HELP: Recommend a card

[ming]

I've previously posted a thread about having problems with my graphics card and can now confirm that it's 1% from being totally dead. I can live with the card using Windows' generic display drivers running at 1fps, but I REALLY do want to play some games which requires a working graphics card. So, I'd like someone to suggest what card I should get (give a choice of 2-3 cards if poss). You'll need to consider the following:

1) Can't be too expensive coz I'm on a really tight budget
2) It can't be a power hungry beast, but must be at least half decent
3) I don't want the lowest of the lows.
4) Finally, need to get it to run the latest FPS games with good frame rates.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mainframeguy]

Lord is going to say the Nvidia thing - he may even recommend the one he uses.... i suspect that is too expensive... But I agree about the nvidia thing (unless I can interest you in an old AGP card I have going spare, but your specs say PCI-x!)

 

[ming]

Well, my one cost me around £230 and it only lasted me 13 months.
I was looking at the 7300GS with DDR3 or the 7600 series.. but want to keep the cost to a minimum.

 

[madmatt]

Honestly ming, I would wait on a new card. Anything you buy today will be out of date come January. Wait for DX10 cards if you plan on upgrading to Vista.

 

[lancer]

listen to matt, thats what i am trying to do as well. you;ll see the next gen games come out then as well, which wont run fully on the dx9.

 

[ray_gillespie]

If you want to get one now, the NVIDIA Geforce 7900GS is only around £150 and is fantastic value for money. There's a good one here at dabs.

 

[ming]

Honestly ming, I would wait on a new card. Anything you buy today will be out of date come January. Wait for DX10 cards if you plan on upgrading to Vista.

Yea, I've thought about that and have been waiting. BUT, after careful consideration, I've been asking myself "why should I upgrade to Vista if I can get it free with a new machine?"
It is actually this question that prompted me to look for a replacement now rather than to wait for DX10.
I don't mind waiting, it's just that my fingers are starting to itch and I really want to play some games asap. lol

 

[LeeJend]

When you can't take it anymore - the 7600 GT is probably the best bang for the buck right now. ATI has nothing I consider to be in the midrange for price/performance. They are due to have some new offerings out soon.

If you must buy now and the 7600 GT is too pricey I suggest a used 9800PRO or 6600GT. Both cards were reliable work horses and will be low priced.

I haven't posted my vid card comparison spreadsheet for a while. The prices are in USD from Newegg but will give you a relative comparison.

 

[ElementalDragon]

lancer: since when? look at DX9's release. everyone was like "Wait for DX9 hardware.... everything will be obsolete once that comes out". DX9 itself was released, as well as the cards (GeForce FX series.... ). Full DX9 games weren't out for probably at LEAST a year after that.... 80% of the cards that were out sucked at rendering in DX9..... and even the games that had full support for DX9 supported DX8 and often times lower. hell, we STILL have games that support DX8.

If you ask me..... i'd say wait on new video cards..... if not until the second generation of DX10 hardware... at LEAST wait till there are some comparable benchmarks to say whether or not it's worth the money. don't want to spend $450 for an 8800GT just to find out that it plays DX10 games like crap. and yes.. that seems to be the MSRP for the 8800GT.....

http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=4007

specs seem nice and all.... whether they're official or not.... either way i'd rather wait and make sure all the bugs in the hardware are worked out before trying to sell both my 7900GT's to afford one of those.

 

[ming]

oh, which manufacturer should i go for? i've noticed that some like BFG offer lifetime guarantee on certain models of their cards...
Also, would it cover for overheating through normal use? (i don't OC my hardware).

 

[ElementalDragon]

well.... since the GeForce 8800 series cards are supposedly due out in mid-november..... if you REALLY want to upgrade to DX10 a bit after it's release when there are some decent reviews, i'd say maybe wait till the end of September, beginning of October, and order an eVGA card. they have excellent customer service, the cards are still covered even if you swap the cooling fan (but be sure to put the stock cooler back on if you send it back, otherwise you won't get your aftermarket cooler back). and the reason i say to wait till around the beginning of october is, if the 8800 series IS released mid-November, that should give plenty of time to see enough reviews and still be able to vouch for the Step-Up program if you truely want to go with an 8800GT or GTX, since then however much you paid for the card you order goes towards the Step-Up to a new card. that' how much YOU paid, not how much it's on sale for at the time of registering for the Step-Up.

I don't think i'll ever buy anything other than eVGA again.....

eVGA FTW!

 

[LeeJend]

XFX and BFG are popular now but the best advice is find some good prices and then read the buyer comments on the supplier and the card. I love newegg and pricegrabber for commentary on products. Watch for a pattern in the comments. Things like noisy or unreliable fans, lot of DOA complaints, etc.

Personally I beleive GPU's already run so hot they can't be safely overclocked. That means I avoid the "factory overclocked" models and brands like the plague. Make sure the card you select is running at Nvidia standard clock speeds for the GPU. Once a vid card starts throwing artifacts it is too late to save it by lowring hte clock speed.

 

[ming]

I don't think i'll ever buy anything other than eVGA again.....

eVGA FTW!

Are you saying that evga is F#&!ing Time Waster? lol

I've been looking at OCUK and came across some eVGA cards with 10yr warranties. I guess it'll either be a BFG or eVGA card that I'll get.
Which country are they based in?

 

[ElementalDragon]

believe they're based in the US..... though i'm not sure. they may have a headquarters for other countries too. when i sent mine in for the Step-Up, i had to send it to California.

Lee: GPU's now don't run much hotter than CPU's, unless you're running say... a 7950GX2. both my 7900GT's are the OC'd eVGA versions, and i never had a problem with them. the only time i ever had what appeared to be overheating problems was when i also had my PhysX card.... but that was on the stock GPU fans.

 

[Shamus MacNoob]

When your in a game and its pumping away the avg: GPU is running quite hot.

 

[ElementalDragon]

well.... all i know is with a Zaman VF900 on my two 7900GT's, last time i checked.... if i remember correctly, they might hit 50C at most.... and that's with the fans turned all the way down to quiet. they usually idle in the high 30's.

edit: for some odd reason one of my cards is running 10C hotter at idle than the other.... and i don't think it's just that it's the top card. might have to remove the heatsink and try reapplying some arctic silver.

 

[ming]

Lee: GPU's now don't run much hotter than CPU's, unless you're running say... a 7950GX2. both my 7900GT's are the OC'd eVGA versions, and i never had a problem with them. the only time i ever had what appeared to be overheating problems was when i also had my PhysX card.... but that was on the stock GPU fans.

is the phsysx card actually worth buying? looks interesting, but not sure if i should get one in the future. is this a one-off card that'll last like 10 years before needing to be replaced in terms of technology?

 

[ElementalDragon]

yeah. supposedly just about every upgrade that it'll need for a LONG time is do-able via software. when i had it, the only thing that was out at the time that could use it was CellFactor.... and i must admit, the cloth effects and liquid flow dynamics were quite stunning.... but there still isn't a good game out that uses it fully. that's probably the only downside to buying one right now.

 

[lancer]

I feel sorry for phsysx, because nvidia is now developing a v/card with a dedicated physics chip onboard, at that time it'll be bye bye phsysx.

 

[ming]

I feel sorry for phsysx, because nvidia is now developing a v/card with a dedicated physics chip onboard, at that time it'll be bye bye phsysx.

I'm glad to hear that they'll have something with that type of technology.