GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

I'm looking for some expert opinions on this card—is it actually worth the cash? I need something with an S-Video output, and since this one has 1GB of DDR3 memory, I'm wondering if it can actually handle modern games on high settings... or if I'm just throwing money away when better options are out there for the same price.

James Castillo8 said:I’m looking for some expert opinions on this graphics card—is it actually worth picking up? I specifically need one with an S-VIDEO output, and this one features 1GB of DDR3 memory. I suppose I'm wondering if it can handle modern games on high settings, or if there might be something better out there for the same price.

You aren't going to find anything new that outperforms this for that specific price point. As for running everything on high—well, it isn't going to happen on 20 or 22" monitors; perhaps at lower resolutions, though that depends entirely on the game—it's essentially just a mid-range card, after all.

So, which one of these two cards actually pulls more weight?

Or this one...

It’s basically the exact same thing. The only real difference is you might find some factory overclocked models or ones with slightly better cooling setups. Honestly, you can't really go wrong with any of them since they're all the same card at the end of the day.

I don't know—in this case, I’d probably go with the second one... looks like it actually has better cooling... plus I really need a card with S-Video support anyway.

Grab the 512MB version—this card won't even touch 1GB of VRAM anyway, so anything more is just dead weight. Plus, you'll save a few bucks 🙂

http://www.tekcomputersuk.com/images/253753400.jpg

Is this card actually any better than an Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT with 1GB DDR2 and a 128-bit bus?...

That slow DDR2 with just 1GB? Total marketing gimmick. Just grab an Nvidia GeForce GT 210 with 512MB and you're good to go.
Nah, the 512MB card is definitely stronger.

I was thinking about swapping out my Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT—just curious how it stacks up against an Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT... since that 8600 GT uses DDR3 while mine is stuck on DDR2, I’d guess the 9600 GT would pull ahead at higher resolutions. Honestly, the only reason I'm even looking at this swap is because the 8600 GT has video TV out.

Hey everyone

I'm looking for some advice because I'm stuck in a bit of a dilemma. I'm planning to buy a graphics card as a gift for my cousin, and I've narrowed my choices down to a few specific models:

ATI Radeon HD 4770
ATI Radeon HD 4850
Nvidia GeForce GT 430
ATI Radeon HD 5750
Nvidia 9800 GT
Nvidia GTS 250

A couple of things I'm wondering: is the Nvidia GeForce GT 430 actually better than the Nvidia GTS 250?
Is there a massive performance gap between the HD 4770 and the HD 5750?
Also, since it's the oldest one on the list, how much weaker is the Nvidia 9800 GT compared to the rest of this group?

Which of these cards would be the best pick, considering my cousin plays everything from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Crysis over to Grand Theft Auto IV?
His PC has a 550W power supply

Thanks in advance for the help! 👍

The Nvidia GeForce GT 430 is roughly on par with an Nvidia 9800 GT (which I definitely wouldn't pick), while all the others here are a bit better. The best one is probably the HD 5750, though there aren't huge differences between those four cards.

Personally, I’d lean toward the HD 5750 or the Nvidia GTS 250. The HD 5750 supports DirectX 11 and uses newer tech, plus it seems to overclock pretty nicely, whereas the Nvidia GTS 250 just has a little more raw power.

Anyway, take a look: 😉

http://techpowerup.com/reviews/Power...750_PCS/7.html

If money isn't an issue, I'd definitely go for the 5750. That 4770 is just a bit too weak... The GTS 250 and the ATI Radeon HD 4850 are pretty much in the same ballpark as the 5750—sometimes faster, sometimes slower—but since they usually run hotter and pull more power, I’d personally stick with the 5750!

Just make sure your cousin actually needs something that powerful. I've seen cases where someone bought an Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT 512MB DDR2 as a gift for a kid who already had an Nvidia GTX 260 sitting right there...

Michael Reed72 said:Just make sure your cousin actually needs a card like that. I know a case where someone bought an Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT 512MB DDR2 as a gift for a kid who already had an Nvidia GTX 260.

😂😂😂

Michael Reed72 said:If money is no object, I’d personally go for the 5750. That 4770 is just a bit too weak. You've got the GTS 250 and the 4850 sitting right around that 5750 level—sometimes they're a little faster, sometimes a little slower—but generally, whatever works on one will work on the others. However, since those other cards tend to run hotter and pull more power, I’d put my money on the 5750.

Just make sure your cousin actually needs that kind of power. I once knew a kid who was gifted an Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT 512MB DDR2 when he already had an Nvidia GTX 260 sitting in his rig.

Since this guy is currently running a 9500 GT, basically any of the options we talked about would be a solid upgrade. 🙂

I ended up picking up an Nvidia GeForce XXX edition 5750 with 1 GB of GDDR5.

Hopefully, he loves it.

Thanks a ton! 👍

Good grief.

I picked up a new PC with integrated graphics—some Intel 256MB nonsense. Total junk. Now I'm trying to figure out what kind of card I can actually plug in here, since this CPU-Z thing isn't telling me anything about the slots. I'm assuming it's PCI Express. Does the DDR2/DDR3 or GDDR3 label even matter when I'm picking one out? I don't need anything fancy, just something that doesn't suck as much as this built-in crap.

Motherboard: Biostar Group G31D-M7
Running an Intel Celeron E3300 with 4GB of DDR2 RAM.

From what I've gathered online, this board has both PCI and PCI Express slots, but I couldn't find an old card I had lying around that would actually work.
So, if anyone can help me pick a GPU that fits this board for around $100, I'd appreciate it.

You can pop in any PCI Express card, since that's basically the universal standard nowadays. Your old card is clearly an AGP model, so there's no way you're plugging that into a modern motherboard.

Don't sweat the GDDR2/3 stuff when it comes to compatibility—any of them will work! Usually, cards with (G)DDR3 are faster than the DDR2 versions, though there are weird exceptions (like an Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT with DDR3 vs. an Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT with DDR2) where other specs make the slower memory card actually win. And honestly, just ignore the VRAM amount, whether it's 512MB or 1GB... those cards are way too slow to even make use of that much memory anyway, so that extra gig is just marketing fluff.

As for a GPU for $100, the options aren't exactly huge. If you can swing a few extra bucks, I’d definitely suggest grabbing an Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT 512MB (or 1GB) DDR2 128-bit. Just make sure it's the 128-bit version, because those cheaper 64-bit ones are super slow...
Otherwise, if you need to stick strictly to your budget, you could go with the Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT with DDR3 memory.

Thanks a ton for the info. I think I'll just grab the Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS since it's cheaper—I don't really need much speed anyway.
Just one thing... do I have to go into the BIOS to disable the onboard graphics to get this card working? Or does the system handle the switch automatically?

I realize I might be off-topic here, but I am certain someone in this community has the answer I'm looking for.
Specifically, I would like to download the workout videos from this site: http://www.coolinarika.com/zdravlje/videovjezbe but I am unsure how to go about it.

I hope someone can assist me as soon as possible.

Since I am new to this forum and still finding my way around, please feel free to reply via email: marijana.marijanovic@hotmail.com

Thank you in advance.

Hey there
I'm stuck between two cards: an Asus Nvidia GeForce GT 430 and an Asus Nvidia GeForce 240... let's just say that's basically my absolute budget limit. If anyone has a smarter suggestion, I'd really appreciate the help
Mainly, I want to use it for video editing and playing some newer games

Intel Core 2 Quad 2.5GHz
Intel DDR3 2GB
Asus motherboard