Choosing a Graphics Card (need you tech-savvy folks in here)

[ВАЛТЕР]

Okay, so here is the deal.

I have an Intel Core i7 CPU 950 @ 3.07GHz

12.0 GB Installed RAM

Great computer, no complaints.

Here lies the problem:

I have a shitty

Nvidia 9500GT graphics card

I pre-ordered Battlefield 3 for the PC, however it does not want to play even the beta on my computer because my graphics card is shit.

So, now I have these two options:

Return the game and get it for the PS3 instead.

Or

Hold on to the game, wait a little bit and scrap together some loot so I can buy a new Graphics card.

I am leaning towards the option of getting a new graphics card, because I really wanted to play this game on my PC.

However, I do not have the money in which to be able to buy some 200 Euro Graphics card.

Here is where I need any one of you tech-savvy people to help me out.

Seeing as I do not play that many PC games and I have no clue about what Graphics card is good for what I have not idea which graphics card to get.

I am leaning for a Radeon 6670 (such as this one: http://tinyurl.com/5u5akav) however idk if that will be strong enough to play the game.

Anyways, here is the site of the computer store where I plan on getting my graphics card from and if you guys could help me choose one that is below 7,500 dinars I would love you forever.

http://www.winwin.rs/vga-pci-e-ati-radeon.65.html?categoryId=18

[Rusty Shackleford]

Versus your computer, how much is your power supply capable of handling?

how much room do you have on the mother board?

what kind of slot? (PCI PCI-E PCI-E x16 AGP)



if you get one of the beefier ones, you're probably going to want a heatsink and a fan on it with an independent power hookup (which you can plug into the motherboard) Also, the beefier cards are a loooot bigger. They effectively take up two slots though they only plug into one.


as for whats new or whats best in the graphics card catalog, i cannot help you. You can get a decent card for $150.00 USD methinks.

[khad]

If you can hold off, wait for the AMD 7000 series.

Right now, though, in the US at least, I would pick up a 6850 or 6870, as you can find them in the 150-200 dollar range. You can later pick up a second one for crossfire in the future.

I wouldn't bother with nvidias at the moment. Too power hungry and they don't scale as well.


Versus your computer, how much is your power supply capable of handling?

how much room do you have on the mother board?

what kind of slot? (PCI PCI-E PCI-E x16 AGP)
Nehalem chipsets don't support AGP, FYI.

[GatesofLenin]

I currently have a core i7 930 running an EVGA GTX465 graphics card. It's one of the original fermi chipsets gf-104 but it runs everything I need at full 1920x1200, no stutter.

[ВАЛТЕР]

Versus your computer, how much is your power supply capable of handling?

how much room do you have on the mother board?

what kind of slot? (PCI PCI-E PCI-E x16 AGP)



if you get one of the beefier ones, you're probably going to want a heatsink and a fan on it with an independent power hookup (which you can plug into the motherboard) Also, the beefier cards are a loooot bigger. They effectively take up two slots though they only plug into one.


as for whats new or whats best in the graphics card catalog, i cannot help you. You can get a decent card for $150.00 USD methinks.

Idk what you mean by "Slot" or how I can find out. I know my computer is a nice one, the only thing it has that sucks ass is the graphics card :(

Its got a huge ass fan on the side to keep it from over-heating, that's about all I know as far as over heating is concerned. :/

[khad]

Also, valter, if you ever need any help tweaking or overclocking your rig, you know where to contact me.


Idk what you mean by "Slot" or how I can find out. I know my computer is a nice one, the only thing it has that sucks ass is the graphics card :(

Its got a huge ass fan on the side to keep it from over-heating, that's about all I know as far as over heating is concerned. :/
Rusty's question was just off base. No nehamlem chipsets support agp; that was discontinued after the intel 875 chipsets (P4)

[ВАЛТЕР]

VGA AMD Radeon 6670 Powercolor 1GB/DDR3,/DVI/HDMI/Dsub/128bit/AX6670 1GBK3-H

What do you think about this card? It is right about in my price range and i saw a video on youtube of a guy playing the beta of the game with this card, (except his said DDR5 instead of 3)

[khad]

VGA AMD Radeon 6670 Powercolor 1GB/DDR3,/DVI/HDMI/Dsub/128bit/AX6670 1GBK3-H

What do you think about this card? It is right about in my price range and i saw a video on youtube of a guy playing the beta of the game with this card, (except his said DDR5 instead of 3)
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Call-of-Pripyat-Enthusiast,2666.html

Take a look

[Rusty Shackleford]

Also, valter, if you ever need any help tweaking or overclocking your rig, you know where to contact me.


