Help me pick a video card!

J

JungleMan

Supreme [H]ardness
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Aug 20, 2001
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This should be an easy one... I really haven't kept up with the scene lately so I need you guys to pick for me.

I need a PCI-E video card under $100, preferably under $75. I am not a gamer so not concerned with things like SLI, etc, though I would like a card that can at least play modern games, even if not at the highest settings. 2-D display quality is probably the most important aspect as I am rather active in Photoshop. Would also like something that doesn't make a lot of noise and doesn't take up more than one slot.

It MUST be Dual DVI as I have two LCDs.
I have no preference between ATI or NVIDIA, though I know with the older cards ATI has always had the best image quality...not sure if that stands today.

Suggest away... if you can throw in a link to Newegg, even better :)
 
Yeah, power usage would also be a good concern too because I have an old 550W which I understand is on the small side by today's standards. I understand that a lot of cards use the 6-pin PCI-E power connector, but there are probably converters for PSUs that don't have this, right?

Also... how important is the 512MB vs 256MB?
 
For 100 dollars, the 4830 is the best pick. It's better than a geforce 9800gt (also 100 AR) but gets a few more FPS on average. That card could play most modern games almost maxed out.
 
If you're willing to wait, you might hold off on making a purchase to see if there will be any fresh price drops. The 4850 might drop down into your price range and the cards that currently sit on the $100 limit could become even cheaper. I'm in a situation similar to yours and that's what I'm doing.

If you can't wait, I'd probably go with the 4830. From what I've read, it might have a slight edge over the 9800GT. I almost pulled the trigger on one before deciding to wait it out.
 
I vote for the 4830 as well. Or if you wait a little bit, the 4850 should drop to the $100 price range in the not too distant future. (640 stream engines vs 800 stream engines)
 
Another 4830 vote, amazingly powerful card for the price. I just upgraded from a 7800gt to one and it's an awesome video card.
 
The 9600GT is the card to get in that price range. It holds an edge over the 4670.
 
This is a pretty heated debate over these 2 (3) cards: I've been reading over the last few days about the HD 4670 and the 4850. It seems the 4670 does very well and for a person who does not game that much it's a great card, BUT it is on the pricey side (just a tad, not too much). The 9600GT/GSO seem to run neck and neck with this card but they are cheaper right now due to price cuts by nVida. I have read that prices on the AMD/ATI cards should go down and then they do, they will be killer cards for the price. I am still undecided about the 4670 or the 4850 myself. I would love the 4850 obviously and if it comes down to the $100 range, I think I will jump on it. But as far as the games go, I simply want to play some older games like Prince of Persia, X2/X3, Beyond Good and Evil and some RTS's like Warhammer40k Soulstorm. So I personally think the 4670 would be perfect for me. But there is that part of myself that wants the security of the 4850 and playing some of the newer games like like L4D, StarCraft2, etc and having the detail up and AA on would be novel. My gaming is not serious as I have a 19" monitor and gaming is not my life but I do love to play them when I get the chance.

Picking a vid card has been just as difficult as picking a hard drive as I am building my system and just waiting to get the CPU now. That is another story for another day ;)

Rayv
 
Thanks for the comments....

How is everyone else feeling about the 4670 vs 9600GT? I can nab a 9600GT 512MB for $72.99 after MIR on Newegg, and the 4670 can be had for about the same. Without sparking a fanboy war, does ATI still have an edge in 2-D quality over NVIDIA or is that largely a relic of the past? Assuming the cards have similar 3-D speed, that would be the deciding factor for me.

And how much worse are these cards than the 4830?
 
2D or 3D IQ differences are a relic of the past. The only company that "might" have better 2D image quality would be Matrox. Consumer geared cards are more or less the same and have been for years. The 9600 GT is quite a bit stronger in 3D.
 
Check out the link below. It should give you some information on the two cards in question.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3405&p=7

This has been one of the most controversial threads I have read since building my system. The first being the choice between quad or dual core CPU's and the other being memory. I think it boils down to: a) do you want to pay a little more for the ATI card since it is newer, 2) do you plan to go dual cards, 3) if you go dual cards, what interface do you use currently, 4) do you plan to play with AA/AF on and 5) the size of your monitor display and 6) are you going to play older games, new games and do you want to "future proof" your investment with games that will come out.

I know you are not interested in SLI or Xfire but lets just say if you bought a 4670 and down the road wanted a little bit more power you could purchase another 4670 for SLI for maybe 1/4 or 1/2 the cost of the original and crank a little bit more power out without purchasing a newer, high grade card. But this is only my opinion. I am still pretty new to this and this is theoretical.

We are both in the same boat. I use photoshop, dreamweaver in windows but would like to do some older gaming with current gaming potential. I picked up an old nVidia 7300GS with 256mb RAM PCIE because I had an old geforce 5600 256 AGP 8x which played my old games just fine. It was a bit slow when playing Prince of persia with highest detail but it was playable. Now I am thinking of purchasing another card if this 7300 is not acceptable.

If you are looking for a quiet board, I think you might look at something with just a heatsink. I have heard that Sapphire, HIS and MSI are good boards. Anyone, please correct me if I am wrong.

HD 4670: No Free Shipping and some have MIR's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=hd+4670&x=0&y=0

HD 4830: Free Shipping and MIR's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=HD+4830&x=0&y=0

HD 4850: Free Shipping and MIR's [Judging from the quantity, compared to the others I just listed, this would seem to be the most popular filter/card]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=HD+4850&x=0&y=0

Now if you are looking at the link to AnandTech that I posted, you'll see the the nVidia 9600GSO (the overclocked version of the 8800GT) is better than the 9600GT you were looking at and equivalent (at times) to the ATI 4670 but it depends on the games you are playing AND if you have AA on or off.

9600GSO: No Free Shipping and 1 MIR [I have heard the XFX is a good card]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=9600GSO&x=0&y=0

9600GT: Some Free Shipping and MIR's:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...048 106792522 1067942535&name=GeForce 9500 GT

IMO, if I wasnt worrying about SLI or AA/AF (and I had an SLI board) AND I was trying to save a few bucks, I would go with the 9600GSO over the 4670 simply because it's a bit cheaper and it beats the 4670 in SOME instances and if the game is optimized for nvidia drivers.

*Personally, I think I want an ATI board. Simply because I have an Crossfire (xfire) mobo and would like to dabble with crossfire but purchasing a lower end board just to xfire is not a good idea. Go with the higher board (like the 4830 or 4850) and then do a xfire or sli.*

Hope that helps.
 
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