Finding all the specs of cards confusing in selecting a new card

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  1. Posts : 7,878
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #11

    badger906 said:
    My I ask why or not interested in ati cards?
    I recently bought a new video card and my opinion was the same, I wanted an Nvidia card and not an AMD/ATI....but it took some thought to get there.

    Reasons for my choice include:
    1. Historically, Nvidia has had better Linux support and I do use Linux regularly.
    2. My video rendering software uses CUDA, so I wanted to stay with a CUDA based card
    3. The AMD/ATI Catalyst driver set just seems to be a bit messier overall to me than Nvidia drivers.


    I've owned AMD cards in the past (Radeon 9700Pro and Radeon X800XT). Both cards worked well for me in their time. I've also owned numerous Nvidia cards (7600GT, 8600GT, 9800GTX+ and now a 570GTX+). These cards have also worked great for me. In particular, the 7600GT's have been fabulous in Linux boxes over the years.


    Tanyam said:
    I want to buy my kids a new graphics card for Christmas. Something that will last a couple of years. They are currently running GTX460 OC 1GB. New games coming out say they need at least GTX 560 cards.
    I would be concerned that the upgrade from a GTX460 to anything less than the 570 (and even that is close) is going to be enough of an upgrade to keep them satisfied for a few years.. And the problem with going higher than a 570 becomes budget in a hurry as prices rise dramatically at that point. I'm not saying that an upgrade to a 570 would be unnoticeable, but i don't think it would really make them go, "Wow, this is incredible".

    Remember, new games are now "recommending 560's", but they aren't the required minimum. It's a good guideline for somebody who might want to get the game and needs a new computer But I would say that your GTX 460 Overclocked is "close enough" to a 560...so I would expect it to play in the same league as the "recommended system config" So, I'm of the opinion that your current card is certainly in the "recommended realm still", and spending anything less than 350 is probably not going to move you up much.
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  2. Posts : 784
    Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon | Win 7 Ult x64
    Thread Starter
       #12

    boogieboy said:
    Go for GTX 570
    Ok, the best price I've seen for the EVGA Superclocked 570 is $413. It still has lower domain frequencies than the Gigabyte, but I will have to defer to peoples experience and expertise and accept that the lower frequencies do not translate into lower performance.
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  3. Posts : 784
    Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon | Win 7 Ult x64
    Thread Starter
       #13

    badger906 said:
    My I ask why or not interested in ati cards?
    1. All of the other computers in the house (there are 9), are all nVidia and I prefer to keep to standards.
    2. I use CUDA rendering software
    3. The resource footprint on Nvidia seems better
    4. Driver updates seem more frequent and less problems
    5. Some games play better with nVidia.
    6. I've had more success with support on Nvidia cards than I've had with ATI.

    They would be the main reasons.

    Thanks for your help guys.

    I am going to go for a EVGA Superclock, and once I get some experience I will tweak it a little. I'll stick with a 460 for myself so I can cut the cost, and just upgrade the two boys' systems.

    I can also sell the 460's to help offset the extra cost a little.

    Actually, here's one for $409AUD.. Look ok?

    Buy Cheap EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD Superclocked Video Card - GDDR5 1280
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  4. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #14

    ~$400 seems to be in the right ball-park : looks good to me.
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  5. Posts : 12,364
    8 Pro x64
       #15

    Tanyam said:
    I'm in Melbourne Australia.
    Pc Case Gear/PCCG is a great online store. If you are within driving distance of Dingley Village , they also have a store front pick up.


    ASUS GeForce GTX 570 DirectCU II 1280MB [ENGTX570-DCII-1280D5] - $399.00 : PC Case Gear

    EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD SuperClocked [012-P3-1573-KR] - $409.00 : PC Case Gear

    Gigabyte Geforce GTX 570 Super Overclock 1280MB [GV-N570SO-13I] - $409.00 : PC Case Gear

    Gainward is still a little so-so in quality terms apparently.

    Don't get too caught up between the normal and 'superclocked' versions and the numbers attached etc. Superclocked versions are just factory applied overclocks. Something that can be done by the kids themselves with software. All the 570's have the same number of cores,shaders etc

    The biggest difference between the cards is the cooling. Stock, like evga, or after-market like the Asus and Gigabyte. Aftermarket coolers offer superior thermal and auditory performance.

    Whichever brand you opt for, they shan't be disappointed :).
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  6. Posts : 784
    Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon | Win 7 Ult x64
    Thread Starter
       #16

    Dingley Village is an 80km round trip. About $14 in juice. Delivery by courier is $19, so for the extra $5 I think I'll opt for courier.

    If the aftermarket cooling is better (The gigabyte has three fans and evga has one), I'd go for that since the price is the same as the evga.

    However, DustSailor suggested the three fan cards tend to blow heat back into the system, which I definately don't want to do.

    Temps and quietness are important. I've got the systems pretty quiet and they run around 25c with the I5's in the Antec 900 two cases. So if the Gigabyte card is going to keep the temp and noise below the EVGA then I'd have to opt for the Gigabyte.

    It's all so confusing
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  7. Posts : 7,878
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #17

    I bought a reference design eVGA 570GTX and it's got a single fan. It's very quiet and hasn't raised my case temps at all. My video card gets to around 80C when playing BF3.
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  8. Posts : 2,588
    Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
       #18

    Tanyam said:
    However, DustSailor suggested the three fan cards tend to blow heat back into the system, which I definately don't want to do.
    If the card is cool enough, and you have proper airflow in your case, it shouldn't be a problem. I don't have too much of either, and yes, gigabyte does indeed blow ALL that hot air back into the case.
    Tanyam said:
    Temps and quietness are important. I've got the systems pretty quiet and they run around 25c with the I5's in the Antec 900 two cases. So if the Gigabyte card is going to keep the temp and noise below the EVGA then I'd have to opt for the Gigabyte.

    It's all so confusing
    In the end, you have to make the choice yourself anyway, we can only suggest, and you make the best educated decision (or guess lol). All on you kid

    ps. most cards don't really make that much noise anyway, and the cpu fan usually makes a far more heavy racket than anything else in your case, no matter if your GPU is EVGA or Gigabyte.

    EVGA is for the cards, Gigabyte is for the boards, in my opinion. But every once in a while both companies do something to make me think ASUS

    Last edited by DustSailor; 30 Oct 2011 at 17:38. Reason: spelling
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  9. Posts : 12,364
    8 Pro x64
       #19

    DustSailor said:
    If the card is cool enough, and you have proper airflow in your case, it shouldn't be a problem.

    Exactly.
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  10. Posts : 784
    Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon | Win 7 Ult x64
    Thread Starter
       #20

    smarteyeball said:
    Tanyam said:
    I'm in Melbourne Australia.
    Pc Case Gear/PCCG is a great online store. If you are within driving distance of Dingley Village , they also have a store front pick up.
    Found a better deal...

    Scorpion Technology: Purchase Computers: Computer Hardware & Software Systems in Australia from Scorpion Technology - Scorpion Technology

    So I'll go for this one..
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