Which Graphics Card to choose?

[Kcdwayne]

My pci-e card just crapped out on me, so it's time for an upgrade.

My machine:

Athalon 64x with 2 processors, 4200+
2gb DDR2 RAM
XP MCE 32bit, soon to upgrade to 64bit

I was thinking about upgrading my computer anyway, but was hoping to put it off til next year and get a quad processor beast for a couple grand.

Any suggestions on what video card to go back with?

I need to be able to edit high definition (avchd) seamlessly for work, and I'd also like to play CoD4:2 cranked up when it comes out. 5 lagged a bit so I knew an upgrade was coming either way.

I'd rather just get a new card for now but if I have to I might be able to spring for a whole new setup with some of that DDR5 or whatever.

Thanks-
Casey Dwayne

[poordevil]

I have about the same rig as you. Mine has a 4200+ dual core, not 2 processors.

As far as video cards if you are gaming it is generally best to buy the latest and fastest you can afford. What I do is set a budget in mind then shop around for the fastest card within those means.

For example the last time I upgraded my video card I went from a ATI 1900xt to a ATI HD 4850. That was a pretty big jump in performance and the 4850 was well under $200.

But you didn't say what video card you are running now.

[Kcdwayne]

Right now I'm running integrated :(

Card I was using til this week was the Nvidia 7900GS DDR3 256mb

I looked at that 4850, how well does it run?

I've got to be able to play 1080p video streamlessly, and I'd really like to play Modern Warfare 2 when it drops this November.

Thanks-
KCD

[poordevil]

4850 is a good card but you may have to stay with Nvidia. I use to run Nvidia cards but my last build I switched over to ATI. I think these days your Mobo determines which card to use. Like I said determine a budget and go with the newest, fastest card with the most ram- like 512mb - you can afford. There are guys who really keep up on video cards and the bang per buck they provide, but I am not one of them. Someone else could probably give you more specific information on exactly which card would be a good buy at this point in time.

[123456]

I can't help you much until I know how much you're willing to spend on a video card.

[Kcdwayne]

Alright, lets say I would spend up to 300, rather not spend over 250. and hey, eBay works for me.

I just need to know if I get a good card like a Diamond ATI Radeon HD 4890 GDDR5 1024MB PCIE Video Card, would that be enough to let me edit high definiton video and play Modern Warefare 2 cranked up?

If I absolutely have to, I might be able to spring for a new workstation, but I'd really rather wait til next year and get a beastly quad processor workstation.

This integrated video deal is killing me, and my computer

-and this last card was nVidia, and I was disappointed. been with ATi since way back when, and this was my 1st and last nVidia

[jlreich]

I just need to know if I get a good card like a Diamond ATI Radeon HD 4890 GDDR5 1024MB PCIE Video Card, would that be enough to let me edit high definiton video and play Modern Warefare 2 cranked up?
Yes that will do fine. In fact that was going to be my recommendation once I saw your budget. I used to have a 7900GS (still running in my daughter machine) and if you did well with that you will be mightily impressed with a 4890. I currently have a 4870 and it plays COD5 with everything completely maxed out without even breaking a sweat at 1680x1050 resolution.

My only concern is if your power supply can handle it or not. You need a minimum of a 550W good quality PSU. What is your PSU make/model? If you have lower than that you may want to consider going with the lower power requirements of the 4850.

Do bear in mind that since your system is an old s939 you have a 1.0 PCIe x16 slot. The card will work fine but you may see a somewhat decreased performance due to the lower bandwidth of 1.0 vs 2.0 PCIe spec. Also your CPU is going to hold you back a bit with games that are CPU intensive.

That being said it will be a HUGE performance increase over the 7900GS and you can move the card over to a new system when you do go that way.

I think these days your Mobo determines which card to use.
This only matters if you want to go with multiple cards. If using a single card it makes no difference. Either single card will work in any PCIe board. Further, many of the x58 boards support both SLI and Crossfire, so in that case it doesn't matter at all.

[Kcdwayne]

Much thanks, JL. I was wondering about the pci-e 2.0, I'm not sure if my case will fit it. It takes 2 slots and my pcie slot is already my top slot in the expansion bay. Will this be a huge problem without getting a new case?

My power supply should do fine, it is an upgraded 550w.

Usually I'd just say time for an upgrade and build a new system, but I've spent my whole year building my new business and I wasn't budgeting for it right now. My hopes were to wait til next year and just get a portable station like this http://cgi.ebay.com/Introducing-the-first-Portable-8-Cores-Workstation-PC_W0QQitemZ180378755530QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDesktop _PCs?hash=item29ff6961ca&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Thanks again

Yes that will do fine. In fact that was going to be my recommendation once I saw your budget. I used to have a 7900GS (still running in my daughter machine) and if you did well with that you will be mightily impressed with a 4890. I currently have a 4870 and it plays COD5 with everything completely maxed out without even breaking a sweat at 1680x1050 resolution.

