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Nvidia for life

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For gaming at 1600 x 1050 pretty much any nVidia card 9600 GT or up should be fine for the vast majority of games. No need to spend more, and no you don't need more than 512MB RAM either. You should probably get a bigger monitor before you go for a higher end card.
At 1920 x 1200 I'd recommend a GTS250 or better.

By the way, the i5 only takes dual channel RAM, so you should get a 4GB or 8GB kit instead of a 6GB one.
 
The only Nvidia card that's competitively priced versus ATi right now is the GTS 250 1GB. The GTX 260 is only around $10 more than the 4870 1GB, so that's still forgivable. The GTX 275 goes for around $70 to $80 more than the 4890 which performs about the same, making it impossible to recommend. Even though the 5850 is way overpriced due to short supply, it is still $40 to $50 cheaper than the GTX 285 and is faster as well.

In short, this is the worst possible time to spend more than $170 on any card, but it is especially stupid to spend more than $170 on an Nvidia card right now. It is one of the best possible times to spend less than $170, though.

I think the OP should buy a GTX 260. He'll be both happy and not stupid.
 
manny_17 said:
because ive always had trouble with ATI cards.....
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I can almost feel this same way.

I used to love ATI cards until one of my older cards(I keep all my old stuff and work it down the line), a 9800Pro that I paid over $300 for just literally melted and AMD/ATI wouldn't replace it as it fell just outside of the "lifespan" of the product.

Freaking card got so hot the fan literally melted off of it and I'm just thankful it didn't burn my house down. Then to have them act like they didn't know this was a common issue and at least give me a now cheap as dirt replacement videocard... well, to hell with them.

ATI, I know you read this board. Do not short the people who buy your top of the line cards even if it's years later. People don't forget getting screwed.:mad:
 
6gigs wont work on this board?.. although it still takes DDR3
 
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what about directX 11... I see that most of the radeons have that while Nvidia is still in 10... whats with that?
 
i just bought a 5770 to replace my 9600gt. i remember the 9800 pro mine would over heat also and i would get a bsod or just reboot.
 
Blacklash said:
I moved from a GTX 260 Core 216 to an HD 5870 and don't regret it one bit.

nVidia drivers are far from perfect. The last ones I liked well were 186.18.

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=55
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I haven't liked a single driver version yet. Between my 9800GTX+ and my GTX 275, they've all crashed when I'm using the LIVE dashboard. I know LIVE isn't perfect, but I didn't have a problem with LIVE until I moved from my 3870x2 to my 9800GTX+. I like the performance the GTX 275 gives me, but the drivers are rather crashy. Don't get me wrong, they've gotten better, but Nvidia has never had its shit together for Vista drivers.

Overall, I'd recommend a used GTX 260 Core 216 if you can find one. Probably the best Nvidia bang for the buck you'll find.
 
My preference runs toward nVidia if possible (see sig) but no way would I buy one right now. Brand loyalty is all well and good...... if the brand is loyal back to you- meaning they deliver a good product at a good value. Right now ATI is doing a lot better in that area. Blind loyalty to a brand is naive.
 
manny_17 said:
6gigs wont work on this board?.. although it still takes DDR3
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You'll notice the board only has 4 slots in 2 sets, and your 6GB kit is 3 sticks.
The Lynnfield boards take DDR3 RAM in pairs, as they only run in dual channel, not triple channel like the X58 boards. You could theoretically still use 2 of your 3 sticks if you've already bought that RAM, but obviously better to go with a 4GB or 8GB kit if you haven't.
 
You'll notice the board only has 4 slots in 2 sets, and your 6GB kit is 3 sticks.
The Lynnfield boards take DDR3 RAM in pairs, as they only run in dual channel, not triple channel like the X58 boards. You could theoretically still use 2 of your 3 sticks if you've already bought that RAM, but obviously better to go with a 4GB or 8GB kit if you haven't.
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As far as I know there is no difference between the dual- and triple-channel kits apart from consumer convenience.
 
Nvidia is just a bad company. Their business practices are horrid and they don't respect their customers. I currently own one of their cards and it will be the last one I will ever own for as long as the current man in charge stays.

