Looking for a Graphics Card recommendation

[Ross]

Hi,

I'm looking to upgraded my graphics card (currently running a ATI Radeon HD 3650, to enable me to use dual monitors. I mostly use the PC for Photoshop CS5 and Dreamweaver CS5 plus the odd bit of gaming (very rarely).

I've been looking at getting either the XFX ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB or the BFG Technologies GeForce 9800 GT 1 GB as I am limited to smaller cards due to my case and because they are both have two DVI connections. Has anyone had any experience with these cards? Is there something better I could buy in the £70-£90 price bracket?

Thanks in advance.

 

[fishnbanjo]

The 4870 can often be a long card, the one that came in my DELL 435T-9k is 11 1/2" long and takes up the width of 2 slots but only uses 1 slot, it also uses 2 of the 6 pin Molex connections from the PSU. I just upgraded to the XFX 5870 XXX Edition and it is 9" long, still takes up the width of 2 slots and 2 6 pin Molex connections but power consumption is less and it is much quieter than the 4870 and working with LightRoom 64 bit is a breeze and even the persnickety 32 bit Nikon NX2 flies in comparison. A good alternative would be the 5850 many who bought the 5870 have seen the 5850 over clock reviews and it is a real winner.

 

[bobkn]

How long a card can you use? 4870 and 9800GT cards are often quite long. (The nice thing about the 4870 is that it usually has its two PCI-E power connectors on the top of the card. rather than the end. That makes fitting it in a case easier. A 4850 is less expensive, and probably shorter, but its single PCI-E connector is typically on the end.)

I'd be a bit reluctant to buy a BFG card, as they have announced that they're getting out of the graphics card business:

BFG Bows Out of Graphics Card Business, Continues with PSUs, Laptops/PCs | Maximum PC

(That may not affect their excellent service.)

I wonder whether whether any card would improve performance in Photoshop or Dreamweaver over you current card. (Games would improve.)

 

[Ross]

Thanks for the replies.

I can easily fit a 9 inch card in the case and an 11 inch at a push (by changing the position of the HDD).

 

[gingem]

I just bought an Nvidia GTX480 and it's great!

 

[Ross]

I just bought an Nvidia GTX480 and it's great!

I wish I could justify buying an expensive card like that, but for what I use my PC for mainly I just can't.

 

[bobkn]

Thanks for the replies.

I can easily fit a 9 inch card in the case and an 11 inch at a push (by changing the position of the HDD).

Looks like you have no major restrictions, then.

A quick check of some online reviews suggests that the 4870 is a significantly more powerful card than the 9800GT. The 4850 may also be worth considering; it's less expensive than the 4870, although the price differential isn't alll that large at the moment (in the USA). The 48xx cards were the best single-GPU cards from the previous generation (58xx is newer), but the 9800GT is supposed to be essentially the same as the 8800GT, which basically makes it two generations old (GTX2xx is newer, GTX4xx series is the latest.)

I tend to prefer the nVidia ecosystem, but I've used ATI and nVidia cards.

 

[Joshatdot]

Since you work mainly with 2D apps ... FWIW, this review was about 5 or 6 months ago, Toms Hardware did a 2D acceleration review on various cards. The some of the 5xxx cards scored low in W7 w/Aero, and they let ATI/AMD know, and they soon released a Hotfix (I think it was CCC 10.1?)

edit: I think the slow performance before the hotfix might also be with the lower memory & core clock speeds in 2D.

2D, Acceleration, And Windows: Aren't All Graphics Cards Equal? : Part 1: Laying A Theoretical Background

Part 2: 2D, Acceleration, And Windows: Aren't All Graphics Cards Equal? : Introduction: Why GDI Output For 2D Graphics Remains Relevant

Interesting read, it's funny that older onboard GPUs performed best.

 

[CarlTR6]

That is a good read. Thanks for the link.

 

[Ross]

Thanks for all the replies.

I think I am going to go with the XFX RADEON HD 4870 (512 MB DDR5), as the ATI 5XXX series and the Nvidia GT2XX series are over priced in the UK at the moment (they seem to be about $50-$70+ more expensive in the UK at the moment) and also it has the dual DVI I have been looking for.

