Whic graphics card to buy?

[jenni91]

hello i'm thinking of upgrading my computer and getting a graphics card as i'm currently running onboard graphics. I've looked acrossed the internet at many different graphics cards but it's all a bit mind boggling to me. There's so many to choose from with different features and prices. I have no idea which one to get; i've got $300.

Could anyone give me some advice on choosing one?
My computer spec is:
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 620 processor 6.20 Ghz
Ram: 4.00 GB
System Type: 32 bit operating system

I can post anymore information if it's needed

thanks

[zombie@computer]

first of all, your cpu isnt running at 6.20 Ghz, thats impossible.

second, you need to post the exact type of motherboard you have, as it may not have the appropriate slots to support a graphics card.

third, post some examples of games you'd like to play (this gives us an idea of what you are aiming for)

fourth, be prepared to get a 64 bit operating system, as some of your RAM will become useless if you dont. (unless you dont mind)

fifth, post powersupply properties. Good videocards need lots of juice, and if you currently have onboard graphics, its likely the psu needs to be upgraded as well.

[xoqolatl]

What z@c said, also Athlon 620 runs at 2,6 GHz.

[jenni91]

first of all, your cpu isnt running at 6.20 Ghz, thats impossible.

second, you need to post the exact type of motherboard you have, as it may not have the appropriate slots to support a graphics card.

third, post some examples of games you'd like to play (this gives us an idea of what you are aiming for)

fourth, be prepared to get a 64 bit operating system, as some of your RAM will become useless if you dont. (unless you dont mind)

fifth, post powersupply properties. Good videocards need lots of juice, and if you currently have onboard graphics, its likely the psu needs to be upgraded as well.

Thanks for the quick reply

oops sorry typo, i meant 2.60 GHz

My motherboard is an ASRock k10n78 , i'm not sure what graphics card it supports however i can post a picture if that would help??

currently i can play crysis on only low graphics; I can't really play grand theft auto 4 as it is too slow although i can play left 4 dead, portal, all the half-life series and most source games at almost max graphics settings, but in Left 4 dead 2 its a bit slow on max settings. I use my computer mainly for level design and graphic design. The software i use is unreal editor, hammer, maya and 3DSmax to name just a few.

Is there a downside to using a 64bit operating system? I've always used 32 bit and im not even really sure what the difference is, but i will wikapedia it in a second to find out more.

I'm not against upgrading the rest of my computer, infact any suggestions are welcome. I would like to upgrade as much as possible without getting an entirely new PC as this one is relatively new.

edit: i'm not really sure how to find out my power supply properties?

[BubbleQ]

The only thing that I have noticed with using 64bit os, is that I get 2 Program Files folders for no good reason And also that I know can take advantage of my all 4gb ram, could only use 3 with 32bit. Other than that, I as a half-advanced computer user can´t say I have found any bigger differenses. Oooh, if you intend to use win7, then 64bit gives you options for downloading more languages

[mrfranswa]

Even though compile tools run 32 bit, using 64 bit will allow your computer to use more resources for compiling and multitasking. On 32 bit it took about 3 min to load hammer. Now it takes about 100 seconds.

The absolute best video card to get for 300$ is the Radeon 5850. I'd personally pay the extra 10$ and go with XFX because their double lifetime warranty is the best in the business and their customer service is excellent. Here's a card I'd suggest you get:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150491

I will guarantee that card will run any game out there right now on max specs on any resolution. Don't underestimate the 5k radeon series, they are hella-powerful. If you want to save some money, I'd suggest going for the 5770 series. That's the card I use right now, and it can run Crysis on max specs, (no aa) at 1680X1050 at about 35fps steady. Not only that, but it's 1/2 the price!!!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150462

(this is my card)

I do dual monitor mapping on my rig, and it's definitely a keeper. The 5770 is the best cash-to-fps ratio card followed closely by the 5850. To be completely honest I can't exactly comment on the 400 geforce series though. This is all from personal experience.

[whiffen]

mrfranswa's got it right For 300$ a 5850 is a great card.

The main difference between a 64 bit OS and a 32 bit one is how it handles memory. 32 bit can use up to 4GB, this includes video card memory as well. So if you were to buy the 1GB 5850 only 3GB of additional memory would be available, effectively making 1GB of your current 4GB memory unusable. 64 bit OS moves that cap up to 128GB. Other features of a 64 bit OS relate to memory accessibility, memory management, and enhanced security features.

For the power supply your setup will need at least 500w of power, more if you want headroom for future upgrades.

To check your computers power supply open the case's side panel and look for the box typically on the top or bottom of the computer case with 100 wires sticking out of it. It SHOULD have a sticker on the side giving you the brand name, the wattage and other information. I will examine the PSU I would recommend to you if yours didn't have enough power. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030



I can see from this that its a Corsair PSU supplying 520w, as indicated beside the "1." You can also see the the exact model listed just below.

The next thing to look at is just how much of that 520w's of power is able to be supplied to your processor, graphics card and hard drives. These devices all require 12volts of juice to be supplied to them.

The 3.3v and 5v rails generally aren't as important a consideration in modern computers as power demands have gotten higher.

Cheap PSU's abuse this oversimplification. People might see 520 watts and think its enough power, but lets say that its a really cheap PSU and only 60% of that power is able to be supplied to 12v rails. This could mean all your modern computer parts that need the 12v power won't get enough juice.

