Need your opinion on video card upgrades

[TurboGFF]

Hello guys!

Right now, I'm running a slightly dead Nvidia 8800GT, (the nvdlr driver has failed and restarted message)

Looking at upgrades, I've been considering the Radeon HD 5770

(NCIX.com - Buy XFX Radeon HD 5770 850MHZ 1GB 4.8GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI Display Port DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video CARD- - HD577AZNFC In Canada.)

and me being not so tech savy, I'd like some second opinions. I'm not looking to spend more then 400$ CAD however, so if you can recommend me something on NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Great Technology, Service and Selection. that falls within my budget, even better.

I'm on Win7 Pro 64x Intel Q6600 @ 2.40Ghz , I have a 650w power supply, 22inch monitor running at 1680x1050 and I primarily game.

I'd appreciate any advice and input from you guys on this.

Thanks

 

[janno]

My quess is that its a good card for the money your willing to spend, i`m setting up an new rig and i`m going for the exact same card.

reviews om the net are good, benchmarks also.

if your buying the card for gaming, you can get a good 2 to 3 years of fun out of it (until the new game`s start using more an more, and you have to buy a new card just to keep up with the specs needed)

 

[TurboGFF]

Exactly my thoughts as well. However... I've spent all my pc time getting used to Nvidia's way of doing things.. updates, the control panel, card settings... I'd like to stick to something nvidia made however I'm also worried that I'll get the same "your driver has failed and recovered" message that plagues me with every game I play.

Any other opinions?

 

[ThePizzaMan]

hm..... its not hard to get used to the ccc, and the 5770 is a really good card... but if you do want to try nvidia again try something like the gtx 260 if its in your budget

 

[RST101]

I like the advise given there pizzman.

It's really good to see that there was no fanboism in your remarks, kudos.

We all tend to favour the blend we have at the time anyhow.

+rep

 

[gramdmajim]

looking at ncix.com or newegg.ca with a 400 dollar budget you have a lot of play room. the highest 5770 was 204 at ncix.com. for your budget you could look at the 5850 range of cards.

 

[Dwarf]

You should be fine with either NVidia or ATI (I myself prefer and use NVidia). If in doubt, match the card with your motherboard chipset. For an NVidia chipset, use an NVidia card. Likewise with an AMD chipset, use an ATI card. If your motherboard has neither of these chipsets then you can use either make. The theory being that if the motherboard chipset comes from the same manufacturer as the GPU, then there will be less chance of the drivers not cooperating with each other.

 

[Dwarf]

Here is a list of suitable graphics cards between $200 - $400. Check the details carefully, and ensure that your PSU is suitable (you may also need to upgrade this as well) and that there is enough free space in your case to accommodate the new card.

NVidia

NCIX.com - Buy EVGA GeForce GTX 275 CO-OP PhysX Edition 633MHZ 1280MB DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card - 012-P3-1178-TR In Canada.
NCIX.com - Buy MSI GeForce GTX 260 Twin Frozr OC 655MHZ 896MB 2.1GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E 2XDVI Video Card - N260GTX TwinFrozr OC In Canada.
NCIX.com - Buy Palit GeForce GTX 260 Sonic 625MHZ 896MB 1100MHZ DDR3 PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI Video Card - NE3X262SFHD94 In Canada.

ATI

NCIX.com - Buy XFX Radeon HD 5850 Black Edition 765MHZ 1GB GDDR5 4.5GHZ 2XDVI HDMI Display Port PCI-E Video Card - HD585AZNBC In Canada. (this card is $10 over your budget)
NCIX.com - Buy XFX Radeon HD 5850 XXX Edition 755MHZ 1GB GDDR5 4.5GHZ 2XDVI HDMI Display Port PCI-E Video Card - HD585AZNDC In Canada.
NCIX.com - Buy XFX Radeon HD 5770 850MHZ 1GB 4.8GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI Display Port DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video CARD- - HD577AZNFC In Canada.

 

[markymark69]

im running the evga 285gtx 1gig card and it rocks, i play all my games on the highest possible settings and my fps are excellent, it also overclocks like crazy but imo you really dont need to, ive always gone for nvidia cards in the past but ive been hearing & reading some very nice reviews on the latest ati cards though?

 

[TurboGFF]

650w power supply isnt enough?

 

[Dwarf]

In some cases, it's not that you have insufficient power with your PSU, rather you don't have the necessary connectors and you cannot make up the required connectors using adapters because you have insufficient free connectors to use.

 

[gramdmajim]

650w power supply isnt enough?

this is more than ample. it just depends on the connectors you have for vid cards.

 

[TurboGFF]

I believe my 8800gt takes two pins. 2 six slots I believe?

Two questions..
NCIX.com - Buy EVGA GeForce GTX 275 CO-OP PhysX Edition 633MHZ 1280MB DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card - 012-P3-1178-TR In Canada.

this one looks good, except for the fact that it has weird pin connectors that I'm not sure I have. and, for the ati cards, I've been reading that their drivers aren't ironed out and that there are still problems.

 

[Dwarf]

You will to upgrade your PSU for this card. It needs a minimum of 680W with a 6-pin and an 8-pin PCI-E power connector.

 

[RST101]

Take extra note of the amps on the 12+v rail that the card needs when selecting your psu!

This is just as important as the wattage value.

 

[TurboGFF]

Guess that co-op one is out of the question >.<

The second and third nvidia choices still look decent enough, I'm still on the edge about ati too

 

[TurboGFF]

so I've decided. Im going with the
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...3&promoid=1046

If anyone has any last min suggestions, speak now or forever hold your piece

 

[RST101]

You will be fine with that for at least a couple of years, just make sure to check the 12v amp on the rail when purchasing your psu.

 

[TurboGFF]

I already have a psu. Antec truepower trio 650W. ATX12v V2.0 Active PFC SLI certifed. (Not sure what any of that means, so...Verify it for me?)

 

[nate42nd]

I already have a psu. Antec truepower trio 650W. ATX12v V2.0 Active PFC SLI certifed. (Not sure what any of that means, so...Verify it for me?)

This all means you have a decent PSU that will be fine. Active PFC and SLI certified is cool. It would be nice to have 80+ but you can't spend all your $$ on a PSU. It will be fine. I was going to get a 5770 recently, but ended up finding a good deal on a GTS250 for under $100 so that's what I got. All the best