GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

exactly right 😉

http://www.google.com/search?q=meeting+these+criteria !!!

In my opinion, you're better off grabbing the 6850 rather than the GTX 460.

I honestly can’t believe it. They’re asking at least $1,100 for an HD6850—and that’s just the XFX model running at stock settings. Meanwhile, you’ve got this MSI OC version of the GTX 460 sitting right there. It’s cheaper, and it absolutely crushes a standard HD6850. How does that even make sense?

The only thing is, you can't find it anywhere for sale. 😁

It’s a shame she isn't available; she was a solid buy for a reference GTX 460.

I say reference because calling something an OC when the overclock is that negligible is just selling smoke.

At that price point, it’s not even worth considering.

For $33, you can pick up an HD 6870 instead.

If you grab it online, you save about 7% on the price. It's a no-brainer. $358

Does anyone know where I can pick this up... just that little adapter thing? I need it to get an old graphics card back in the game...
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Taylor Brown said:Does anyone know where I can pick this up? That little adapter... I need it for an old graphics card.
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If you check out this link, you'll find a similar adapter—it's female S-video to female RCA. Since you're looking for a male S-video, you'd probably also need a cable or maybe just a cable that's male S-video to male S-video. 🙂

Joshua Garcia3 said:Look, if you check out this link, there's a similar adapter—it's female S-Video to female RCA. Since you actually need a male S-Video connection, you’d probably be better off grabbing an cable or maybe a cable that goes from male S-Video to male S-Video... 🙂

Thanks, I actually already have a cable to bridge them... something like this works for me, but that little adapter just completely fell apart on me. The connector just popped right out of the rubber housing, don't even ask how... 😁
so what I really need is just the single cord that has the female end on one side and the male end on the other (the kind with the pins so I can actually plug it into that graphics card)

Taylor Brown said:thanks, I already have a cable to connect it... like this one but my adapter just fell apart; the part inside the rubber housing popped out, don't ask how 😁
so I just need an adapter that is female on one side and male on the other (with the pins so I can plug it directly into that graphics card)

Well, okay, I guess you didn't quite catch what I meant.

First, you take the graphics card, then you plug one of the male ends of the S-video cable I suggested into it. Then, you plug the other end of that S-video cable into an adapter (a female S-video port) that I found over at Optimum. Finally, on the other side of the adapter—the female RCA port—you plug in that RCA cable you already have. 🙂
Is that any clearer now? 😁

I've been looking at the MSI GTS450OC DDR5, or maybe an ASUS GTS450 with GDDR3 instead. How much of a difference does that actually make? Also, how much can you really trust brands like Zotac or Palit?

Then there's this GAINWARD GTS450 1024MB GDDR5 128bit, PCI-X 2.0 x16, Core: 783MHz priced at $230, while the MSI and others are nearly $67 more expensive... I mean, I get that the MSI is overclocked, but is it really worth those extra $67?

I think there's a mistake in the AMD listing; the description says GDDR3 while the title claims GDDR5, but it’s actually just a GTS 450 with GDDR3 😉

The main difference is memory speed (since it's the same card), though I guess GDDR5 might be about 15% faster in games or something...
All the brands are pretty solid, so you usually just grab whichever one is cheapest. ASUS cards are way overpriced here because of huge markups—I think Best Buy handles their imports or something, but I'm not entirely sure...

crimsonstag84 said:It’s just an error on AMD's part. The description says GDDR3, but the title says GDDR5. It's actually just a GTS 450 with GDDR3 😉

The difference is just memory speed (same card, really). I guess GDDR5 is maybe 15% faster in games or something...
All the brands are fine, usually you just grab whichever one is cheapest from a manufacturer. ASUS cards are super overpriced here because of huge markups—I think Best Buy imports them or something, I'm not really sure...

Oh, I see now, heh. Okay, thanks!!

A buddy of mine is looking to beef up his rig; he’s hunting for a new GPU right about now,

- motherboard: Asus P5VDC-TVM
- processor: P4 3 GHz
- memory: 2 GB DDR2
- power supply: COOLER MASTER Elite Power Plus 500W

The PC would be used for general tasks, but also for gaming within its hardware limits, I guess.
Budget is roughly around $267.

What kind of graphics card would be the Optimum (maximum) choice for this current setup? 🙂

Edit: It uses a PCI-E slot, and I'll probably pick it up at Best Buy.

Top-tier contribution to this thread 🙄

The 5670/6670 series? If you aren't pushing anything above standard definition, those 512MB versions will get the job done... though, let's be honest, even that's probably overkill for a rig like this. But hey, whatever.

stormywolf39 said:top-tier contribution to this thread 🙄

If you're looking at 5670 or 6670 cards, I guess if the resolution isn't hitting full HD, those 512MB versions should be enough... though, honestly, that card might still be overkill for a setup like this, but whatever.

How much of a bottleneck is a 3 GHz Pentium 4 going to be for the graphics card? 🙂

The main issue is that it won't be able to feed that GPU enough data to actually hit its full potential.

If you ask me, the smartest move would be to hunt down a used Core 2 Duo or Athlon X2+ setup paired with a matching motherboard, then just slap in something like a 4670, 5670, or 4770.