GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

So, how would I go about installing a GPU that uses DDR3 memory...?...

Pointless nonsense... though, I suppose he might have actually been referring to the RAM rather than the GPU.

I get it, I get it... but my wallet is feeling pretty light right now. Just wanted to ask—Newegg just dropped some sales across the board $33 so I'm trying to figure out what's actually worth grabbing Since I'm running a high resolution, what would you guys recommend? My setup is 1920x1080

@John James3/">@@John James3
Just grab a used ATI Radeon 9600 for about a hundred bucks and save the rest of your cash. You'll need it for a full system upgrade later anyway, since there's really no point in pouring money into this rig now.

@swiftfalcon14/">@@swiftfalcon14
Out of those three cards, the ATI Radeon HD 4850 is definitely the way to go.

I was originally thinking about picking up a new graphics card, specifically an NVIDIA Gigabyte 9800 GT, because right now I'm running an ATI Radeon HD 3600 512MB. It manages to run most games for the time being, though not Grand Theft Auto IV... it can handle it on low settings, but the real headache with the 3600/2600 series is just how much worse everything looks compared to other cards out there.
So, I was looking at this one, but does anyone have a better recommendation?
Just for context, my current setup has an Intel Core 2 Duo and 2 GB of RAM.

Grab the Radeon HD 4870 without a second thought, or go with the GeForce GTS 250—which is basically just a rebranded 9800 GT anyway.

What kind of power supply are you running?

230V Power Supply

That's just the power supply voltage; what really matters to us is the wattage (W).

Or should we just lay it out in plain English?
220/230V refers to the supply voltage, meaning this is designed for the European power grid where outlets run at 220V and 50Hz.
400W indicates the total power supply capacity, measured in watts.
20A represents the maximum current that an individual power rail can deliver.

400 W.

Kyle Sanchez4 said:@John James3/">@@John James3
just grab some used ATI Radeon 9600 for like a hundred bucks or so, and save the rest of your cash for a whole new rig because honestly, there's zero point in pouring more money into this thing now

@swiftfalcon14/">@@swiftfalcon14
out of those three cards, the HD 4850 is definitely the winner

Wait, can I even use an ATI card if my PC currently runs NVIDIA...? I found this decent 512 MB NVIDIA card,$127 but it's PCI, while my old one is AGP, so I have no clue if an upgrade like that is even possible. Plus, I've got no idea if my power supply can actually handle this new one

John James3 said:Can I use an ATI card if my PC currently uses NVIDIA? I found a nice 512 MB NVIDIA one,$127 but it's PCI, whereas my old one is AGP—I'm not sure if I can upgrade like that, or if my power supply could even handle this new one.

Look, man—if you have an old AGP slot, a PCI-e card isn't going to fit. It's just not compatible.

swiftfalcon14 said:I know, I know... I'm just broke. Just asking... everything at Best Buy went on sale,$33 so I'm trying to figure out what to grab.http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=7655 http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=6626 http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=7836 I run a high resolution, so tell me which is best for 1920x1080.

Forget that first graphics card... it's way too expensive—my mistake there. So, what should I go with: NVIDIA or Radeon?😁

I've got the following setup, and I was wondering what kind of graphics card you guys would recommend for around $110. Also, is it even worth upgrading the GPU at this stage, or should I be looking at swapping out the processor (and maybe the motherboard too)?

Motherboard: NVIDIA nForce MCP51 (430i)
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+
RAM: 1.5 GB
GPU: ATI Sapphire radeon x700 pro

Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 Vapor-X, 2GB GDDR5 256bit, Dual DVI+HDTV out
$1,700 budget...
Is this GPU actually worth anything?
I had a whole PC build planned out, but when I finally sat down to pull the trigger, the specific card I wanted was nowhere to be found...

I’m planning to shop at Micro Center, so please, take a look at their site. If you see a better graphics card in that general ballpark, let me know...$500

1 x Gigabyte P55-UD3, s1156, Intel P55, 4x DDR3 2200/1333/1066+
1 x Intel Core i5 750, 2.66GHz, 1156MHz, 8Mb cache, socket 1156+
2 x DDR3 2048Mb ( 2Gb ) Corsair, 1333MHz, CL9, COR-VS2GB1333D3+
1 x HDD WD 1Tb, 1001FALS , SATA II, 32Mb Cache, WD Caviar Black+
1 x CORSAIR 400W Power Supply, CX Series CMPSU-400CXEU, 12cm vent.—actually upgraded the PSU to 550W
1 x LG GH22NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 22x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R+
1 x Cooler Master Elite 334, black, (W)187 x (H)421 x (L)485 mm, 6kg+
1 x Gigabyte Radeon HD 4890 1GB DDR5,256bit, DVI-I / D-sub / HDTV - they don't have it in stock

This is the configuration I'm looking to pick up tomorrow, but since they're out of that specific card, I'm wondering if the one mentioned above is still a solid choice...

And I did swap the power supply to a 550W unit...

Is that CF setup even worth the money?
$1000Paying for two cards that barely catch up to a Radeon HD 5870 in this scenario isn't exactly a smart investment.

I believe his use of "cf" refers to configuration.😁

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking regarding the configuration. Actually, if you guys could take a look at the admin page and tell me which GPU would be the best move to grab... that would be great. Thanks.

Could you be any clearer? I’m sitting here like an idiot reading a 25-page review about a 5770 CF setup
It’s just one card we're talking about: the AMD Radeon HD 5770

So, you're looking at picking up an AMD Radeon HD 5770... 1GB of GDDR5, 128-bit bus, dual HDMI, and PCI Express...

Not that EVGA GeForce GTX 4890 with the 2GB GDDR5 and dual HDMI...