looking for a new graphic card

[Mart]

Hi All,

I'm not really up on the latest hardware so thought I would seek a little help here

I would like to upgrade my geforce 7600 GS and was looking at the 9800Gt series, as my card is a silent version I would really like another silent card, Ive had a look around and the only silent one I think will fit my mobo is a Sparkle 9800GT Silent Cool-pipe :

• Model number : SF-PX98GT512D3-HPL Cool-pipe
• Graphics Processing : NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT
• Core Clock : 600MHz
• Memory Clock : 1800 MHz
• Memory Type : 512MB GDDR3
• Memory Interface : 256-Bit
• Shader Clock : 1500 MHz
• Bus Type : PCI-Express 2.0
• RAMDAC : 400 MHz

This is the only one I think wil lfit the MSI neo FR board I have without obstructing the sata ports.

Is this card worth moving to from the 7600GS ? I use windows 7 home premium and the only games I play at present are call of duty 4 and call of duty modern warefare 2. I was thinkig that if this card is a better card, I can donate my card ot my daughters pc instead of the 7300GS that she uses.

Thanks for any help offered

Mart.

 

[stormy13]

Mart, welcome to the forums.

Is this card worth moving to from the 7600GS ?

The 9800GT will eat the 7600GS for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

the only games I play at present are call of duty 4 and call of duty modern warefare 2

If you go for the card get ready to be able to play those at max resolution and max settings (or most of them at max), instead of a low resolution and low settings.

 

[Mart]

Hi Stormy13, thanks for thr welcome and the info on the 9800gt, not up to date with cards and gear as I used to be so any help is really appreciated, Thanks

Mart

 

[AlexChung]

9800GT is an awesome card. My 8800GT is the same card as the 9800GT, Nvidia renamed it as a marketing tactic, and it has delivered outstanding performance. The only downside about this card is it tends to run a little warm when you play graphic extensive games so make sure you have a good cooling system for it

 

[Mart]

AlexChung, Hi and thanks for replying, I do get confused about nvidia's naming policy. Cooling wont really be a problem, well I hope it wont, case has the psu fan thats 12cm, a rear fan of 12 cm and a 12cm fan mounted inside the case facing the card slots, if things get warm I can move the fan about.
The more I hear about this card, the more I want one !!

Thanks again,

Mart

 

[Mivo]

The 9800GT is indeed much better than the 7600GS, and you should really notice the performance increase. To see the massive differences, see Wikipedia's Comparison of Nvidia GPUs. Note that the 9800GT has a minimum requirement of a 400W PSU according to the specs (the XTX version, but likely applies to all/most 9800GTs). You probably have a sufficient PSU, but I wanted to chip it in, just in case.

You'll be really happy with this card!

 

[nate42nd]

I have been hearing a lot of good about the GT220 (for the price) it has "some" of the latest tech including HDMI. What do you guys think of this for a non-gaming machine? (mabye once in a while) compared to the 9800? Higher support openGL and DX

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-1220-LR GeForce GT 220 512MB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

 

[stormy13]

nate do yourself a favor and look a lot higher than that card, if fact it isn't any better than what you have now,

techPowerUp :: Zotac GeForce GT 220 1 GB Review :: Page 1 / 34

 

[nate42nd]

nate do yourself a favor and look a lot higher than that card, if fact it isn't any better than what you have now,

techPowerUp :: Zotac GeForce GT 220 1 GB Review :: Page 1 / 34

It's for a new build for my sister. I think it should be fine for her. I know it's not a great gaming card but for the price, it looks great for the price. It's looking better than the 9 series. Later technology.

Thanks for the link.

 

[Mart]

The 9800GT is indeed much better than the 7600GS, and you should really notice the performance increase. To see the massive differences, see Wikipedia's Comparison of Nvidia GPUs. Note that the 9800GT has a minimum requirement of a 400W PSU according to the specs (the XTX version, but likely applies to all/most 9800GTs). You probably have a sufficient PSU, but I wanted to chip it in, just in case.

You'll be really happy with this card!

Hi Mivo, thanks for the wiki link, makes interesting reading. Dont thing the card I'm going for is XTX version, just normal GT but my 500W psu should cover it I hope as its got dual 12 volt lines at 17 amps each.

Thaniks again for all the replies, all very helpfull

Mart

 

[Mivo]

Your PSU is more than fine for the card. XFX isn't so bad, though I usually go with Gainward. Always had good experiences with their stuff, so I usually just stick with their cards, but that is personal preference to a large degree.

 

[Christopher]

Mart, you are much better off going with a new ATI 5000-Series card like the 5770 or even the 5750. You will get more umph out of the card, and much more future-proofing as well.

Not only do they support DX11, but they also uses a lot less power thanks to the 45nm construction. Oh, and it runs cooler.

 

[Mart]

@Christopher, Wish you would have posted about that card a little sooner as I had ordered the 9800 gt a few hours sooner ! Oh well its arrived now and is working fine. I only ever used one ati card befor and thats in another pc we use as a htpc, works fone but I never got the hdmi to work with my tv, no big issue as I use the digital out instead and seperate audio.

Thanks for the reply and card suggestion

@ Mivo, Card here and working great, makes a huge difference to my game, I found something called badaboom that uses the gpu to encode video ? I gave it a go and after half an hour of encoding my temps on the card got to 63c, its helped by the 12cm fan I got facing it, power for the whole pc and monitor go up from 118 watts with my old card idle to 144 watts while encoding with the new card, thats taken from the power backup software but its pretty spot on. So I am really pleased, an upgrade thats worked out fine for once Thanks everyone who posted a reply, much appreciated

Mart.