Rusty's question was just off base. No nehamlem chipsets support agp; that was discontinued in the intel 975 chipsets (P4)


On the AGP situation. Im not a super techie. I remember when i was younger i was looking for a new GFX card and i remember AGP was one of them though i dont see them anymore. It was a just in case question. Like i said, im not really that great at tech help.

[Nox]

Do not get nvidia, please don't make the same mistake I did twice.

[Rusty Shackleford]

General question, what is the best AMD series cards right now and why is Nvidia so bad? Ive always had Nvidia cards though it seems they have always been lacking in capability.

[khad]

General question, what is the best AMD series cards right now and why is Nvidia so bad? Ive always had Nvidia cards though it seems they have always been lacking in capability.
Fermi is a power hog that will overload your power supply if you're not careful (really only applies to running dual cards, but top end nvidias chew 300w vs 150-200w of the top AMD models)

Also, SLI doesn't scale as well as Crossfire.

[ВАЛТЕР]

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Call-of-Pripyat-Enthusiast,2666.html

Take a look

It is telling me it makes 20 FPS on this "call of pripyat" game

is this good enough for gaming?

Idk much about gaming sorry if I come off as ignorant...because I am about this stuff. :P

Can you suggest one off of this website? Preferably in the 7500 Dinar price range.

http://www.winwin.rs/vga-pci-e-ati-radeon.65.html?categoryId=18

[Rafiq]

I have the ATI RADEON 5770 and I can play any game ive tried. 200 bucks

[Nox]

General question, what is the best AMD series cards right now and why is Nvidia so bad? Ive always had Nvidia cards though it seems they have always been lacking in capability.

From my experience, they are overpriced for what you get, they crash often, they overheat often and they use a lot more voltage than what they should use.

[khad]

It is telling me it makes 20 FPS on this "call of pripyat" game

is this good enough for gaming?

Idk much about gaming sorry if I come off as ignorant...because I am about this stuff. :P

Can you suggest one off of this website? Preferably in the 7500 Dinar price range.

http://www.winwin.rs/vga-pci-e-ati-radeon.65.html?categoryId=18
I guess that would work if you turn settings down. What that chart really is meant to illustrate is that the 6670 has about 1/2 the power of a 6870.

If you can live with that, by all means.

[Void]

Radeon 6670 is very bad.. Old technology, new brand...(128 bit and ddr3)
No step forward from 9500GT (128 bit and ddr2)

At the moment it is not a good moment to buy a new graphics card, if you are not rich. Best options are 68xx series like khad mentioned, they are getting pretty cheap for the performance. 6850 is price/performance. (256bit GDDR5)

Try to find a second hand 6850 or 6870...if you are in a hurry People sell them. If you buy something less than these you wont find a very significant FPS change in games.

So get the game for PS3

Personally I wait for 7000 radeon series. But it seems so that big change comes only with 79xx series... 78xx series are 69xx series alike... AMD uses new names but old tech often.

[Rusty Shackleford]

As far as FPS goes, i think past 25 FPS there is hardly and noticeable difference to the eye. Though in Call of Pripyat if you are averaging 20 FPS you will see some serious dips.

Also, if you do get a new card, i would suggest you get CoP as well because that game is awesome. I cant go beyond medium settings but screens of that game are absolutely gorgeous.

[ВАЛТЕР]

I guess that would work if you turn settings down. What that chart really is meant to illustrate is that the 6670 has about 1/2 the power of a 6870.

If you can live with that, by all means.

This character says he had his setting up on "ultra" in the beta for the game. The gameplay looks good on that 6670 i think.


2urtrgnNtXQ

Mmmm, I guess I'll end up just getting the game for my PS3 then, whose HDMI port doesn't even work anymore so I gotta play it on some old ass tv.

I just don't have the money for those high priced cards, also I am too lazy to wait any longer to play it.

