GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

We all know how pricey these things usually are—which is exactly why everyone's debating whether you can actually snag this 1GB version for around $1,600 somewhere 😉

http://cgi.ebay.com/ZOTAC-nVidia-GeF...Video_Card_Company

The eBay listing claims this unit is brand new and remains factory sealed.
It is priced at $224 with free shipping included.

$224=$408

They offer free shipping anywhere in the States.
Plus, if you were trying to get this over here, you'd end up getting hit with extra customs fees and sales tax on top of everything else.

Zachary Wilson30 said:Also, while I've got you, what's the deal with those XFX power supplies... how's the noise level and the cable length?

As far as $307 goes, I honestly don't think you could find a better option out there... 😁

Regarding the noise, it's actually quite whisper-quiet, though I'm not exactly someone who obsessively measures decibels... if you look at the various reviews online, they generally suggest it stays under 500-600 rpm until you start pulling more than 300W, which is pretty solid...

And the cables? They're actually quite long, which is always a relief when you're routing things through a tight case...

wiredmarlin5 said:For $307, I don't think you could ask for anything better. 😁

Noise levels... well, it goes from loud to dead silent, but honestly, I couldn't care less about that. If you're looking at staying under 500-600 rpm up to about 300W, there are plenty of reviews out there to check out...

The cables are pretty long, too.

I guess this will be my next power supply purchase. I've had some bad luck with those Strider 750/850 units and some older 87+ models, but this XFX deal is actually a steal for the price...

what's the best graphics card I can pick up at Best Buy for under $0.58
?

GTX 460, you're starting to get a little repetitive with these same old questions...

I mean, if the GTX 460 is out of stock, at least give me some Gigabyte options... Zotac is charging way too much for their stuff, and that ASUS card only has 768 MB. What’s the deal with AMD anyway?

Honestly, nothing in that price bracket is really worth your money right now. You’re better off just hanging tight until the GTX 460 shows up back in stock.
Theoretically, you could look at an HD 5670, but at this point—if we're talking pure value—the 460 is definitely the smarter play.

I spent way too much time just sitting around waiting again ☕

and say, if I end up grabbing a 5830, which one's the better bet... Sapphire or XFX?

From what I’ve gathered, Sapphire tends to have slightly better coolers, but it’s all pretty much in the same ballpark...

alright, thanks a lot 👍

Gainward

Hey!

I've been digging through several pages of this thread, but honestly, I haven't stumbled upon a straight answer yet...

My old ATI Radeon 9500 AGP card finally bit the dust—fan seized up, then the whole card just died on me. Now I’m hunting for an AGP card that might actually give some life back to this ancient bucket of bolts I'm running:
- ASUS A7N8X deluxe motherboard
- AMD Athlon 2500 processor
- 2 GB DDR
- Corsair 450W power supply
- LCD 1680x1050 monitor

A buddy lent me his Sapphire Radeon HD 3650 512MB DDR2, but frankly, I didn't see any meaningful jump in performance compared to the 9500. It was especially underwhelming when it came to playing HD videos on YouTube or from my hard drive—absolutely zero difference there.
Then you've got that annoying headache where the drivers for the 3650 are a mess because Windows treats it like a 2600XT.

My gut feeling is that an Nvidia card would probably suit this setup better, but you can't find them in any local stores anymore, and they're pretty much ghosts on Craigslist too.

I have no intention of dropping more than a few dozen bucks on this, and from what I can tell, it's a fool's errand to try and shove a high-end card into such a weak configuration anyway.

What do you guys suggest, other than just buying a whole new PC (which will probably be just as glitchy)?

YouTube videos aren't going to play any smoother just by upgrading—it's mostly because they decode via the CPU rather than the GPU due to those old Flash limitations.
Regarding your current setup, it really isn't worth dropping money on anything more expensive or powerful than a Radeon 2400 or 3450—you wouldn't actually see the benefits, and honestly, the price-to-performance ratio just isn't there.
If I were in your shoes, I'd suggest looking for something used if you can find it (I know, I know, they're getting harder to come by these days, but still...)

Give this a shot:

Tell $67 that if you're paying for shipping, the price is just way too high for a card like that. I guess maybe $33 plus shipping is the absolute limit, but still...

And honestly, you might want to look for a beefier processor, maybe a 3700+—assuming you're running an sck. 939 motherboard, though I highly doubt that's the case...

Thoughts on this one? Is it actually any better than my current Nvidia 7600 GS—or am I just wasting my time?

Let me know what the rest of the build looks like 🙂

For that kind of money, you could practically pick up an HD 5670 at Best Buy that would blow this out of the water. I guess the GT 220 might be a tiny bit better than a 7600GS, but probably not enough to make it worth the hassle 😛

I'm basically just looking for the lowdown on this card—like, how does it actually handle games? What kind of resolutions or settings are we talking about here? Also, is it any better than an HD 5770? I guess if anyone's actually used one, let me know...