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hd3850 or 3870

B

Bman123

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Dec 19, 2007
Messages
5,086
Hello I am brand new to the forum so hello to all.I have a couple questions for ya guys so please help me out.
I am gonna switch to pc gaming since my xbox 360 crapped out in less then 4 months I've had it with consoles.so here I go with questions
I have a stock gateway gt5476e pc.Athlon 64x2 2.6ghz 2 gig ddr2 667ram 320 gig hard drive 17inch lcd widescreen monitor native res of 1280x720.
Which card and model should I get a 3850 256 or 512 a 3870 256 or 512 a 8800gt 256 or 512? I swear I can't find a answer to this on google so please help me out,please tell me what you would pick in my situation and why.Budget is $400 but I also need a new psu also in the budget thanks
 
Because of the power requirements of teh cards I'd say go with the 3850 that'd be the safer bet, but you'll want to make sure you can actually fit the card in your case first.
 
Power requirements of all of those cards are pretty close to each other, so I wouldn't really worry about that too much. You should be able to pick up an 8800 GT 512 and Corsair VX 450W for less than $400, although at that res you might be just as well off saving $100 with a 3850. It depends on whether you see yourself getting a new, higher res monitor in the next couple of years.
 
arthur_tuxedo said:
Power requirements of all of those cards are pretty close to each other, so I wouldn't really worry about that too much. You should be able to pick up an 8800 GT 512 and Corsair VX 450W for less than $400, although at that res you might be just as well off saving $100 with a 3850. It depends on whether you see yourself getting a new, higher res monitor in the next couple of years.
Click to expand...

For the resolution that the OP will be playing at the 3850 256 will do him just fine and you can pick one up for $150-$170 no need to spend $400...:eek:
 
so if I were to get a new monitor say a 22-24 inch then it would make a big difference on what card I get right.I doubt I will get a new monitor before I upgrade my pc again,it will be a couple of years when I upgrade everything I want to give quad core a while to get right and come down in price along with the mobo's
Thanks everyone
 
Yes, if getting a bigger screen (with higher res) you will want more than 256MB of ram and a bit more power so the 8800GT 512MB is the best bet.
 
If you're sticking with the current monitor, 3850 is all you'll need. What PSU are you running right now? You may or may not need a new one.
 
yeah it is only a 300 watt factory supplied psu from gateway.
I will install a 500 watt psu when I get the video card.
Will games look ok at 1280x720 on a 17inch monitor?
Also do any of you game on a 17inch widescreen lcd monitor and how does it look?
My monitor upgrade will probably be around tax time (may or june) and I'll go for a 22inch dispay.
This is a super noob question here so please bear with me.My pc has a nvidia 6150se supplied graphics,can I still use the ati cards with this mobo?I will only have this mobo until I get my tax return back and thats when I'm gonna sell my 360,this cpu,mobo,ram,and psu.I'll go phenom then with a new mobo,new ram and then the new monitor.
 
Best info on your system I found was here: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3402770&Sku=G153-GT5476E

It looks like it has an available PCIE x16 slot for a video card to replace the on-board one. You need to check the physical space for it though. My 3870 measures 9 1/4" from the mounting face to the back of the card. I dunno about the physical dimensions of the 8800 GT, it may be slightly longer. With a 22" monitor in the future, you need 512 MB memory. A 3850, 3870, or 8800 GT draw low power but you may need to upgrade you power supply to run in 3D. A new power supply will have a PCIE 6-pin power connector you'll need for the video card in case the stock Gateway PS doesn't have one. I think your CPU and 2MB DDR memory will work pretty well without upgrading right now. Keep your parts because you could reinstall them and sell your Gateway system when you finally do decide to upgrade everything else.
 
Based on what you first posted I'd get a HD 3850 256Mb. I own two and have them in my BX2 rig. They do 730|999 via overdrive with no issues. I can do 760 with rivatuner.

They are seriously underrated cards IMO.

BB has the Visiontek 3850 in for 144usd currently-

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8636657&st=visiontek&type=product&id=1194053242019

If you want a decent 1440x monitor-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009091

I wouldn't put a HD 3850 256Mb on anything larger. While it could do many games @ 1680x it would fall down in titles like "Crysis" unless you wanted to run all medium settings.
 
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