8800GTS, chances are that the rest of his computer isn't really fast enough to take advantage of a $400-600 graphics card setup. It would be very helpful if you knew what CPU/Processor his system has.

Otherwise, don't bother spending more than $170-200 on a GTX560/560Ti/HD6950. Also, to begin with it's ill advised to spend $400-600 on what essentially is a 2-year-old generation of graphics cards. We are really close to a very large performance increase in graphics after almost 2 years of limited gains. If you want to spend $400-600 on graphics, you should wait for HD7900 series, which is rumored to arrive in January 2012 (and probably make sure your husband gets a new CPU then!).
Click to expand...

She is looking for a Christmas present for him right now, lets not do the usual "wait for the future" argument. I can picture her eyes glazing over right now...

She said he has a Intel Core Extreme X9650, which is a 3.0ghz quad-core CPU, 8GB ram. Only thing we don't know is if the Motherboard can accept dual GPU's, and if the power supply can handle a huge GPU.

I suggest a GTX580, and at the end of the day the power supply isn't enough, they can always buy a new one 🙂

No need to worry about more than you need to right now!
 
Gamerwife said:
I don't care about the power supply issue-if it needs to be updated that's OK. His set up is basically like his hobby. I'd rather have him pull and on-line gaming cession with some dudes from Germany than out drinking and what not. At this point his computer has it own small AC unit (it get like 105 here in the summer), so whats another 80 bucks. This really is his primary hobby-he works hard and he is a great husband, so I want to really make him happy. He was like a little kid a few days ago when he beat some battlefeild (?) game.
Click to expand...


You in the USA or Canada? That only matters for where you're buying it from.

I highly suggest a GeForce GTX580. That is a KICK-ASS card, and he will LOVE it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125379
 
Gamerwife said:
Are teo cards better than one?
Click to expand...

Yes and No.

To have two cards, the motherboard needs to be able to support that. And even then, a single GTX580 is going to be pretty much as good as dual cards in your price range. So really you don't need to worry about dual video cards... 🙂

But I can tell you'd love to give him a video card... Let him get excited... and then give him a SECOND one... HAH
 
Doesn't matter too much, Newegg.com is a great vendor, NCIX.com is good too...

I'm from Canada so I can't advise very much about US vendors.
 
Gamerwife said:
Are teo cards better than one?
Click to expand...

Your husband has an older SLI motherboard, which is designed to use up to three Nvidia cards. While more is usually better, one good modern card is enough for most games, and also easier to set up. Also, two high-end cards would almost certainly require a power supply upgrade, and it sounds like you already have heat problems to deal with, which would not be helped by having two high-powered cards.

Gamerwife said:
US. OK does it matter who you buy from? I think I'll watch the price a bit on the GeForce GTX580.
Click to expand...

I'd personally recommend the GTX570. Just a slight step down from the GTX580, over $100 cheaper, and easier on the power supply. It's still almost 3x faster than what he has. Here they are at Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...CE&PageSize=20

It's nice that you're willing to spend so much on this gift, but generally speaking, the GTX580 is not considered a very good value. You pay a lot for that extra little bit of performance.
 
Yeah, the CPU is fine. What you need to find out now is the PSU - open the side panel and check the label/specs on the power supply.
 
GoStumpy said:
Yes and No.

To have two cards, the motherboard needs to be able to support that. And even then, a single GTX580 is going to be pretty much as good as dual cards in your price range. So really you don't need to worry about dual video cards... 🙂
Click to expand...

I missed the part about the CPU being a 3.0ghz Quad. Either way, your comment that a GTX580 is as good as dual cards in the $400-600 is wrong. Both the GTX560 Ti 2GB SLI or GTX570 SLI will destroy a single GTX580.

In Canada, at NCIX the GTX580 is more than $500 CDN. That's a ridiculous amount of $ to drop in November of 2011 for a GPU that's hardly better than a GTX480 from April of 2010. You can almost buy 2x GTX570s for that.

Gamerwife said:
When I did the dxdiag.exe it said XFXnForce 7801 CPU X9650@3.00GHz (4CPU) ~3.5GHz
Click to expand...

Thanks for doing that. That CPU is pretty good. If you are going with a single card, I suggest a GTX570. Dual cards, GTX560 Ti or GTX570.
 
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