Hi guys,
First time caller, long time listener. =)
3 or 4 years ago, when I purchased my Intel Core i7 920 / Windows 7 (64) based system, I went with a NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 card, because this isn't a gaming rig and I don't require any 3D performance whatsoever. So of course, the card got the lowest grade in my Windows performance evaluation test, but I didn't care. By all accounts, it was good enough for my Photoshop and video playback needs.
That is, until NVIDIA's silly "1 driver for all cards" environment killed the GT 240 in my rig. The recent 335.23 drivers were just too much for the card. I'm now lucky when I can go 10 minutes without a GPU-related system crash. Rolling back the drivers surprisingly doesn't help. The fan won't even turn anymore, this thing is fried.
As you might imagine, I was very reluctant to remain with NVIDIA, but the other manufacturers aren't exactly setting the world on fire with their products right now, either. My budget is $150, just to help carry the rig for another couple of years before a full system upgrade is due again.
At this price range, it appears the GeForce GTX 650 might be a good card. However, it's available in TI, DIRECTCU and E versions that I'm not sure I'm knowledgeable enough to tell apart. The TI version requires an additional 6-pin power source, so I'm assuming it's the powerhouse version of this card... but after overheating my last NVIDIA card through no fault of my own (automatic driver update) I'm understandably standoffish about anything labeled "extra power", especially if I might not need it.
Again, I have ZERO games on my rig. It's solely a graphic editing and video playback machine. I need a card that will help cut down on Photoshop effect rendering times (like giving me a higher frame rate using the Liquify filter, for instance). NVIDIA certainly *claims* higher performance in this environment when you visit http://www.nvidia.ca/object/photoshop-cs6.html, but is this just hot air from NVIDIA to counter the fact that Adobe doesn't use CUDA?
I'm *this close* to purchasing the GeForce GTX 650 (DIRECTCU) for $145 CND at the shop right across the street to replace my driver-damaged GT 240, and wanted to check here before pulling that trigger.
First time caller, long time listener. =)
3 or 4 years ago, when I purchased my Intel Core i7 920 / Windows 7 (64) based system, I went with a NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 card, because this isn't a gaming rig and I don't require any 3D performance whatsoever. So of course, the card got the lowest grade in my Windows performance evaluation test, but I didn't care. By all accounts, it was good enough for my Photoshop and video playback needs.
That is, until NVIDIA's silly "1 driver for all cards" environment killed the GT 240 in my rig. The recent 335.23 drivers were just too much for the card. I'm now lucky when I can go 10 minutes without a GPU-related system crash. Rolling back the drivers surprisingly doesn't help. The fan won't even turn anymore, this thing is fried.
As you might imagine, I was very reluctant to remain with NVIDIA, but the other manufacturers aren't exactly setting the world on fire with their products right now, either. My budget is $150, just to help carry the rig for another couple of years before a full system upgrade is due again.
At this price range, it appears the GeForce GTX 650 might be a good card. However, it's available in TI, DIRECTCU and E versions that I'm not sure I'm knowledgeable enough to tell apart. The TI version requires an additional 6-pin power source, so I'm assuming it's the powerhouse version of this card... but after overheating my last NVIDIA card through no fault of my own (automatic driver update) I'm understandably standoffish about anything labeled "extra power", especially if I might not need it.
Again, I have ZERO games on my rig. It's solely a graphic editing and video playback machine. I need a card that will help cut down on Photoshop effect rendering times (like giving me a higher frame rate using the Liquify filter, for instance). NVIDIA certainly *claims* higher performance in this environment when you visit http://www.nvidia.ca/object/photoshop-cs6.html, but is this just hot air from NVIDIA to counter the fact that Adobe doesn't use CUDA?
I'm *this close* to purchasing the GeForce GTX 650 (DIRECTCU) for $145 CND at the shop right across the street to replace my driver-damaged GT 240, and wanted to check here before pulling that trigger.
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