First time build--recommend a card

A

AggieGuy

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Sep 11, 2006
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I have done countless hours of research and am sick of it. This is a first time build and I was just hoping for any and all advice on a card. I am not a big gamer but most likely will dabble a little bit. The only games I play more than a few times are games like Age of Empires. I also will be watching movies quite often and would like to have enough power to run vista's visuals without problem. I am familiar with nVidia and will probably want to stay with them due to the lower heat/noise factor.

The build so far consists of:

e6600
Asus P5WDH Deluxe MB
Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800 2GB (awesome deal on this)
Antec true power 2 sli 550W
Antec p180 case (3 fans)
2xWestern Digital 320GB 7200 rpm harddrive

I still need to pick out a display and am looking at samsung 205bw and the dell 2007. If anyone wants to give some input on those with this system I would appreciate it (as opposed to me making a new thread in the proper forum). TIA

Cliffs: Recommend a video card.
 
What's your price range? How much are you willing to spend?
 
Sorry, forgot about that. I have been looking at the eVGA 7900gt ko but am not sure if I will utilize the card fully. I am looking in the 200-320 range. Will a 7600 be enough? Should I switch to the ati 1900 one? I went ahead and got a sli PSU in case I needed that in the future....I doubt I will though.
 
If watching movies is your primary need- go with ATI. Avivo is nothing short of amazing.
 
I've been reading/hearing the ATI cards generate more heat.
Both Nvidia and ATI high end cards produce good results.

Here are some suggestions:
Least expensive: Buy two 7600GS to acquire SLI for around $180 then after rebate its around $120 __DDR2_Technology__
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143054

Better Benchmarks: Buy two 7600GT to acqurie SLI with better performance for $300 then after rebate its around $260 __DDR3_Technology__
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150182
-- If you're not a gamer heavy into 3D first person shooters then you should be happy with one of these 256MB cards. Then it's only $150/_AR=$130 also allowing you to go SLI in the future.


What games do you usually play? (games like CIV_4 want more video memory where as first person shooters need faster FPS.)

EDIT: Fixed math calculation thanks to PWMK2
 
I say hit up the new 7900GS's. they overclock like mofos. 9k 3dmark 05 scores, 7k stock. faster than a 7600GT and they've got headroom. =)
 
As I said, the only games I will regularly play (regular to me which is 5-10x a month) will be stategy games like Age of Empies. I also like to play the Mist games and get some eye candy in things like that. I really do not play many FPS but most likely will play one or two a year for a very short while.

I am not going to go SLI right away if ever at all. So keep in mind that I will only be installing a single card.
 
Sure, you could get the 7600gt, which would be enough for any or all RTS games, but... if you ever see a title you REALLY love later, wouldn't it suck if you couldn't play it?

I say the 7900gs is a great card, at a great price... that performs really well.
 
That is exactly what my issue is. I do not currently play games often but I attribute that mostly to the fact that I have a laptop. Who knows what will happen once I finish this computer...I already went a little overboard :). I think the 7900 is where I will go. Any major difference between gs and gt? Is the KO worth it? I don't need 512 mb do I?
 
AggieGuy said:
Who knows what will happen once I finish this computer...I already went a little overboard :). I think the 7900 is where I will go. Any major difference between gs and gt? Is the KO worth it? I don't need 512 mb do I?
Click to expand...

Well if you enjoy games like TBS games more memory helps create larger worlds as Civilization_4 generates a out of video memory error when using the smart_map tool to generate worlds much larger than huge.
If you believe you'll be leaning towards FPS games then video memory is not as big of a concern and you can lean towards having the 256MB yet the faster DDR3.

Here's a 7900GT 256MB for about $270 and after rebate $240:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150144

It's faster than the 7900GS and still within your $200-$300 price range.

=========
Also Thanks PWMK2 for finding my math mistake :) it's been fixed.
 
PWMK2 said:
$58.88x2 = $117.76. So it's more like $115 after rebate. SLI 7600GS is a great deal right now. That's certainly what I would recommend.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if I were building a budget system I'd certainly consider the 7600 GS. I knew the GS was going to be an impressive value performer, much more than it's predecessor (the 6600 vanilla), but they've outdone themselves. $120 for a pair of cards that outperform the more expensive 7600 GT? That's one of the few SLI combos that actually makes sense.

The best part? They come with SLI connectors, essential for good SLI performance.
 
You all forgot that the rebate is applied for only 1 person/household. So the price should be $58.88 + $88.88 unless you have someone else to buy a second card.
 
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