"2," you can see that this power supply has 3 +12v rails. What does that mean? Well, its mainly for safety reasons. There is a maximum amount of current allowed to be running though any given rail, so its mealy dividing the current into multiple rails distributing the load. If you were to run all that power though one wire it might heat that wire up and cause a fire. However some more expensive PSU's will have a single +12v rail configuration. So whats the difference? Well, there is a slight difference, but all in all it shouldn't be your main consideration when choosing a power supply.

"3," each rail has its own maximum Amperage or the maximum current allowed per rail. One might think 3 rails X 18A each makes for 54A of power. OR 54A X 12V = 648W. However thats not correct because while the 3 rails CAN carry a maximum of 54A or 648w's the total power available from the power supply is only 520w, so we know that can't be right.

"4," This is where it tells you that limit, MAX COMBINED WATTAGE. It tells you that of the 520w total, 480w of that can be supplied to your 12v rails. 480w / 12v = 40A.

I'm sorry, I think I went a little to in depth there for just a PSU recommendation but hopefully the information is helpful. Your setup probably needs about 450w of power, having 480w on the 12v rail just ensures there is enough there. You can find power requirements here. I would say you usually want at least 50w-100w of headroom added on though. http://c1.neweggimages.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html?cm_sp=Cat32_PowerSupply_left-_-PowerSupplyFinder030510-_-http%3a%2f%2fpromotions.newegg.com%2fproductfinders%2fpowersupply.jpg

If your looking for another PSU I recommend Antec, Corsair, Seasonic and Enermax as the top PSU brand names. Others like cooler master, OCZ, thermaltake, kingston I would trust as well. Just try to stay away from no-name generic brands, a power supply is one of the most important parts of your computer. I have cheeped out on PSU's before and its not fun. They have cheap components that break down quickly, neither of my two cheap 50$ 600w PSU's had survived more than 1-2 years. They can "ripple" meaning the current isn't steady and that can cause system hangs, random restarts and jitter.
Also there is less over voltage protection, one of these PSU's unloaded on my old 9600GT graphics card and the memory chips on it caught on fire, effectively destroying it.

I now have a really high end rig and I would not even think about putting a cheap supply near it. I have learned my lesson, I will never go near another cheap PSU again.

[trcc]

Even though compile tools run 32 bit, using 64 bit will allow your computer to use more resources for compiling and multitasking. On 32 bit it took about 3 min to load hammer. Now it takes about 100 seconds.

WHAT? If it takes you 3 min to load hammer, even 2 minutes that's insane. My hammer loads within the first 10 seconds........................................... l4d tools opens in about 25-30...................................

[Major Banter]

Really.....................................................................................................

SDK takes a good half-minute or more, Hammer itself to fully boot another half-minute and a bit. With 4gb of RAM and a quad-core. In other words; who gives a shit?

[Dives]

I love over extended ellipses!...............................................................................................
............................................L4D2 Hammer takes 80 seconds on my i7 system.

Anyone know what it is about the L4D 1 and 2 version that makes it take so long?

.............................................................ELLIPSES!..................................

[whiffen]

This thread is now about how long it takes to load up hammer.

Tools opened up instantly, hammer took 1 minute 30 seconds on the dot.

Phenom II X4 @ 3.8 Ghz
4GB DDR3
HD 5970

[MrTwoVideoCards]

The only thing that I have noticed with using 64bit os, is that I get 2 Program Files folders for no good reason And also that I know can take advantage of my all 4gb ram, could only use 3 with 32bit. Other than that, I as a half-advanced computer user can´t say I have found any bigger differenses. Oooh, if you intend to use win7, then 64bit gives you options for downloading more languages

Thats retarded. Go and read about 64bit, then come back.

[trcc]

Really.....................................................................................................

SDK takes a good half-minute or more, Hammer itself to fully boot another half-minute and a bit. With 4gb of RAM and a quad-core. In other words; who gives a shit?

In other words, your computer blow :X

ep2 sdk shouldn't take more than 5 seconds to boot up. L4D and L4D2 is another story though.

[BubbleQ]

Thats retarded. Go and read about 64bit, then come back.

Wut? All that I have written is true :O It is based on real life facts!
1. For like 4 mounths ago, I used win7 32 bit and then I could only see 3 gb ram aviable in the task manager and windows also told me that I had 3 gb.
2. http://data.fuskbugg.se/skalman01/igot2folders.png
3. When I used 32bit, I installed it in swedish but then when I wanted to make it into english, that did not work. Now with 64bit, I can in windows update download like 34 languages :O

Grrrr^^

[mrfranswa]

my times are l4d2, which takes exponentially longer than regular hammer to load due to all of the custom sound scripts. ep2 takes me MAYBE 10 seconds.

PSU really doesn't make a difference as long as you get a strong power supply. Yes a 500 watt will do ya, however I strongly suggest you just plop down the 10-20$ and get a 700 watt power supply. 9 times out of 10 they are far better, and because the workload is less, (they are using less of a max percent of their power), they will generally last you a lot longer. I've used this tried and true method for the past 10 years, and I have yet to burn out a single PSU.

Wait, why is this so off topic? GET THE 5850 IF YOU WANT TO SPEND 300! GET THE 5770 IF YOU WANT TO GO CHEAP! I've heard that 5770 in sli is more powerful than the 5870, so you might want to try that if you have a good mobo, (my mobo can handle 4 cards.... I will never use them, but it was a steal on black friday!). Can anyone speak for the power of the 5770 in sli?