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Geek Culture / Time to upgrade my graphics card! What one should I get?

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Yodaman Jer
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Posted: 1st Feb 2012 15:31 Edited at: 1st Feb 2012 15:32
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Hey guys,

I've got a little extra money in the account and I want to use it to upgrade my graphics processing power on my newish Gateway PC. Problem is, for as much of a geek as a I am, I know very little about the newer graphics cards!

My budget is around $250 (I'll go as little as $200 and as high as $260), and as such I've spotted a couple of interesting cards. This one from Newegg is really highly rated.

This one, though, has all five stars and is one of Newegg's most popular sellers.

What do you guys think? I already know I'll have to upgrade my power supply as well (it's only 250W I think ). Any help/advice/recommendations is REALLY appreciated!

EDIT: I'm kinda leaning towards the first one. It's max resolution is HUGE.


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TheComet
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Location: I`m under ur bridge eating ur goatz.
Posted: 1st Feb 2012 15:53 Edited at: 1st Feb 2012 15:53
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We need to know your motherboard and CPU to make a proper decision. Posting your bus-speed and card slot (is it PCI-e x16 or AGP?) will also help.

I looked at your cards and they are REALLY close to each other. If you look at it from a performance perspective, the HD 6950 is the one to go for. If you look at it from a price-to-performance ratio, the GTX 560 is the one to go for.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce+GTX+560+Ti

If you want my personal advice, I would choose the GTX 560 because I am biased towards nVidia. I feel they have better driver support for the newer games than ATI.

TheComet


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bitJericho
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Posted: 1st Feb 2012 17:26 Edited at: 1st Feb 2012 17:27
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I too prefer nvidia. That said, I'd recommend going higher RAM. While you will probably have to get a lower clocked GPU, you might find better graphics in most modern games. I've yet to find a game on my gtx260 that slows it down at 1280x1024. Perhaps though games like skyrim might push it, haven't played anything taxing that's come out in the last few months. But it has 2gb of onboard ram which means I can ramp the graphics up to full on any game.


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charger bandit
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Posted: 1st Feb 2012 17:46
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You should tell us the specifications of your current PC and the resolution of your monitor to determine the optimal pick. But the GTX560 should be universally awesome.


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MrValentine
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Posted: 1st Feb 2012 17:49
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NVidia [Yes I am biased too but much because of my love for 3DFX]

I just bought a 430GT 1GB on Monday and am pretty happy with it got it for £50 [just under] so roughly $80?

you could get 2 and still have some money for a new PSU >.<

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Yodaman Jer
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Posted: 1st Feb 2012 23:18
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Computer specs:

Gateway DX4860
Intel Integrated HD graphics chip (hence the upgrade!)
Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz processor
6 GB of RAM
Motherboard: Acer, Inc.
PCIE expansion slot that's blue and looks big enough for a graphics card to fit in . No idea about the x16 part, although underneath it says PCIE_X1_1. No idea about bus speed either, where do I go to find out about that?


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Yodaman Jer
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Posted: 2nd Feb 2012 05:11
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Hmm, I did some researching and found out that my case is too small for the GTX560!

However, I could still get ULTIMATE graphics power by upgrading my case to something bigger, and upgrading my PSU. 'Tis all I gotta do. But I have to buy it all in stages now, because I can't get it all at once. I'll start with the case and PSU.

So I'm definitely going with the GTX560. Thanks guys, your recommendations helped out for sure!


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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 2nd Feb 2012 08:59 Edited at: 2nd Feb 2012 09:01
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Thing with that is, you upgrade one part, then another, and before you know it you've bought yourself a brand new rig!

But I've got a fairly current-gen GPU (GTS 450) and I'm very happy with it - I haven't yet played anything that's brought it down to < 30FPS in 1080p so it suites me just fine. That said, I bet your case wasn't as limiting as mine!


I ended up tearing most of the insides out to fit in a double-height graphics card and an SSD. It's great for LAN parties though, I just chuck it in my rucksack along with my mouse and off I go.


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MrValentine
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Posted: 2nd Feb 2012 09:09
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Yeah I would suggest a low profile card too... theyre not that bad...

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Quel
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Posted: 2nd Feb 2012 09:15
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Looking at the feedbacks for the nVidia, it is 20% that you're gonna face some, mostly heavy problems. And with the ATI one it's much worse.

Damn i didn't know it is this frequent for brand new cards to be defective right from the box...

-Mental Hybrid: A unique heavy story based shoot'em ~40% (primary project)
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Yodaman Jer
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Posted: 2nd Feb 2012 13:45
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I just ordered the new case after posting my last message last night.

I'll order the new PSU once I get the case, and then I'll strip my current case of its innards and put them in the new case along with the new PSU. Then after a couple more weeks, I'll order the GTX560.

I would've gone for a lower-profile card, but the GTX560 just has too many features going for it.


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charger bandit
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Posted: 3rd Feb 2012 21:50
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Low profile is pretty much useless if you dont have a tiny case where you have to clog everything together. The GTX560 is definately a fine option nowadays,and quite cheap too.


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Yodaman Jer
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Posted: 3rd Feb 2012 22:32
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Yeah, I'm amazed at how cheap it is, honestly. I would've thought a card of its power would be around $350+. I'm not a manufacturer though so I don't quite understand the science in inflating prices, though.


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Quel
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Posted: 3rd Feb 2012 22:40
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And where do you chuck in that HD screen Wilderbeast?..

-Mental Hybrid: A unique heavy story based shoot'em ~40% (primary project)
-CoreFleet: An underground commander unit based RTS (canned) ~15%
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Yodaman Jer
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Posted: 3rd Feb 2012 22:55
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Oh God, Wilderbeast! That thing is TINY! I didn't see that post earlier.

I also found THIS powerful S.O.B. for $10 more. You guys think it's worth it? I do.


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Le Shorte
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Posted: 4th Feb 2012 01:20
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For $10, I'd say it's worth it. If it was $20 or $30 more, then it would be better just to overclock the weaker one. But, the one you just posted is fine.

Cheesehead for life.
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