Videocard Advice

[SirJangly]

Hey guys, I just bought a Gateway 5662, and was curious what about be the best $100-150 videocard? I would prefer a card that'd let me use the stock psu, and is quiet. I do not plan on running at a higher res than 1440x900, if that helps. Thanks in advance

 

[AzN]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130332
EVGA 8800gs Lifetime warranty and variable fan and 1ns ram is a must.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150294
This one comes with COD4 but the fan isn't variable and comes with slower ram but you get lifetime warranty. Still a great value if you don't have this game.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130334
EVGA 9600gt Only way to fly if you want life time warranty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814141073
Biostar 9600gt Cheap alternative. Might be a hit or miss on the rebate but it's the cheapest 9600gt. Warranty unknown.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814131088

$86.99.

ATI HD3650. 128-bit, GDDR3. The GDDR3 version makes up fot its 128-bit bus by having much better memory bandwidth rather than the GDDR2.

Anything higher and your PSU might crap out with that phenom.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Azn, All of those GPU's will kill his power supply.

 

[AzN]

Didn't see he was working with a gateway. 9600gt and 8800gs is easy on the power supply at least. There are some people with OEM comps who stuck a 8800gs and working fine.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Originally posted by: Azn
Didn't see he was working with a gateway. 9600gt and 8800gs is easy on the power supply at least. There are some people with OEM comps who stuck a 8800gs and working fine.

True, but i wouldn't risk that OEM psu taking out the Phenom, mobo AND ram.

 

[SirJangly]

What power draw should I be looking for? Also, how many watts is my power supply? I can't find the actual # anywhere !

 

[BlueAcolyte]

What you should be really concerned about is the amount of amps on 12v. It should be on the side of the PSU, or try to find it on the internet.

 

[AzN]

I think you should be fine with a 9600gt or 8800gs. Lot of people like to go overboard with their power supply and chipmakers like to over estimate on what power supply it needs.

 

[SirJangly]

Would those cards allow me to max out WoW at 1440x900? I'd also play unreal tournament 2004/3, starcraft 2, and maybe Sins of a Solar Empire

 

[AzN]

It would max out any game except for crysis. Crysis can easily be run on high settings though.

 

[SirJangly]

At that res? I would never play crysis anyways lol That is good to know thoguh Thanks Now I must find a card that's the best bang for my buck !

 

[SirJangly]

Is there a huge difference between 128/192/256 bit? I'm really confused about what to look for

 

[Klinky1984]

Yes there is quite a bit of difference. Those numbers you listed are the width of the memory interface which determines how many bits can be transfered per memory clock cycle. More bits = more data which usually = better performance. Though higher bits doesn't always mean higher performance. An old example of this was a Geforce 6800(256bit @ 300mhz) vs a Geforce 6600GT(128bits @ 600mhz). They both effectively had the same memory bandwidth and similar performance since the 6600GT had half the bus, but cycled twice as fast.

You do not want to get a card with a 128bit bus if you want good performance in modern/upcoming games. Usually you'll only find them on neutered cards. Aim for 192+ bit. Look for either nVidia 8800GS, 9600GT or 8800GT or AMD/ATI 3850 or 3870 cards.