GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)
Started by Olivia Gonzalez3 · · 👁 108 views · 1.7K replies
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#842 ·
I am definitely picking up my new PC next week. 🙂 If I may, I have a few follow-up questions:
- How loud is the GTS 250 actually going to be? This setup will be in my bedroom, and I plan on leaving it running overnight while I sleep.
- Which is the better investment: the GTS 250 featuring Green technology with 900MHz memory, or a non-Green version that offers faster 2000MHz memory? Specifically, what kind of performance advantage does 2000MHz provide over 900MHz when handling video and photo editing?
- Regarding capacity, should I opt for the 512MB or the 1GB model? At what point during video or image processing would I actually require that full 1GB? I suspect that, much like the situation with the GT 240, the GTS 250 might be too weak a GPU to truly leverage a full 1GB of memory.🙂
- How loud is the GTS 250 actually going to be? This setup will be in my bedroom, and I plan on leaving it running overnight while I sleep.
- Which is the better investment: the GTS 250 featuring Green technology with 900MHz memory, or a non-Green version that offers faster 2000MHz memory? Specifically, what kind of performance advantage does 2000MHz provide over 900MHz when handling video and photo editing?
- Regarding capacity, should I opt for the 512MB or the 1GB model? At what point during video or image processing would I actually require that full 1GB? I suspect that, much like the situation with the GT 240, the GTS 250 might be too weak a GPU to truly leverage a full 1GB of memory.🙂
darkowl72 said:The VRAM isn't the deciding factor here, nor do you need 1GB. What matters is the raw power of the GPU itself. CUDA technology allows the graphics processor to assist the CPU, whereas the video card's memory is simply there to store and process the data being sent to the display.
In short, prioritize a card with 512MB if necessary, but try to secure a GTS 250 if your budget allows; they carry a higher price tag because they feature 128 unified processors compared to the 96 found in the GT 240.
Personally, I think this overclocked model looks like a solid choice: , though there is a cheaper, non-overclocked version available as well.
#843 ·
What resolution are you actually running at? In my experience, having 1 GB of VRAM really only starts to make a difference once you hit 1080p or higher. If you're playing at anything lower than that, honestly, 512 MB handles things just fine without much trouble.
Regarding the noise levels—that’s a bit of a tricky one because it depends entirely on which specific version of the card you've got. There are a million different designs out there, each with its own unique cooling setup, so it's tough to give you a single, definitive answer.
Which exact models are we talking about here?
Regarding the noise levels—that’s a bit of a tricky one because it depends entirely on which specific version of the card you've got. There are a million different designs out there, each with its own unique cooling setup, so it's tough to give you a single, definitive answer.
Which exact models are we talking about here?
#845 ·
Casey Long2;29462579 said:What resolution are you running at? To my mind, having 1 GB of VRAM only really matters if you are playing at 1080p or higher. Anything below that threshold functions perfectly fine even with just 512 MB.
Regarding the noise levels, it all depends on which specific version of the card you acquire. There are countless different designs out there, each utilizing a unique cooling solution, making it impossible to make a definitive generalization.
Which exact models are we discussing?[/
I am already well aware of how resolution affects gaming performance, but I am not a gamer.😢 My interest lies specifically in what that extra 1 GB of memory provides during image, audio, and photo processing—specifically when working within Adobe software like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, or similar third-party video and photo editing suites.🙂
Ultimately, my choice comes down to one of these two cards:
The VC GAINWARD PCI Express 2.0 x16 Nvidia GeForce GTS 250, which operates at a clock speed of only 900 MHz.
This was suggested to me by darkowl72; it features a blower style design, though it does include the CUDA Green edition.
Or, alternatively,
The Palit GTS 250 with 512 MB, which also uses a blower design but lacks the Green technology; however, its memory clocks much higher at 1800 MHz. Furthermore, this particular card is currently one of the top ten bestsellers at Micro Center.
The Palit option is actually the cheaper choice.
#846 ·
wiredmarlin5 said:The new GTS 450 hits 870-$293 🙂
A GT 240 would likely suffice for my specific requirements, though as a working professional who upgrades his rig every six or seven years—this current machine dates back to 2003—I am prepared to spend an extra hundred dollars or so to secure a higher-quality card as a long-term investment.
If I were to opt for the GTS 450, which manufacturer would you suggest (ASUS, Palit, Point of View, etc.) and what is your reasoning, whether it be superior cooling, extended warranties, or overall brand prestige?
