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New video card?

A

Aryiam

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
87
Hey,

I'm interested in buying a decent video card for my fiancee, though it seems I'm stuck between ATI 4870 and nVidia 260 GTX. She doesn't need extreme performance, so one of these should do the job.

Another choice I have in mind is the 275 GTX, but I'm not aware of how powerful this is compared to the previously mentioned cards. I've checked different boards/reviews... no luck in taking a decision; that's why I'm here. I sure need some guidance. What do you recommend?

Also, so I won't need to start a new thread in the CPU section, I have my eyes on the relative new AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition. Would Intel and its E7500 be a wise alternative? I've seen there aren't so many AM3 mainboards around...

Thanks in advance,
Antonio S.
 
A 4870 or GTX 280 are going to be way overkill if she's not going to do some pretty serious gaming. What do you mean by "she doesn't need extreme performance"?
 
what resolution does she play at?

and you dont need an am3 motherboard for the phenom II x2 550 BE.. it will work on an am2+ motherboard.
 
For something that will run in even most retail systems, the HD4670 is hard to beat.
(depending on whether or not you can find EE 9800gt cards around :cool:)
However, we do need more details:
what purpose is this card going to be used for (gaming, office, CUDA, folding, 3D animation, etc)? What resolution? What are the existing system specs?
 
She has a 22" monitor, playing @ 1680x1050. By "she doesn't need extreme performance" I meant she's only playing games like Sims 3, so she's not really interested in the latest FPS which comes out on the market next year for example.

As for 550 BE, I've heard it's relative better than E7500. Is that true?

Jeremy, I'm currently building a new system for her, from scratch.
 
It's a black edition, and can be OC'd to some decent lengths.

The 9800gt EE, if you can find it (newegg has them. Look for pics that show cards without the 6pin, XFX has one that is EE). I'm only stating this as I do not know what PSU is in the system. This is the best card I know of, that doesn't need an extra 6pin.
 
Don't know, I'd prefer something more than the 9800GT so I won't need to change the card again in the near future (god knows when Sims 4 is out hehe). I haven't decided what PSU I'll buy, though the target price is ~70-80 euros.
 
at that resolution your best options would be either the 4850, 4870, or GTS 250 or even the 5750 but im sure thats insanely overpriced in europe.
 
I used to play the Sims 2 without a hitch on a Best Buy value basement machine, no dedicated graphics. Seems like the Sims 3 (or 4, or 5) would be a yawnfest for almost any dedicated graphics card, much less a monstrous 4870. Does she play anything else more demanding? Because I would recommend a 9800 GT, but even that seems unnecessary. Heh, maybe I'm just out of touch.

Of course, if you just feel like buying a nice graphics card for the giggles, get whatever you want. I think we all have occasionally enjoyed overkilling the rig of a loved one. ;)

Here's (kinda) what the field looks like:

$235 X275 >>>>>>>>>
$200 4890 >>>>>>>>>
$175 4870 >>>>>>>
$160 5770 >>>>>>
$175 X260 >>>>>>

Edit: Fixed the X275 rating.
 
Last edited:
THG just did a review claiming the Athlon 2 x 4 620 beat off all the competition: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/best-gaming-cpu,review-31706.html

If you're going for a graphics card, why not consider the ATI 5750 or 5770. They may have a few downsides for the 'serious' gamer but they're as fast as the competition for low-memory-bandwidth-gaming (like Sims 3) and low power consumption at the same time. Plus she gets directx 11 compatibility for the future.
 
buy a used 4870 or 4890 used off the forums
make sure its the 1gb you probably spend $150 or less on it
the 4870 or near $100 where as the 4890s are gonna be closer to $150
 
TheQuestian said:
I used to play the Sims 2 without a hitch on a Best Buy value basement machine, no dedicated graphics. Seems like the Sims 3 (or 4, or 5) would be a yawnfest for almost any dedicated graphics card, much less a monstrous 4870. Does she play anything else more demanding? Because I would recommend a 9800 GT, but even that seems unnecessary. Heh, maybe I'm just out of touch.

Of course, if you just feel like buying a nice graphics card for the giggles, get whatever you want. I think we all have occasionally enjoyed overkilling the rig of a loved one. ;)

Here's (kinda) what the field looks like:

$235 X275 >>>>>>>>>>
$200 4890 >>>>>>>>>
$175 4870 >>>>>>>
$160 5770 >>>>>>
$175 X260 >>>>>>
Click to expand...

actually sims 3 is far more demanding then sims 2 ever was graphically.. but the majority of graphics settings dont actually do anything in the game.. for example all the AA settings are completely bogus and have no effect except making your frame rate drop like hell.. 2x AA looks the same as 8x AA.. theres also a few other settings in there i cant remember off the top of my head.. but they dont do anything either.. it really just looks like a piss poor console port like everything else is these days..
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
Actually, Sims 3 is far more demanding then Sims 2 ever was graphically.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Yeah, I figured that might be the case. I've noticed that WoW seems to be much more graphically demanding than past versions, also. Do you think it would require a 4870-level card?
 
Thanks for all your answers. I'll buy the Gigabyte 260 GTX (55nm) and as for the CPU, Amd Athlon II X4 620.
 
Meh, prolly too late now, this is one setup I'd really have recommended the 5770 for, super low power consumption all round and more than enough to cope with Sims 3 etc.
 
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