[Sperm-Doll Setsuna]

All the 3 ATI cards I've had have stopped working completely after less than a year (one of them overheated and sustained burn damages after its fan ceased functioning, the other two suddenly stopped working altogether). After that I try to avoid them. All the ATI cards have had higher average temperatures than the NVIDIA ones also, though both seems to be just as prone to crashing games and the like.

(Also as far as I understand the recommended power requirements of most graphics cards are exaggerated and higher than really is necessary to avoid complaints.)

[ВАЛТЕР]

All the 3 ATI cards I've had have stopped working completely after less than a year (one of them overheated and sustained burn damages after its fan ceased functioning, the other two suddenly stopped working altogether). After that I try to avoid them. All the ATI cards have had higher average temperatures than the NVIDIA ones also, though both seems to be just as prone to crashing games and the like.

(Also as far as I understand the recommended power requirements of most graphics cards are exaggerated and higher than really is necessary to avoid complaints.)

What about an AMD Radeon 6670 Sapphire 1GB/DDR5?

AMDs any good?

[khad]

What about an AMD Radeon 6670 Sapphire 1GB/DDR5?

AMDs any good?
ATI got bought out by AMD and are now their GPU division.

The 6670 would probably be the bare minimum I'd go for.

[ВАЛТЕР]

So, I've decided on this graphics card.

VGA AMD Radeon 6850 Powercolor 1GB/DDR5,/DualDVI/HDMI/DP/256bit

It is out of my price range at the moment (It costs about 120 Euro)but I should get the funds necessary by next month.

It isn't too expensive, however the guy at the store I spoke to said it should do just fine.

Thank you everyone for your input, I really appreciate it. :)

[Void]

So, I've decided on this graphics card.

VGA AMD Radeon 6850 Powercolor 1GB/DDR5,/DualDVI/HDMI/DP/256bit

It is out of my price range at the moment (It costs about 120 Euro)but I should get the funds necessary by next month.

It isn't too expensive, however the guy at the store I spoke to said it should do just fine.

Thank you everyone for your input, I really appreciate it. :)

That card offers lots of space for overclock too. Overclock it... You ll not regret. Get almost the performance of 6870.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Just use Khads help with overclocking. you dont want to over do it and fry anything.


get used to the performance first though to see if you really want to boost it some more.

[CommieTroll]

You could get a new rig but you'll need the cash.
This guy helped me build my own
CcPkqOrnpHU

[ВАЛТЕР]

Just use Khads help with overclocking. you dont want to over do it and fry anything.


get used to the performance first though to see if you really want to boost it some more.


More is always better...except for aids...

Anyways, I'll be sure to ask him how this is done when I get my card and have it set up in my Comp.

What exactly is "overclocking" though? Can this be done to any card? Also, is there a serious risk of destroying my card?

[khad]

What exactly is "overclocking" though? Can this be done to any card? Also, is there a serious risk of destroying my card?
Overclocking is running a part at a clock speed faster than spec.

Basically, you'll have to see what the cooler on the card is like, how well it performs, and how high you want to go in terms of temperatures.

Contrary to what some are claiming, you won't get near the performance of a 6850, as the 6670 is basically a 6850 cut in half (480 unified shader units vs 960). Overclocking isn't a magic bullet. The biggest gains you'll see, not necessarily for gaming, but for everyday use comes from overclocking the CPU.

[ВАЛТЕР]

Overclocking is running a part at a clock speed faster than spec.

Basically, you'll have to see what the cooler on the card is like, how well it performs, and how high you want to go in terms of temperatures.

Contrary to what some are claiming, you won't get near the performance of a 6850, as the 6670 is basically a 6850 cut in half (480 unified shader units vs 960). Overclocking isn't a magic bullet. The biggest gains you'll see, not necessarily for gaming, but for everyday use comes from overclocking the CPU.

I decided on getting a "VGA AMD Radeon 6850 Powercolor 1GB/DDR5,/DualDVI/HDMI/DP/256bit" maybe you didn't see my post on it. Could overclocking this thing be a serious improvement?

I am not super obsessive about graphics being at the tippity top (I like them the best I can get them but it isn't my main concern), I just want the game to run smoothly online.

As for overclocking my CPU, would that be neccessary? I have an i7 CPU 950 @ 3.07GHz. With 12GB RAM. That's a solid processor from what I hear, isn't it?