Furthermore, if you happen to have a link to a comparative benchmark involving the GTS 450, GTS 250, and the AMD Radeon HD 5770...
...I WOULD BE GRATEFUL.🙂
#847 ·
If you ask me, the most logical move here is just grabbing the cheapest Point of View card available... They work through esys, and honestly, if anything ever goes sideways with the hardware, dealing with them is usually a total breeze... http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...VIDIA_GTS_450/
#848 ·
Honestly, the only thing I actually know about my PC is that it happens to be black.
Right now, I'm playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on this beast:
GPU - ATI Radeon HD 3650
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4450E 2.3GHz 2GB RAM
Motherboard - OEM MB Model 2A72
I'm thinking about an upgrade since 🙏Call of Duty: Black Ops is dropping soon 🙏and it’s freezing outside, so I need to stay warm indoors.
I want to know😕 what kind of graphics card I should pick up, and if I really need to swap out the processor and everything else...
What would actually be a smart move here, and how much cash am I looking at? I need to know so I can start hoarding some bills.
Right now, I'm playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on this beast:
GPU - ATI Radeon HD 3650
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4450E 2.3GHz 2GB RAM
Motherboard - OEM MB Model 2A72
I'm thinking about an upgrade since 🙏Call of Duty: Black Ops is dropping soon 🙏and it’s freezing outside, so I need to stay warm indoors.
I want to know😕 what kind of graphics card I should pick up, and if I really need to swap out the processor and everything else...
What would actually be a smart move here, and how much cash am I looking at? I need to know so I can start hoarding some bills.
#849 ·
First off, you need to figure out exactly which motherboard you're running and what CPUs it actually supports before we can even talk about moving forward... so, do some digging and let us know what board you've got.
Also, check your power supply. Find out the brand and the wattage. If you can get a clear shot of the sticker on the unit, just snap a photo and post it here...
And how much RAM are we working with?
Honestly, you're looking at a new CPU, a new GPU, maybe a new PSU, and probably more RAM too...
Also, check your power supply. Find out the brand and the wattage. If you can get a clear shot of the sticker on the unit, just snap a photo and post it here...
And how much RAM are we working with?
Honestly, you're looking at a new CPU, a new GPU, maybe a new PSU, and probably more RAM too...
#851 ·
So, speaking of gaming, can someone help me put together a solid PC build? I spend most of my time playing BC2 multiplayer, and now I’m getting ready to dive into Black Ops... I’m not looking for some absolute beast of a rig that lets me crank every single setting to Ultra right out of the gate, you know? Just something decent—nothing subpar, but nothing so high-end that it becomes $3333. If we’re looking at the total cost for the whole setup, let's say it lands somewhere around $1667... and honestly, I don't need any fancy peripherals either, like a mouse from $167 or some $200 keyboard, I really couldn't care less about that stuff
#852 ·
Go ahead and start your own thread properly—read the rules first...
I'm getting my list together now 👍
Mine's already done, why haven't you started a thread yet? 🤷
1 x Dell UltraSharp 20" monitor, black, widescreen, LCD, DFC 30000:1
1 x CORSAIR 400W Power Supply, CX Series CMPSU-400CXEU, 12cm fan
1 x SAMSUNG 500GB HDD 7200rpm 16MB cache SATA II-300, F3
1 x Kingmax DDR3 4GB (2x2GB), 1333MHz, FLFE
1 x Intel Core i3 Processor, socket AM3, BOX, 2Mb cache, 95W
1 x Asrock M3A770DE, AM3 - AMD 770 + Intel Chipset, ATX, FSB2600, Dual C
1 x Gigabyte GTX 460 768MB GDDR5 192bit, DVI+VGA+HDMI, PCI-X 2.0
1 x CoolerMaster Elite 334, black, (W)187 x (H)421 x (L)485 mm, 6kg
http://www.bestbuy.com/index.php?item=...
http://www.newegg.com/index.php?option...
