Looking for a new GPU... Any advice?

[ZaLiTH]

I've been building up a semi-decent gaming rig over a rather long period of time, so most people would probably want to suggest I throw it out and start from scratch. Honestly, I would love to do that, but it's just not possible with my budget right now...

Other than the specs listed below my sig, I have recently ordered and paid for an AMD Phenom II x3 740 Black Edition (as part of my original plans for this build). Everything else will stay the same for the moment.

I know it would've been a better move to get the 780a instead of the 750a, but by the time I realised my mistake it was too late to change it. But anyways, as per my plans for this build from over a year ago, I wanted to build up the following basic system (plus drives, PSU, etc.):
- Phenom II x3 740BE
- SLI motherboard (just for two PCI-e slots)
- NVidia GTX295 (primary)
- NVidia 9800GT/9800GTX (Physx)
- 4GB PC8500 DDR2-1066

At the moment though, I'm starting to think a GTX295 will be overkill for the rest of the build, so I'm looking for a few ideas for another card. I'm considering looking for a second hand GTX 275 or 285 instead, not only are they lower in power consumption than the 295, but they still offer pretty serious performance... Especially compared to the 8800GTS 512mb I'm currently using.

So... The RAM will come later, and I want to keep my 8800GTS to try as a dedicated Physx card, but perhaps only after getting a better PSU (my current one will be enough to get a better GPU if I take my 8800GTS out for now). The next thing I want to change is the GPU. What card do you guys think would be a good match for the end result I'm looking for?

 

[stormy13]

All things considering, none of the boave. You have to remember that pretty much everything from the 2xx series of cards has been discontinued and you would be better off looking at something from the GTX/S 4xx or 5xx series of cards.

 

[ZaLiTH]

All things considering, none of the boave. You have to remember that pretty much everything from the 2xx series of cards has been discontinued and you would be better off looking at something from the GTX/S 4xx or 5xx series of cards.

Well, not only are those way out of my price range, but they'd be overkill for a 740BE with 4GB of DDR2, I'd never use even a GTX460 to it's full potential... I know the GTX200 range have been discontinued, but I've got no problem going for a second-hand card, most of the parts I've currently got were not bought new anyway.

As you can imagine, I don't exactly have very much spare cash to spend on my PC...

 

[ZaLiTH]

Actually, just had a quick look now on eBay... Seems most of the GTX460's I can find are actually going for about the same as what a GTX275 would cost anyway....

I'll do some research on the features of each first and see what I find. I'm still leaning more towards the 200 range at the moment though, simply because the rest of my hardware is similarly outdated anyway.

Edit: The only real benefits I can see of choosing a GTX400 range card over a GTX200 range is slightly lower power consumption for similar stats, a higher CUDA core count and DX11 support. If I compare the 200 cards to the 400 cards with similar prices, the 200-range thump the 400's of a similar price. As for DX11, the rest of my build wouldn't be up to scratch with playing DX11 games in any decent way, so I'm more than happy with sticking to DX9/DX10.

By the way, I do apologise... I thought I had mentioned in my opening post that I wasn't looking at new cards like the 400 or 500 range.

 

[krazymate]

Um if your budget is pretty tight go for a gtx 460 mate of mine just ordered it last week i fitted it for him and wholla !
every game maxed an great performance comes at around £120 - £140
Great performance though

Or even a gtx 240 ? I know for a fact they perform really well even with games being released now


have a look let me know how ya get on

 

[SlackerITGuy]

Exact budget?

 

[Mashed1316]

Hey ZaLiTH, check this video about Physx.



That'll solve some questions about the 8800GTS as a Physx card.

 

[Everlong]

That video shows an 8600GTS, not an 8800GTS 512 that Zalinth has, which is considerably more powerful as it's the G92 version.

It should be alright as a Physx card, especially when you consider the GT240 to be a recommended Physx card, which has lower specs. You'd have to just try it out yourself.

 

[ZaLiTH]

Um if your budget is pretty tight go for a gtx 460 mate of mine just ordered it last week i fitted it for him and wholla !
every game maxed an great performance comes at around £120 - £140
Great performance though

Or even a gtx 240 ? I know for a fact they perform really well even with games being released now.