I'm glad to see ATI is getting some love on [H] and hope to see it become their official brand some day.
 
buy a GTX 275 and go away please... fanboyism makes me nauseous

really, right now you'd be better off with a 5770 or something, but clearly you want to stick with the mothercompany, so drop your money on anybody's GTX 275 and you'll be fine.
 
bigdogchris said:
Nvidia is just a bad company. Their business practices are horrid and they don't respect their customers. I currently own one of their cards and it will be the last one I will ever own for as long as the current man in charge stays.

I'm glad to see ATI is getting some love on [H] and hope to see it become their official brand some day.
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I'm sorry, but I couldn't disagree more. Unbiased or [H] can go by the wayside. But I can't see Kyle letting that happen.
 
Seems like OP won't listen to logic and is strictly nvidia.

Well if you are going to buy an nvidia card OP then buy one from the for sale forum and save a some money.

Though you save a bit more and get more for your money from ATi.
 
I have been a huge advocate of Nvidia and ATi over the years... mostly Nvidia, but only because I really felt their video cards were the best at the time... I pretty much like to roll with what I think is the best.. My 8800GTXs were such amazing cards.. and my GTX260s have been extremely good also... that's about the last three years for me. lol. but on the flip side I used the crap out of my 9700 Pro years and years ago.. I did have a crossfire setup for most of 2006 also.. it was.. well, loud! but performed well... now this eyefinity thing really has caught my interest... So I'm going to give team red some love again for a while... I guess we'll see how it goes. I am still interested to see what Nvidia brings to the table next though... maybe I will regret my switch.. who knows. :p I can always switch back.

wait a sec.. what the heck are we talking about here? if you want a recommendation.. I think the GTX260 is the best bang for your buck still.
 
Their version of Eyefinity would make it easier to hop back and forth for those who have purchased additional monitors.
 
Kowan said:
Their version of Eyefinity would make it easier to hop back and forth for those who have purchased additional monitors.
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So tell me where can you buy this Nvidia gaming card with 3_monitor_single_card eyefinity equivalent?
The horsecrap line that they "can" do it, or that "fermi based cards will probably have it" or that "it's available on professional cards" does not count.
 
It's a possible feature. I know you'd be butt hurt if they added the support, but most would like to see nVidia copy AMD's feature on their desktop line.
 
nvidia and ati both have problems, but I had a gtx 260 before the hd 5850 and trust me it was not driver issue free, nvidia added a stupid feature to their driver and that is if your overclock fails the card locks itself in 2d clock mode and you have to fucking restart the system everytime to get it back to full speed, I had the issue everytime I was testing my overclock and it was a pain to get the max stable overclock, and it would occasionaly start tripping even if I wasn't overclocking. so far havn't had any problems with ati drivers, I am sure some people have some problems that might be system specific, but to tell yourself that nvidia drivers are far ahead of ati or vice versa is just plain stupid though I do admit that nvidia has lost their superiority over ati when it comes to drivers.
 
When I ran ATi cards, I didn't have any problems with the drivers. It's been awhile, (X1950 Pro) and that was when they supposely had crappy drivers.
 
epic thread. i had the x1950XT-X card from ati, and never had problems with drivers. i now have a 4870 and my pc still hasnt blown up on me.

you will not get dx 11 with nvidia cards
you will not get a good price/performance rate on nvidia cards

and most important
you will NOT enlargen your e-weener just beacuse you have nvidia cards. directly the opposite though.

aparently, as you stated yourself, you know nothing about computers, so take your time, and listen to the people inhere. chances are that there is a few hundres geeks with expert knowledge.

my comments on your setup?

you dont even need a quad core for gaming. most games utilize 2 cores max. more and more games uses 3+ cores, but no point in getting a hefty quad core for games that wont even use half of it.
4 gigs of ram is more than any gaming rig will need
going nvidia cards atm is just plain stupid.

what would i suggest?

for the games you say you play:

cpu: amd phenom II 720
motherboard: msi gd70 or maybe a cheaper one
ram: ?
gfx card: an ati 5770 performs like the 4870 card, and thats fine for your reselution. if you go with a bigger monitor (say 24" f.x) then grab a 5850.

my 2cents. take it or leave it:)
 
