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I need some help picking out a video card

E

Elrohir

RELATIONAL VALORIZATION
Joined
Nov 22, 2004
Messages
12,507
We have a new computer, but I don't think it came with a video card, or at least a very good one. On a friends suggestion, I googled "video card" reviews....and by the first paragraph in I realized I was way over my head. I spend plenty of time on the internet, but that doesn't help me with things like this; hardware has never been my area of expertise.

So - I came to you guys. What's the best overall video card? We'll probably use it primarily for gaming, (Probably everything from Civ4, to Guild Wars, to Half-Life 2) but it can't be horrendously expensive. (Yes, I'm am a minor living with my parents, and their the ones buying it) I suppose I'm asking for trouble trying to get everything good in one thing, but I'm sure there's at least one reasonably inexpensive video card out there powerful enough to run all the games currently out there on fair rates. Or perhaps I'm just showing my naivete.

So - a little help?
 
Well, there are a couple of issues to deal with first.

First, does your computer have an AGP or PCIe (PCI-Express) slot? You're going to have to open the case to determine this. See pics in the spoiler.

Spoiler :
AGP slot (the brown one at the top):
agp_slot.jpg


PCI Express (black slot at the bottom):
11311.jpg


If you do have one of those (and hopefully you will), then you need to decide how much you want to spend. To get a fairly decent card you're probably going to spend at least $150. From there, you can go all the way up to $700, if you want...
 
I don't think my dad will let me open it up at the moment, but I'm pretty sure we do, aren't those standard with most computers? This is a fairly new computer too. Can we just bypass that issue for now? (If we don't have one then it's all sorta've a moot point I guess, but we'll find out later, and if we don't then we can return the card, no harm done) I don't mean to rush you, but this is supposed to be a sort of Christmas gift, but my parents have no idea what kind or how powerful a card to buy, and I'm nearly as clueless.
 
I don't think my dad will let me open it up at the moment, but I'm pretty sure we do, aren't those standard with most computers?
Click to expand...

You'll make it much easier on yourself if you go ahead and check... Most systems *should* have them, but you have to know which one you have.

There is also an issue of power. Many cards are going to require an additional power connection, and depending on what kind of PC you got, your power supply may be inadequate to handle such a card.

I would avoid the 6800 though. Underpowered card. Look at the GF6600GT, GF6800GT and GF7800GT, and pick the one in your price range.... I believe you'll find them going for roughly $150, $250 and $350, repectively. If you want to spend more than that, look at the GF7800GTX, which will be about $450.
 
ATI X800GT would be a budget alternative (if you have PCI-Express connector). Not as fast as 6800 but will show 6600GT a clean pair of heels.

If you want to get the best out of you 3D graphics card (new or old);

http://www.guru3d.com

It's huge. Don't ask me for help, there's plenty of people there to ask. Some of them even reply... but you're better off having a good browse of it before asking your first question.
 
How much is not much?


I didn't want to spend 600 on a card, which is much, so I got the 7800GT of MSI for 350... which is still a lot of money, but not much for the performance you get.

More affordable cards that are good are for example the 6600, they'll run the games you mentioned with nice graphics. It won't run Quake 4 with all settings maxed out but will do a decent job at showing you eye candy with most games.
 
You're much better off getting the 6600GT or 6800GT rather than the vanilla 6600 or 6800.

At least in the case of the 6600GT, you pay $20-30 more vs the 6600 and almost double the power of your card.
 
Elrohir said:
So - I came to you guys. What's the best overall video card? We'll probably use it primarily for gaming, (Probably everything from Civ4, to Guild Wars, to Half-Life 2) but it can't be horrendously expensive. (Yes, I'm am a minor living with my parents, and their the ones buying it) I suppose I'm asking for trouble trying to get everything good in one thing, but I'm sure there's at least one reasonably inexpensive video card out there powerful enough to run all the games currently out there on fair rates. Or perhaps I'm just showing my naivete.

So - a little help?
Click to expand...

Well a 128Meg 6800LE are now $200au (around $140us)
Most of them are easily overclocked to 6800 speed (4000 3dmark)

Also as speedo mentioned 6800s Nvida recommends a 450w PSU to run them, The radieon X800(x) are less power hungry especially if your PC has a lot of devices mounted on it. GTO is best choice ATM (since 6800GTs are falling in price, which ever is cheaper at the time) Also be aware that radieon cards drivers have graphical glitches problems with certain games. Which means playing with drivers sets

All these cards are good cards which people suggested so you cant really go wrong buying ANY of them.
Which ever your buget will support :D
 
logical_psycho said:
How much is not much?


I didn't want to spend 600 on a card, which is much, so I got the 7800GT of MSI for 350... which is still a lot of money, but not much for the performance you get.

More affordable cards that are good are for example the 6600, they'll run the games you mentioned with nice graphics. It won't run Quake 4 with all settings maxed out but will do a decent job at showing you eye candy with most games.
Click to expand...
As in preferably under $200, although I think we could spend more if we really couldn't get our money's worth for under that.

It looks like the nVidia 6600GT is only $142, but seems well recommended. So if I bought this card, it would be able to run Civ4 with good graphics, and other games like Guild Wars or Halflife 2 with reasonable graphics? Is there any reason why this is not a good card to pick? (I'm sorta grappling in the dark here; hardware in general and graphics cards in particular are not my area of expertise)
 
Would that be able to run Civ4, GW and HL2 with reasonable graphics? I don't expect to run them on the highest settings, but I don't want to be stuck with Civ2 graphics either.
 
re the 6800 - its not underpowered, and it is much cheaper than the 6800GT.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but it is. It's priced higher than the 6600GT, but has quite a bit worse performance.
 
Where do you get your info from ?
The 6800 is faster than a 6600GT. Once you have AA and AF on 6800 pulls out in front.. (wheres that damm chart)
Click to expand...

Where are you getting your info? The 6600GT beats the vanilla 6800 on every test, especially with AA and AS enabled:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/05/24/vga_charts_vi/page13.html

Look at the bottom of the page for links to other games, 3DMark05, HL2, Doom3, etc.

Well, I have one of each, and the 6800 is better.
Click to expand...

Well, honestly, I trust THG's benchmarks more than your opinion.
 
I think the best performance for under $200 is the x800 Pro. Some games prefer the Nvidia cards, some prefer the ATI cards. Both the 6600 GT and 6800 GT cards perform well also. I would look into one of those 3. Buy a retail box product, and not OEM to ensure the warranty and exchange procedure is good.

You definitely want to find out first wether you have an AGP, PCI-E, or neither of those slots available. If you don't have either, the point is moot, but exchanging open box video cards can mean trouble sometimes. Know what you can install before even opening the video card box, or even better know before you order.

Tomshardware, and Anandtech are both good references for reviews and comparisons.
 
Sratches head in confusion the 6600GT outperforms the 6800GT ????
Thats just gotta be wrong

a quick check:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2278&p=13

Looks like the 6600GT dose outperform the 6800. (Are people buying 6800s just to OC them ?)
6600GT makes a better choice for those not OC there PCs
 
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