# Graphic cards



## Highlander II (Oct 13, 2008)

The original thread is now a) moot and b) gone, but tips and reviews and thoughts on graphics cards might still be helpful.

The one I ended up getting that actually works w/ my PC is a Radeon card.  It even sets itself up to allow for shared monitors on my PC (if I had more than one).  It's not a bad card - far better than the integrated one the PC came with, but not sure that's saying all that much. =)


Any other graphic card thoughts?


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## Happy Joe (Oct 14, 2008)

Tom's hardware regularly has a ranking of the best vid cards for the money;
Best Video Cards For The Money: Oct '08 : The Best Graphics Cards for the Money: October 2008 - Tom's Hardware

Including AGP and PCI cards.
I have found these charts to be helpful in selecting vid cards in the past.

Enjoy!


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## Lady of Winterfell (Oct 14, 2008)

Well, my husband just bought a new video card for his birthday, and we like it so far. It was this one:

EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

He eventually wants to buy another one so he can do SLI. I don't think we need that, but I'm just the wifey, what do I know.


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## Happy Joe (Oct 15, 2008)

But... the video in games is so pretty and runs so smoothly at the high frame rates available with SLI...

I have a very similar card (8800GTS(G92) 256/512 PCIe) and am very happy with it also (no plans for SLI, BTW).

Enjoy!


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## Happy Joe (Dec 17, 2008)

Spam!... Mods please delete the preceding link... it has nothing to do with video cards, or the thread topic.

Enjoy!


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## Highlander II (Dec 17, 2008)

Done and done, Happy Joe - Thanx! =)


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## Culhwch (Jan 9, 2009)

So, video card question. I'm still piecing my proposed system together, and I'm fairly set on everything but the video card. I'm to-and-froing over a couple nVidia 9800GTs (both factory overclocked), an ATI HD4830 (similarly factory OCed), and a couple of ATI HD4850s. The 4850s are a good $A40 (at least) more expensive than the others - would it be worth it to make that step up? Would the difference be noticeable, or would either of the first two cards do a satisfactory job? I'm not necessarily obsessed with maximum performance, but I'd like to get something that won't need upgrading for a couple of years...


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## Happy Joe (Jan 9, 2009)

Only you can determine what is noticeable and "worth it".
I expect my current vid card to be entirely adequate for, at least, the next year (2 year performance expectation).
Since no one can tell what the next machine killer game will be or when it will be released card selection is a bit of a gamble.
If I were getting a new vid card today I would probably go with a single ATI 4870 card, although Nvidias GTX 260 offering is competitive price/performance wise.
Don't be afraid to upgrade next year or the year after; the technology changes fast.  I have found that by, purchasing solid performance and figuring on an upgrade to either the vid card or proc/motherboard every 2-3 years I can remain relatively competitive, performance wise, at a reasonable cost.

FYI the current graphics card hierarchy chart;
Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart - Review Tom's Hardware : Best Graphics Cards For The Money: Jan. '09

As a practical reference the G92 version of the 9800GT/8800GTS 256/512 is entirely capable of acceptably playing crysis and warhead, IMO (older, non G92 versions may not).  So any card that is higher on the chart should perform better, (3870 X2, 4850, 4870, GTX 260 etc).  A single 4830 may give similar results to a single 9800 GT or not depending on clocking and actual graphics processor used (I believe that other chips than the G92 and its improved variants have been used in 9800GT cards, they are not all alike).

Enjoy!


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## Lenny (Jan 9, 2009)

Released yesterday, Nvidia's GTX 295 is the new ruler of the roost, out-performing ATI's 4870 X2 in almost everything. But it does cost $500, so it's a wee bit on the expensive side. On the 15th, Nvidia are releasing the GTX 285, which will offer similar performance to the 295, but not as much - a mid-range version, if you will. That's going to be $399, I think.

What's your money limit, Cul?


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## Culhwch (Jan 9, 2009)

Yeah, Tom's Hardware has been my bible since you pointed me in that direction back in October, Happy Joe. The comparison table is useful, but I was more trying to guage what those steps really mean, performance-wise. I've had a look at the more detailed performance charts and the lesser cards I've listed all seem to perform more than adequately. 

I'm looking to spend about $A200, Lenny. The 9800GTs start around the $A190 mark here, and go up (and up and up) from there. The 4830s are around the same price, and the cheapest 4850s are around $240, and they are few and far between. The GTX260s and 4870s are way out of my price range.

I'll probably go with a 9800GT and keep the price down now, and then look to upgrade in a year or so. Here's another question though - 512 or 1GB? Is the 1GB going to make much difference. From what I've read it only really does in a handful of instances, but I figure that'll change in the near future - worth it for an extra twenty-odd bucks?


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## Lenny (Jan 9, 2009)

If it's only AU$20 in it then I'd snap up the 1gb card without question.

Joe or Commonmind might be able to shed some more light on the matter, but as far as I understand, the graphics card takes jobs away from the processor and RAM, allowing them to get on with their own things. Thus, a graphics card with a lot of memory is going to take more work away from the CPU and RAM than something with half the memory.

A 1gb card is more likely to last you longer, and serve you better, than a 512mb card, and as I've said, for an extra 20 dollars, it's a no-brainer. Out of interest, how much more is a 9800GTX?


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## Culhwch (Jan 10, 2009)

The cheapest 9800GTX is around $280...


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## Happy Joe (Jan 10, 2009)

While 1 Gig of memory is OK it is useful mostly in CAD applications and does not normally contribute much to everyday performance (it does help slightly in some benchmarks).  If in doubt look in you wallet, if there's a 20 in there that has no purpose; feel free to go for more memory...
Look for at least a 256 bit buss speed and double the buss speed number in memory (512) more doesn't hurt but contributes little. Avoid 8800 series cards with ~300 buss speed and ~600 memory these have an older slower processor.
When comparing Nvidia cards pay attention to the number of stream processors/pipelines (more is better) You should have at least 112, the G92 and some of its descendants  have 128, the older processors have 98 or less, avoid them.  Note; Nvidia has shrunk the dies so the newer processors based on the G92 (now about a year old and quickly becoming less desirable) will run cooler use less power, and are usually somewhat faster.  These processors (G94, G96 etc.) are desirable but information as to which processor is used is difficult to obtain.

with the release of the new cards expect downward pressure on the prices of the current cards (although if you worry too much about price you will never get one...)

Hope it helps...

Enjoy!


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## Culhwch (Jan 11, 2009)

Happy Joe said:


> with the release of the new cards expect downward pressure on the prices of the current cards (although if you worry too much about price you will never get one...)


 
That's the truth...


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