Kowan said:
It's a possible feature. I know you'd be butt hurt if they added the support, but most would like to see nVidia copy AMD's feature on their desktop line.
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Ah, ok. You are just parroting factless speculation. Carry on.
 
p0Pe said:
you dont even need a quad core for gaming. most games utilize 2 cores max. more and more games uses 3+ cores, but no point in getting a hefty quad core for games that wont even use half of it.
4 gigs of ram is more than any gaming rig will need
going nvidia cards atm is just plain stupid.
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Hmmm... there are still benefits to having a quad, even in games. More and more new titles ARE utilizing four cores. That said, I wouldn't get anything less than a tri-core. 4 gigs of RAM is the minimum any gaming rig will need. I don't know where you are getting your info from. There are even gains to be had going from 4gb to 6gb.

Keep in mind that you're right that some games only use 2 threads and only "see" 2gb of system RAM. However, most people don't only have a game open at any one time. If you ever want to alt+tab or multitask, you absolutely need 4gb of ram, and it is very nice to have a quad. At this point, you're shooting yourself in the foot by not having at least 4gb of ram. Like I said, more and more games are starting to use quads and high amounts of RAM.
 
Manny_17, I would suggest you post this in the General Hardware section after reviewing the Asking for Build Help Sticky. You will get much better results if you give people more information. The lack of good information in this thread is a direct result of the lack good information for people to respond to.

I'd say, cut the guy some slack. Looking at his posts, he hasn't been active since 2006.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1478658

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1479772

I find it amazing that not one single person has asked him for a price range. Prices have been stated, but the OP has never stated what he's looking for.

You've stated what you plan on playing mostly light FPS. You haven't given a budget or a reason for Nvidia (however ridiculous it is, and please articulate). The fact that you don't have everything you need in your setup leads to concerns on what you plan on spending.

As someone mentioned before, screen resolution is important. Your plan on building your computer and staying with 1680 x 1050 (means you're working with a 22" or smaller) is a factor. Given the already decent options you've cited, it's almost a waste to stick more than the advised 260 into your computer if you'll be staying with this resolution, with the games stated, and a reasonable frame rate. There's nothing wrong with staying at this resolution, but intent is important.

You'll find some very savvy responses to your questions if you post everything that is necessary.
 
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MurderCityDevil said:
You don't need a 260 or a 285 for Source games and MW2. Save some money and get like a GTS250 or buy yourself a bigger monitor.

I have a 285 on a 24 inch monitor and those are the two main games I play, although I have a lot more demanding titles that I just lost interest in. If I had known this is all I would play, I'd have spent a lot less on a vid card.
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Umm, if he gets a higher rez monitor then he'd need a more powerful and expensive video card to max out his games. Thus he still wouldn't be saving money. LOL.

Definitely agree with 4 gigs of memory as a MINIMUM for a new system. Ram is pretty cheap, there's no reason not to. Windows itself will take up about 1-1.5 gigs by itself.
 
vjcsmoke said:
Umm, if he gets a higher rez monitor then he'd need a more powerful and expensive video card to max out his games. Thus he still wouldn't be saving money. LOL.

Definitely agree with 4 gigs of memory as a MINIMUM for a new system. Ram is pretty cheap, there's no reason not to. Windows itself will take up about 1-1.5 gigs by itself.
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maybe i didn't format that sentence right. i meant he should either keep a 22 inch and buy a cheaper video card, or buy a bigger monitor, for which a 260/280 would actually be worth it.
 
Kowan said:
It's a possible feature. I know you'd be butt hurt if they added the support, but most would like to see nVidia copy AMD's feature on their desktop line.
Click to expand...

well.. with the stir in the gaming community that eyefinity has caused it seems reasonable to bet that Nvidia is planning their own multi-monitor gaming solution to build into Fermi.. they already have something like it which they have implemented in the Quadro Plex systems. I am sure they will answer back with something..
 
Let's hope so. If they allow desktop graphics to use it, it would speedup bezel management and help along thin bezel monitors. Larger market would have game devs and monitor manufacturers looking at cashing in. :)
 
yeah stop being arssholes. Dont be so quick to think you know someones motives. id ban some of you for harassing him if i could.
 
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