Graphics Card for a mid-level gaming rig

T

traceo

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Jun 29, 2010
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Hey guys. I'm planning on buying a new desktop pc with my college grade money and am having some trouble deciding between a few graphics cards. These are the ones I was considering:

1GB ATI Radeon HD 5450
1GB ATI Radeon HD 5570
1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 320
2GB ATI Radeon HD 5570
1GB ATI Radeon HD 4850
1GB ATI Radeon HD 5770

I'm planning on running dual monitors and like I said up top, doing some mid level gaming. I know there are other cards out there, but for my needs and price range these seem to work out best.

Let me know which card you guys would get. Any and all feedback is appreciated. Thanks.
 
None of those are really good for mid level gaming these days except the 5770. Although my understanding of "mid-level" might differ from yours.

What's your budget for a video card?
 
please list your entire system, including monitor size and resolution you want to run. Please a few of the games you wish to play.
 
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-950 quad-core [3.06GHz, 1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache]
9GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [5 DIMMs]
Two Samsung - 20" Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD Monitor
Don't have a particular resolution in mind

Next game I'm looking to play is Starcraft II. I know Blizzard usually likes to keep the requirement low but I'd like to run it with the settings pretty high.

I don't really have a set budget, but I'd like to keep my selection between the cards I listed in my first post. Thanks. Hope that helps.
 
traceo said:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-950 quad-core [3.06GHz, 1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache]
9GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [5 DIMMs]
Two Samsung - 20" Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD Monitor
Don't have a particular resolution in mind

Next game I'm looking to play is Starcraft II. I know Blizzard usually likes to keep the requirement low but I'd like to run it with the settings pretty high.

I don't really have a set budget, but I'd like to keep my selection between the cards I listed in my first post. Thanks. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
What PSU?
Also did you alrady buy the CPU? Hopefully at a good price?
 
hossdaddy said:
I am pretty sure that you will need at least a Radeon 5770 for that.
Click to expand...

For SCII? I doubt it. a 5770 is pretty beefy in its own right. You can get by with a lower video card and still be able to max out the game.

My choices are:

1. 5770
2. 4850
3. 5570
 
5770 is definitely the way to go and if you ever want more performance down the road you can add a second!
 
Robert_J said:
your list should be

5770
5770 crossfire
5830?
or 5850
Click to expand...
This, although if you were going to go 5830 I'd just swing for a 5850 on sale or used instead.

Out of your original post, consider only the 5770. For the rest of your PC it's the best match.
 
I've seen some 5770 deals in the area of $120 if you get lucky. Very hard to beat at that price.
 
4850 is also still very fast and very nice. You should be able to get one for half the price of a 5770.
 
Thanks guys. I think I'm gonna go with the 5770. Seems like it would be the best fit for what I'm trying to do.
 
There's a GT320 o_O?

EDIT: Anyways, your guys recommendations are overkill for him. His monitors native is only 1600x900. A 5770 is more than enough and will even last him another 2-3 years.
 
one and only BEST of the BEST

is only 5770 = out perform the 4870 or GTX250/260
also = less power consumption (will not worry to change the power supply unit)
 
traceo said:
9GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [5 DIMMs]
Click to expand...

How are you doing this memory configuration? Do you really have 5 DIMMs in your system totaling 9GB?

That's really hard to believe, as the only configuration that would work would be 4x2GB in two memory controllers, and the third hosting a single stick of 1GB.


That's a really strange configuration to use.
 
IMO you should have saved some money on the motherboard, processor and ram by going with an i5 system. With the money you would have saved on those items you could have easily increased your video card budget.

i5 750 + 4GB + 5850 > i7 950 + 9GB + 5770

Too me it's not a very well balanced system. You have a near top of the line processor with a entry level mid-performance video card (shrug).

I. 5770
II. 4850
III. ???

Why don't you have the 4870 or 4890 video cards in your list?
 
As far as the memory goes I was thinking of doing it the way defaultuser wrote out but only cause I bought the memory off a friend and he threw in a 1 GB stick with the other two, but maybe ill just leave that out and use it for something later.

I know the machine isn't exactly well balanced but to be truthful I don't game that much on the PC, I just want my comp to be able to handle it fairly well when I do. Plus I can always upgrade the graphics card or add a second sometime in the future. I mainly got the that processor and so much RAM cause I use the Adobe Design Suite for work and want it to run as blazingly fast as possible lol.
 
A 5770 will be fine for your needs. No point in wasting money on a better GPU just to "match" your other comparatively better parts.
 
In the cards you listed, definitely the 5770. But you might want to consider a stronger card like the 5850 if you ever upgrade your monitor to 1080p or 1200p.
 
defaultluser said:
How are you doing this memory configuration? Do you really have 5 DIMMs in your system totaling 9GB?

That's really hard to believe, as the only configuration that would work would be 4x2GB in two memory controllers, and the third hosting a single stick of 1GB.


That's a really strange configuration to use.
Click to expand...

I'm betting it's an AlienWare. So far I have only seen Alienware/Dell use that kind of configuration. Also, I am gonna go out on a limb here, with that system config, and the link to BB, I would guess he is getting the Alien that BB carries. If this is the case, then OP there are way better ways to spend that kind of money all around. Not just for a video card. You could get a lot more hardware for the kind of money Alien/BB charges (More often than not).


If I am wrong though, a 5770 or 470/465 should be just fine for those 20 inch monitors. You could also stretch it to a 5850, if you really wanted to.
 
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