I'm getting my list together now 👍
Mine's already done, why haven't you started a thread yet? 🤷
1 x Dell UltraSharp 20" monitor, black, widescreen, LCD, DFC 30000:1
1 x CORSAIR 400W Power Supply, CX Series CMPSU-400CXEU, 12cm fan
1 x SAMSUNG 500GB HDD 7200rpm 16MB cache SATA II-300, F3
1 x Kingmax DDR3 4GB (2x2GB), 1333MHz, FLFE
1 x Intel Core i3 Processor, socket AM3, BOX, 2Mb cache, 95W
1 x Asrock M3A770DE, AM3 - AMD 770 + Intel Chipset, ATX, FSB2600, Dual C
1 x Gigabyte GTX 460 768MB GDDR5 192bit, DVI+VGA+HDMI, PCI-X 2.0
1 x CoolerMaster Elite 334, black, (W)187 x (H)421 x (L)485 mm, 6kg
http://www.bestbuy.com/index.php?item=...
http://www.newegg.com/index.php?option...
#853 ·
Bryan Evans77 said:Hey, maybe go ahead and start a fresh thread first and give the rules a quick read over...
and I'll get started on putting mine together 👍
Man, I've already got mine all mapped out and you haven't even opened a topic yet 🤷
1 x Dell UltraSharp 20", black, widescreen, LCD, DFC 30000:1
1 x CORSAIR 400W Power Supply, CX Series CMPSU-400CXEU, 12cm fan
1 x SAMSUNG 500GB HDD 7200rpm 16MB cache SATA II-300, F3
1 x Kingmax DDR3 4GB (2x2GB), 1333MHz, FLFE
1 x Intel Core i3 Processor, socket AM3, BOX, 2Mb cache, 95W
1 x Asrock M3A770DE, AM3 - AMD 770 + Intel Chipset, ATX, FSB2600, Dual C
1 x Gigabyte GTX 460 768MB GDDR5 192bit, DVI+VGA+HDMI, PCI-X 2.0
1 x CoolerMaster Elite 334, black, (W)187 x (H)421 x (L)485 mm, 6kg
http://www.bestbuy.com/index.php?item=...kl=101.503.229
http://www.bestbuy.com/index.php?option...kl=101.200.178
Whoa, you're moving fast there... anyway, I guess you should probably move all your stuff over to a new thread too, though I'm not entirely sure how that works... just one last question before I let you go, what's the total damage looking like for everything?
#854 ·
analogpuma54 said:Whoa, you're quick... anyway, maybe move this whole thing over to a new thread? Not sure though. One last question: what's the total damage on this?
I'd say it's around $1600.. complicated, check www.google.com
$4800 plus whatever peripherals you want (starting at $30) since everyone has different tastes. I already threw out some ideas, but hey, pick what you like 👍
#855 ·
Stumbled upon this while browsing on my PC, so here it is. Could be pretty useful for anyone trying to figure out how much power their GPUs are actually pulling... 😁 These measurements cover all the latest cards on the market, though with how fast tech moves these days, they won't stay relevant for very long....
http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?showtopic=264
http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?showtopic=264
#856 ·
What’s actually the difference between these two graphics cards?
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/example1
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/example2
Is that "Super Overclocked" model really going to squeeze out a few extra frames per second? I mean—is it even worth dropping an extra hundred bucks or so just to get the factory-overclocked version? How much of a difference am I actually going to notice in real-world usage? Give me a concrete example, like what kind of FPS jump would I see in something like Crysis.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/example1
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/example2
Is that "Super Overclocked" model really going to squeeze out a few extra frames per second? I mean—is it even worth dropping an extra hundred bucks or so just to get the factory-overclocked version? How much of a difference am I actually going to notice in real-world usage? Give me a concrete example, like what kind of FPS jump would I see in something like Crysis.
#858 ·
stormywolf39 said:this http://www.newegg.com/p/product/12345 actually outperforms both of them—and it’s cheaper, too.
But let's get down to brass tacks here—what kind of power draw are we talking about? How much juice is that HD 5770 pulling versus the GTX 460 with 768MB?
#860 ·
Haha, let me throw this out here instead of starting a whole new thread. Does anyone actually have a clue when the 6xxx series graphics cards are dropping, or is it all just guesswork?
Everywhere I look online, the rumors are all over the place. One site says New Year's, another claims they're hitting shelves this October, and then there's some other random date entirely. Can someone who actually knows what they're talking about weigh in?
Thanks a ton, and sorry if I missed a previous answer to this somewhere. 🙂
Everywhere I look online, the rumors are all over the place. One site says New Year's, another claims they're hitting shelves this October, and then there's some other random date entirely. Can someone who actually knows what they're talking about weigh in?
Thanks a ton, and sorry if I missed a previous answer to this somewhere. 🙂
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