Thanks again for all the help

 

[Ross]

I've just had to remeasure the case as I didn't expect the PSU cables not to be long enough to relocate the HDD. I'm now restricted to an 8inch (20.3cm) GFX card, so it looks like I will be stuck with low profile short GFX cards (trying to find one with dual DVI, seems to be impossible).

 

[gingem]

Hi Ross

I work a lot with graphics and 3D cadcam, 2 of my major programs on their next release require win7 64bit. Since I use these all of the time I decided to just buy a whole new system with some good parts. Here is the configuration; Asus motherboard with Intel I7 2.83, 8GB ram, Asus gtx480-15mb, 1TB drive, 27" Asus HD monitor. Hopefully this will keep me going for a long time. It's a little crazy trying to network the Win7 with the XP systems but I'll get there.

My other machines use GTX9800 boards and they are really good and not as expensive.

 

[Faladu]

Laughing at some saying their 480 is great, DUH.

Oops I missed the 2nd page, I wish card dimensions was given in specs.

Get cables extensions if that is the problem.

4870 should be good choice for your needs.

 

[Ross]

4870 should be a good fit for you, good card! Laughing at 480 is great, DUH.

I was told the 4870 was 25cm long, which is slightly too long.

 

[Faladu]

How much too long, it looks like a 4850 is shorter than a 4870, in pictures with these two cards by SOME.

4850: Newegg.com - HIS H485FM1GH Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

vs

4870:
Newegg.com - ASUS EAH4870/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

4850 is decent card if stuck going that route also.

 

[Ross]

Thanks for the reply.

The 4870 is a bit too long by a mere 4.7cm

 

[bobkn]

I've just had to remeasure the case as I didn't expect the PSU cables not to be long enough to relocate the HDD. I'm now restricted to an 8inch (20.3cm) GFX card, so it looks like I will be stuck with low profile short GFX cards (trying to find one with dual DVI, seems to be impossible).

I'm confused.

I checked the Inspiron 530 at support.dell.com. It looks like it would accept a longish, full-height graphics card, although it might require the HD to be moved to the location of the optional second HD. (That's right next to the normal HD location, as you know.) Dell doesn't provide cables that support that location? A little Web searching found at least one user who used a normal-sized 4870, although he/she had to remove the HD from the #1 position.

It looks like the case doesn't require low-profile cards at all.

If your machine is a 530S (slim), it's another story. Low profile would be your only option. If you need two DVI ports, that makes it harder. I see that they make some nVidia Geforce 210 low-profile cards with DLP outputs. (That has a single many-pin output connector on the card itself, with a Y adapter after to provide two independent DVI ports.)

Perhaps you could verify which Inspiron you have.

 

[Ross]

Hi,

I have the Inspiron 530 but the second optical drive bay is in use. I was going to put the drive 1 on it's side rather than vertical, but the PSU connections prevented me from doing so.

Cheers,

Ross

 

[bobkn]

Hi,

I have the Inspiron 530 but the second optical drive bay is in use. I was going to put the drive 1 on it's side rather than vertical, but the PSU connections prevented me from doing so.

Cheers,

Ross

Glad that it's not a 530S.

Perhaps I'm being dense, but it looks like you should be moving the HD to the location for an optional second drive:

View attachment 81630

 

[Phone Man]

Since you work mainly with 2D apps ... FWIW, this review was about 5 or 6 months ago, Toms Hardware did a 2D acceleration review on various cards. The some of the 5xxx cards scored low in W7 w/Aero, and they let ATI/AMD know, and they soon released a Hotfix (I think it was CCC 10.1?)

edit: I think the slow performance before the hotfix might also be with the lower memory & core clock speeds in 2D.

2D, Acceleration, And Windows: Aren't All Graphics Cards Equal? : Part 1: Laying A Theoretical Background

Part 2: 2D, Acceleration, And Windows: Aren't All Graphics Cards Equal? : Introduction: Why GDI Output For 2D Graphics Remains Relevant

Interesting read, it's funny that older onboard GPUs performed best.

Here is a follow up article with new drivers that seems to have solved the 2D problem.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ati-2d-performance-radeon-hd-5000,2635.htm





Jim