To be honest, I still think a GTX460 would be overkill for my setup... Keep in mind I'm going to be running this on nothing more than a Phenom II x3 740 (no OC planned for now) and 2GB of DDR2-800 (until I can get some DDR2-1066).

The GTX240 could be worth looking at, but if I remember correct that card was OEM only, so they would be a bit difficult to find.

Exact budget?

No 'exact' budget really, but I'm hoping to try keep around R1000 (approx $150). I can be a bit flexible though, but not by much right now. That's why I've been looking at the older range of cards mostly, hoping to find some mind-blowing GTX2xx deals hidden in the dark corners of the web..

Hey ZaLiTH, check this video about Physx.

Sorry Punkster, YouTube has just been blocked here at work.. The idiots in our support department were abusing it, so it was blocked last week.

That video shows an 8600GTS, not an 8800GTS 512 that Zalinth has, which is considerably more powerful as it's the G92 version.

It should be alright as a Physx card, especially when you consider the GT240 to be a recommended Physx card, which has lower specs. You'd have to just try it out yourself.

I'm not too familiar with the "GT" range of cards, other than having a GT220 in my work PC.. It was the entry level card the suppliers had that would do dual monitor, so that's what my work got me. I haven't run any benchmarks or tried any games... It is, after all, a work PC.

I may not keep the 8800GTS for Physx, it was just an idea really.. At the end of the day, I'll need to test with and without it once I get a newer card and see if it will be worth while to keep it.


Just found a shop on eBay selling a bunch of brand new EVGA GTX275s for $134.95 (link), and they ship worldwide... Think that would be a worthwhile purchase at that price? Unless I find something better than this by the end of this week, I think I may actually go for it..

 

[krazymate]

Um if your budget is pretty tight go for a gtx 460 mate of mine just ordered it last week i fitted it for him and wholla !
every game maxed an great performance comes at around £120 - £140
Great performance though

Or even a gtx 240 ? I know for a fact they perform really well even with games being released now.

To be honest, I still think a GTX460 would be overkill for my setup... Keep in mind I'm going to be running this on nothing more than a Phenom II x3 740 (no OC planned for now) and 2GB of DDR2-800 (until I can get some DDR2-1066).

okay cool i would still have a shot at the gtx 240 awesome card i basiclly call them plug n play because there just so easy to install drivers you should be able to find them off stores online like Ebuyer,Newegg
Heres some links check them out

Nvidia Graphics Card deals - GeForce & GTX.. | Ebuyer.com

 

[1Bowtie]

I'm running a GTX 250 and have no problems at all, low power consumption and play's anything i want to play, might have a look on ebay saw them around the $100 US range

 

[Everlong]

Just found a shop on eBay selling a bunch of brand new EVGA GTX275s for $134.95 (link), and they ship worldwide... Think that would be a worthwhile purchase at that price? Unless I find something better than this by the end of this week, I think I may actually go for it..

I'd say go for it. Still a good performer the 275, and only thing you'd really be missing out on his DX11.

 

[ZaLiTH]

I'm running a GTX 250 and have no problems at all, low power consumption and play's anything i want to play, might have a look on ebay saw them around the $100 US range

GTX250...? I can't seem to find any information on the NVidia site about that one.. Closest I can find is the GTS250 and GTX260.

Edit:
If you were referring to the GTS250; that is essentially a re-branded 9800GTX, which is a minor upgrade from the 8800GTS G92 I currently have. Not much of an 'upgrade' there.
If you meant the GTX260, then considering the 260 and 275 are so similarly priced, wouldn't the 275 be a better choice anyway..?

I'd say go for it. Still a good performer the 275, and only thing you'd really be missing out on his DX11.

Yup.. That's kinda where my head is at right now. But I'm not building this with DX11 in mind anyway, so that part really doesn't bother me at all.


Well, thanks for all the food-for-thought and suggestions guys, greatly appreciated. I think I'll settle for the GTX275 after all... All things considered, it seems like the best move right now.