Buying a new graphics card - (read first post)

Here's another question for the group. I'm running an Intel Core 2 Duo at 3.0 GHz, 4 GB of RAM, and an EVGA 550W Power Supply
which graphics card would actually make sense for this specific setup?

I see a lot of you guys talking about component compatibility and how certain cards pair with certain CPUs, so I want to know which one would be the best fit for what I have here. Price isn't my main concern; I just don't want to waste money on something that won't perform properly with these parts. 😛

Which processor exactly?
Because of the power supply, I wouldn't recommend anything stronger than a GeForce GTX 275 or an HD4890, depending on what kind of PSU you have. Even at a junkyard, I probably wouldn't go higher than those.

James Morris4 said:Which CPU are we talking about exactly?
Given that power supply, I wouldn't go higher than a GeForce GTX 275 or an HD 4890, depending on what kind of unit you actually have. Even at a scrap yard, I wouldn't touch anything more powerful than that.

EVGA 550W Power Supply. Pentium E 6850. Is that enough?

Yeah, that should be plenty, especially if you're planning on overclocking the 😁

James Morris4 said:Yeah, that’ll do it. Especially if you plan on overclocking the processor 😁

Thanks for the advice. I was torn between these two options. So, you think this build could handle these?

http://www.newegg.com/p/description...&Sifra=1011265
http://www.newegg.com/p/description...&Sifra=1011182

What would you recommend I pick up to pair with my current setup? I'm running an Intel Core 2 Duo, 1GB of RAM, an Asus motherboard with a 1333MHz bus, and a 400W power supply. I've also already got an ATI Radeon 2600XT with 512MB of VRAM sitting here.

Sapphire ATI Radeon X1300
512MB DDR2, 128-bit, PCI-E, DVI, VGA, TV-out$50

GeForce 7600GT 256MB DD3$83

Roger Scott45, I wouldn't pick either of them because you won't see any actual performance gains.
Let me know exactly which processor you're looking at, and if there's any wiggle room in your budget, that would be helpful.

Timothy Barrett3, yeah, they should probably hold up fine, assuming nothing crazy happens—like someone spilling a glass of water on the tower 😁 .

Regarding those links you posted, honestly, I think they're a total rip-off. Those graphics cards weren't even that expensive when I built my new rig back in May. You can definitely find better deals elsewhere.

James Morris4 said:Roger Scott45, don't bother with either of those options because you won't see any actual performance gains.
Tell us exactly which processor you're looking at, and let us know if you have any wiggle room in your budget.

What makes you say that? Are the graphics cards too weak for the build, or is the build just poorly matched for them?
Intel Core 2 Duo

I guess my PC won't just drink up all this water. Heh😁

Could you suggest something else if these two options are way out of my budget?
I'm honestly not even sure myself. Sorry for being such a pain

Cha-ching,
You already have a card that sits right in the same ballpark as those two options you're looking at. If you really want to pick up something new, I'd suggest going with a Radeon HD 4000 series or a GeForce 2 series, though you should probably double-check your power supply so you don't overdo it. Personally, I think a GeForce GTS 250 would be just about perfect.

Selected2,
Where are you shopping? Which store are you looking at?
Linkić says. You can find an HD4890 starting from $424.
Linkić's second thought is that you can grab a GeForce GTX 275 starting from $520.

Thanks. I took a look inside the VM, but honestly, it looks like they're totally lost in the weeds here.👎

Hey there—so, my Nvidia GTS 8800 finally decided to kick the bucket today, which was... not exactly how I planned my afternoon. Now I’m staring at a couple of different DVI options, feeling a bit stuck, and I wanted to see what you all would recommend. Also, does anyone have any tips on how to double-check if a specific card will actually play nice with my current rig 😕?
Thanks in advance

darkfox32 said:Hey everyone—so, my Nvidia GTS 8800 finally bit the dust today (RIP), and I'm officially in the market for a replacement. I'm currently torn between a couple of different options, so I wanted to see what you guys recommend. Also, any tips on how I can double-check if a specific card will actually play nice with my current rig 😕?
Thanks in advance

Oh, almost forgot:
My specs:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Memory: 2GB
Motherboard: Abit FP-IN9-SLI(C55-MCP51) (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ed,1609-2.html)

GeForce GTS 250. $247 over at AMD.

wiredmarlin5 said:GeForce GTS 250. $247 Over at Best Buy.

Any chance you could drop a link there, if it's not too much trouble?

Would I actually see a performance boost if I used CrossFire to link two ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 512MB DDR3 cards? I’m already running one, so I was thinking about just picking up a second one.
Is that even going to be comparable to having a single card with 1024MB of DDR6 memory?

http://www.circuitcity.com/applicati...namitedata.com

instead of

http://cgi.ebay.com/XFX-New-Nvidia-G...item41492c9bd7

The price tag on that one is just way off—honestly, a bit ridiculous—so I’d much rather pick up something else in the $150 range. Thanks in advance for any leads!

Roger Scott45 said:I guess I was wondering if I’d actually see a performance boost if I used CrossFire to link two ATI Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB DDR3 cards. I’m already running one, so I was thinking about just picking up another one.
Would that be similar to having some kind of graphics card with 1024MB of DDR6?

Why does everyone seem to equate a GPU's speed and actual performance with just its VRAM capacity?

No, that wouldn't be like having a single 1 GB DDR6 graphics card—which doesn't even exist yet. It would be more like trying to run an old Radeon HD 2600 XT on a CF card, which is exactly what you'd end up with.
Memory capacity really matters when you're dealing with high resolutions. For 1680x1050, I guess you might be able to scrape by with 512 MB, but for anything lower than that, it's a breeze.
When you're looking at graphics card performance, the most critical factors are the core architecture and the total number of processors.

You might see some performance gains, but you'll need to watch your power supply closely. Honestly, I guess it’s just not really worth the investment to go down the CF route using such outdated GPUs right now.

Thanks.
But if I go out and buy a more powerful unit, it’s honestly a waste of money because the weaker component is just going to bottleneck the whole system.

In my opinion, you should just ditch the 2600XT altogether. It honestly makes more sense to put that money toward something like a 4850—it’s a much better value than trying to squeeze any extra life out of another 2600XT. You aren't going to see double the performance by doubling up, so...