Looking for a new video card

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My GeForce 8800GT went up in smoke yesterday after about 3 years of use. I got some awesome lines over the screen and Windows doesn't boot normally anymore. I'm getting a blue screen when Windows boots. It does boot in safe mode or in normal mode with a different video card. I think I'll try it in the other video card slot when I get home, but I don't know why that should make a difference. So I guess I'm in the market for a new video card.

The problem is that I have no clue about the current state of affairs when it comes to video cards (or any other components for that matter). So tech savvy SPers, please help I'm looking for something that isn't necessarily better than my old 8800GT. All the games I play work fine on it, and I don't expect I'll be playing very more sophisticated games in the future. So it doesn't need to be top range and it might get replaced again in another 1-2 years, when I buy a completely new system (I don't like upgrading and just buy everything new every 4-5 years). It's however a bit soon to replace the entire thing now, since I'm still fairly happy about the rest and I have my doubts about buying a very expensive card now and taking it with me to the new system.

So what else would you need to know: I'm running a 22" screen, Windows Vista 32, and I have no preference for brands (this GeForce went up in smoke after 3 years, my previous ATI died after 4 years). My motherboard supports 2 videocards (crossfire I believe it's called), so would it maybe be interesting to look for two cheaper cards?

Any tips or suggestions are welcomed. Thanks in advance.

 

the only qualms i have about running a gts250 on my current system is that my cpu is the bottleneck. the card was only $100 here in the usa and it is a great card for older systems

 

Mesmero - I'm really more familiar with the nVidia rather than ATI cards. This one would be a good one to consider, since it is new technology, getting favorable reviews and pretty easy on price:

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/geforce_gts_450_roundup/page18.asp

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125341

I should say that ATI makes very good cards as well, but I don't know that much about them.

 

That's the card i've been recommended, and I fully plan to buy it.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

A quick glance at the prices at a local hardware store shows the GTS 450 at the same price as the GTS 250, so that's an easy choice. However, I was hoping to be done with 100 euros/dollars (not a really hard limit, but it would be nice if I could stay under it). The local store has the GT 430 at 79 euros and comparing the GT 430 and the GTS 450 against each other will certainly be in favor of the GTS 450, but anyone wanna hazard a guess how either of them would compare to my old 8800GT? If somebody can say with confidence that the GT 430 would outshine my old card, I would be inclined to get that one (three year old top range vs a new low range, I really don't know enough about it to guess that one).

However, doing a bit of research, this Tom's Hardware review of the GT 430 also mentioned the Radeon HD 5570 and the Radeon HD 5670 at the same price. It says the 5670 would easily outshine the GT 430 in gaming, meaning it could be a serious contender as well. Any thought about this?

 

I replaced my ATI 4870 with an 6850. I had a few booting failures with it.

The AMD/ATI 6850 scores just a little under the geforce 260. Those two cards are the cards in the sweet spot

Above that the 6870 and above that a lot of very expensive power guzzling hotheads.

I direct you to Toms hardware, who compared the cards based on price/performance: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-radeon-hd-6870-radeon-hd-6850,2782.html


!00 euro:http://www.alternate.nl/html/produc...n_HD5000/XFX/HD5750_XXX/394497/?baseId=684280

 

Merlanni,
According to the Tomshardware test ...

Since what you really need GPU power for is gaming anyway, the decision should be easy. So, I'd say go get the ATI Radeon HD 5670. A Sapphire version is selling at Mindfactory for only 80 €, and it's ranked 51st on the Passmark Video Card Benchmarks » High End Video Cards.

PS: To my great delight, the ATI Radeon HD 4870 that I bought two years ago is still ranked 27th Aah, bragging rights ...

 

No, that one does not appear to be as fast as the 880Gt. The 430 is a slow card. I direct you to Anandtech http://www.anandtech.com/show/3973/nvidias-geforce-gt-430/8

Consider the 9800GT in that case, since it is similar to the 8800GT. I really like mine, even though it is an old card, it runs games like DA:O just fine and is at around $100.00 US.

 

yeah the GTS250 and GTS450 are the same card really its just that the GTS450 has directx11 tacked on. I will be looking towards the GTS450 when i get my new Intel I5 machine. I still havent decided if I will get the I5 i may go for a AMD PII X6 1055T which is int he same price point as the intel I5

 

Topken - The GTS250 is really a 9800GTX+.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2731

 

I think you addressed the wrong Dutchie starting with an M But I should read all the way to the end of links I give

The 430 is definitely off. The Radeon 5670 is a bit iffy, since my old 8800GT outperforms it in Chandos' benchmark, but on the other hand, according to Ragusa's benchmark it is faster. Looking at some local stores, it seems that 9800GT isn't sold anymore around here.

I really hate the amount of choice I have I'm considering just getting GTS 450, just so I don't look any further But that Radeon Merlanni linked to is also nicely priced. I'll continue the hunt tomorrow.

I really appreciate all the help guys

 

Mesmero,
my sincere apologies, but I was tired yesterday night. I did get the advice right.

 

CJ, I thought you wanted a monster system? If you're thinking of a 450, I would really recommend going up a level and getting a 460. It's not much more, and is a little bruiser.

 

That's because there are different grades/brands relating to performance on each GPU. For instance, a 9800GT can be plain, overclocked, superclocked, 512 MB of RAM, 1GB, different speeds in memory, whatever. Just a plain benchmark, with no qualifications of brand, specific model and memory can be very misleading.

 

No need, I was never offended in anyway Ragusa. A 5670 could never be meant for me.

 

I must learn to read x.x

 

I'd suggest the GTS 450 - or the GTX 460.

The 460 would be a solid upgrade and only a bit more expensive.

Anyhoo, ATI vs Nvidia depends most heavily on DX10/DX11 performance - where ATI doesn't exactly shine.

Older games, especially ones built for XP, pretty much use DX9 exclusively, and that's what most benchmarks are built around - and where ATI consistently beats a Nvidia card of the same price.

... unlike heat, reliability, additional technology support.

 

No worries Rag, I understood what you meant

Taza, the problem with anything electronic is basically that there is always something better for just a little more money and before you know it, tiny increments will get you to something top notch, for twice the price you initially had in mind. The only reason why I would consider something like the GTX 460 is if I knew for sure I would get a videocard and mother board in about two years with which I could use it in parallel. So I think I'll get the GTS 450 (probably one of the cheaper ones), it seems like a good card and I'll probably get something high end again when I replace my complete system in a few years.

Thanks again for all the help guys, you rock

 

NP, Mesmero. Consider the Gigabyte board from the link I posted. It looks like it is "a steal," as they suggest.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/geforce_gts_450_roundup/page18.asp

 

It is why I recommend the GTX 460 - if upgrading from a 8800, chances are you'd have to spend a lot more money for the next step up, given you'd likely have to upgrade your PSU too.

The GTX 460 is the point where a little upgrade won't improve things anymore, seeing that the GTX 465 uses a whole goddamn lot more of power and requires much better cooling.