[ВАЛТЕР]

You could get a new rig but you'll need the cash.
This guy helped me build my own
CcPkqOrnpHU

My comp is actually a custom build, and a good one at that. However the only shitty thing it had in it was the graphics card. The comp itself is the most ballinest shit ever, the graphics cards however, not so much.

[Leonid Brozhnev]

I have an XFX HD6850, not the exact same as your's but it is most definitely a good card.

To make the most of it I would make sure your Motherboard can handle CrossfireX first, so say in a years time it becomes outdated (6850's have been out for over a year now) you can get another one for cheap. My motherboard isn't Crossfire compatible, only SLI, so I'm having to upgrade my entire motherboard on top of buying a new HD6850 card, not the cheapest option, but at least I'll be ready for the new AMD Bulldozer processors when I can afford upgrading to one.

[ВАЛТЕР]

I have an XFX HD6850, not the exact same as your's but it is most definitely a good card.

To make the most of it I would make sure your Motherboard can handle CrossfireX first, so say in a years time it becomes outdated (6850's have been out for over a year now) you can get another one for cheap. My motherboard isn't Crossfire compatible, only SLI, so I'm having to upgrade my entire motherboard on top of buying a new HD6850 card, not the cheapest option, but at least I'll be ready for the new AMD Bulldozer processors when I can afford upgrading to one.


Well, how do I find out if my motherboard is Crossfire compatible? Do I have to open my computer up?

[khad]

I decided on getting a "VGA AMD Radeon 6850 Powercolor 1GB/DDR5,/DualDVI/HDMI/DP/256bit" maybe you didn't see my post on it. Could overclocking this thing be a serious improvement?

I am not super obsessive about graphics being at the tippity top (I like them the best I can get them but it isn't my main concern), I just want the game to run smoothly online.

As for overclocking my CPU, would that be neccessary? I have an i7 CPU 950 @ 3.07GHz. With 12GB RAM. That's a solid processor from what I hear, isn't it?
That is definitely a very good card. From the default of 775mhz on the GPU, you can expect to take it over 900mhz

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4002/amd-radeon-hd-6850-overclocking-roundup-asus-xfx-msi/8

I'm also sure that your i7 is 4ghz capable. I believe all the 950s are D0 steppings.


Well, how do I find out if my motherboard is Crossfire compatible? Do I have to open my computer up?

Check to see if you have another slot for a second video card. (actually I'm pretty sure all x58 motherboards have at least 2xPCI-E 16x slots for video cards)

http://drivers.download.ba/proimg/MSI%20X58%20Platinum%20Motherboard%20Drivers.jpg

[Leonid Brozhnev]

Nah, no need. There's probably a few tools out there that can tell your what Motherboard your PC uses (amongst other things), I use Belarc advisor - http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

[khad]

Nah, no need. There's probably a few tools out there that can tell your what Motherboard your PC uses (amongst other things), I use Belarc advisor - http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
Look, he's going to have to open up his computer anyway. Might as well start the familiarization.

[Leonid Brozhnev]

Good point :lol:

[Rafiq]

A bit random, but is it possible to overclock my graphics card? Ati radeon 5770?

[khad]

A bit random, but is it possible to overclock my graphics card? Ati radeon 5770?
Yes, and the results are significant
http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/ati_radeon_hd_5750_overclocking_guide,1.html

[ВАЛТЕР]

Once again thanks a lot guys!

To think I was gonna play this game on my PS3...:laugh:

I haven't played PC games since BF1942, so I gotta get back into this again.:)

[BE_]

I have the xfx hd radeon 6850. I got it when it first came out. It is a pretty good card for the price. It ran the Battlefield 3 beta pretty good, so I really recommend it.

[ClearlyChrist]

Who Needs PC Gaming? You Could Always Play On Console, Or Should I Say, CONSOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. :laugh:

[GatesofLenin]

Who Needs PC Gaming? You Could Always Play On Console, Or Should I Say, CONSOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. :laugh:

Once you go mouse + keyboard, you don't go back comrade!

[Dogs On Acid]

Once you go mouse + keyboard, you don't go back comrade!

Both have their pro's and cons.


Best graphics cards for the money.
(http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card-gaming-performance,3042.html)
Battlefield 3 performance on different graphics cards.