Replace NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT

yellowhuman

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Jun 1, 2013
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Hi,

I'm not much of a hardware person, but I'm looking to replace my card.

I had the NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT SLI (i had two of them) One of them stopped working so I took it out and ran the computer with just one NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT for a while. It worked until the fan broke and now my computer turns off its display automatically (the graphics must be overheating).

I'm looking for a replacement within $100 budget. Looking to purchase it right away. I assume going to best buy would be a bad idea to find a good graphics card at a modest price.

Any suggestions? I searched around, but most suggested cards are all no longer sold.

This is the exact card I have:
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-9800gt

I had two of them connected with an SLI bridge.

My computer specs:
Windows 7 Professional
Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q9550 @ 2.83GHZ 2.83 GHZ
RAM: 8GB
System: 64 bit
I believe its the Dell XPS 625.

Thanks in advanced!
 

yellowhuman

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Jun 1, 2013
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Thanks for the response. I'm pretty new to installing graphics. I can buy any GT 640 and it should install on my computer?

And i noticed on this thread that the GT 640 is not as good?
http://www.tonymacx86.com/buying-advice/76502-upgrading-9800-gt-640-gt-660-gtx.html#post473957

Also did some research in buying the exact same card. Is there a reason why its only $29 on some sites?
https://www.google.com/search?q=geforce+9800+gt&oq=geforce&aqs=chrome.1.57j59j60l3j61&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=geforce+9800+gt&safe=off&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=oFCqUembKvat4APk44CYCA&ved=0COgBELMY&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47244034,d.dmg&fp=4fabef41214cfd3b&biw=1198&bih=735
 

Fulgurant

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Nov 29, 2012
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Here you go: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-2.html

The HD7750 blows the GT 640 away.
 

Fulgurant

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If he can extend his budget to ~$120, the HD 7770 is a better buy than the GTX 650, outperforming it by about 15%

EDIT: Seems there are 650s and 7770s available for as little as $110 on newegg.com right now, which is nice.
 

yellowhuman

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Jun 1, 2013
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Thanks for the alternative. So this card will work with my system:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131481&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=6146996&SID=lp6ac6nhw6yu
 

Fulgurant

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Yes. You don't even need supplemental power connectors with a 7750. It's the most powerful card for which that's true, about 40% faster than a GT 640. The GT 640, frankly, is a joke.
 

Fulgurant

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Ah, nice. Didn't see any 7770s available for less than $110 when I looked a second ago; good eye!

Yellowhuman, the card linked in Justin's post is about 80% better than the GT 640, and about 28% better than the 7750. It's the best option regardless of the games bundled with it, if you can afford it.
 

yellowhuman

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Jun 1, 2013
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Thanks for the followup. Going to make the purchase now.
 

Fulgurant

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Yeah, at that price point you're probably best off scouring the used market for some sort of high-risk-high-reward deal.

As per the article linked in one of my previous posts, the HD 6670 is a decent option at ~$65, though. That card performs roughly on par with the GT 640.

You really are losing out on performance-per-dollar at the extreme low end of the spectrum, though. The HD 7770 in Justin's link above (priced at $99, or $79 after mail-in rebate, assuming you can actually get the rebate!) performs ~80% better for ~50% more money, at worst (99/65 = 1.52).

Personally, I'd go with the 7770. Shaving even marginal amounts of money from the cost of that card incurs huge performance penalties.