My only concern is if your power supply can handle it or not. You need a minimum of a 550W good quality PSU. What is your PSU make/model? If you have lower than that you may want to consider going with the lower power requirements of the 4850.

Do bear in mind that since your system is an old s939 you have a 1.0 PCIe x16 slot. The card will work fine but you may see a somewhat decreased performance due to the lower bandwidth of 1.0 vs 2.0 PCIe spec. Also your CPU is going to hold you back a bit with games that are CPU intensive.

That being said it will be a HUGE performance increase over the 7900GS and you can move the card over to a new system when you do go that way.


This only matters if you want to go with multiple cards. If using a single card it makes no difference. Either single card will work in any PCIe board. Further, many of the x58 boards support both SLI and Crossfire, so in that case it doesn't matter at all.

[poordevil]

I think these days your Mobo determines which card to use.

This only matters if you want to go with multiple cards. If using a single card it makes no difference. Either single card will work in any PCIe board. Further, many of the x58 boards support both SLI and Crossfire, so in that case it doesn't matter at all.

Oh that is good to know. Thought I was hemmed in with ATI and the mobo determined that. Well, if I ever want a Nvidia card in this rig I know now I can drop one in.

[jlreich]

It takes 2 slots and my pcie slot is already my top slot in the expansion bay. Will this be a huge problem without getting a new case?
The video card is installed upside down with the fan pointing down. So the second slot down will be the extra one one blocked. It is long video card at 10.5" in length, so do be sure you have that much and an extra 1/2-1" for the power connectors to fit on the end of the card.

Which brings me to another point, does your PSU have at least one 6pin PCIe power connector? Preferably two as the card requires two and I have seen reports that people are getting the 4890 and there is a paper in the box saying not to use adapters.

550W is slim for a 4890, but with your system being older the rest of it won't require as much power as a more modern system, so if it does indeed have two 6pin connectors you might be OK. Though I would normally recommend 650W minimum for a 4870 or better. You said you had up to a $300 budget. You could get a 4890 for about $200 and also pick up a good quality 650W PSU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005) for less than $100. That way you wouldn't have to worry about the card being underpowered. Or drop down to a 4870, which is still a great card, to give you a little more wiggle room if that is too tight for your budget.

[Kcdwayne]

wow, long card. I should have plenty of running room (about 12 inches).

great info

someone else recommended the 4870, I cant seem to find the difference between the 2.

I'm also noticing a lot of different brands (sapphire, diamond, xfx, visiontek), are they pretty much the same? I had a little trouble out of a sapphire once upon a time.

that 4870 x2 looks sweet.. 2 gigs of ddr5. wishful thinking at this point.
my power supply does have 1 6pin (7900 required it), will this get me by if I get the 4870?

anything I get will be outdated as soon as I buy it so I try not to worry much until notice a problem with performance.

kind of a non graphics question, would I notice a tremendous difference if I upgrade my 32bit XP to the 64bit?

Thanks for the great correspondence,
Casey Dwayne

[jlreich]

I haven't looked into the fine details but from what I have seen the only difference from a 4870 and a 4890 is the 90 has a faster clock speed. I wouldn't swear to it but I am pretty sure they have the same GPU and I know they have the same amount of shader cores and all that. To be honest I usualy over clock my video cards, but I have had my 4870 for a over a month now and have really had no reason to over clock it yet. I will at some point, just because I like to do that kind of thing. :p It is already factory over clocked, but I know it can do more.

Sapphire was one of the top ATI brands for a long time but the others are also good. I have an HIS that I am very happy with. As far as brands go I am more versed in the nVidia side since that is what I ran for several years. For nVidia I prefer EVGA. Basically look at warranty, clock speed, and what freebies you get if any. Reviews can be helpful if you take them with a grain of salt. Some people are idiots and are causing their own problems, but if a certain card or brand is consistently getting bad reviews then just move on even if it looks like a good deal.

For a 4870 you should do fine with 1x6pin connector and using the supplied 2x 4pin molex to 6pin adapter. Hopefully you have two free 4pin molex connectors?

The single biggest benefit to 64bit is support for more than 4GB ram. If you were buying a new OS I would almost always recommend 64bit. But I wouldn't make the upgrade to 64bit in and of itself unless you had need for more ram. If you have 4GB or less stick with what you have until it is time for a new OS.

[Kcdwayne]

Cool deal, 4870 is on the way. I appreciate all the help, hopefully this will last me until next year. I think the reason my old nVidia card quit was I used dual monitors, and ran video intensive apps a lot. Plan on doing the same thing with this one though, hopefully it will do better.

On a side note that 7900 was a PNY brand, so I'll be staying away from them if possible.

Thanks again for the help JL.