Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > Need help choosing VGA card
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
albenza   08-26-2008 at 07:37:00 AM

Hi,

I'm looking for the best VGA card with HDMI and DVI, mainly for photoshop and other picture editing programs. Very little 3D gaming. (Mainly older games).

Any suggestions plz?

------------------------------ No human thing is of serious importance. Plato
Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
hallowed_dragon   08-26-2008 at 08:28:47 AM
- 1 +

For Photoshop and other I believe you will benefit more from a better CPU than from a GPU. If you are not doing any 3d work you will be better suited by a quad core.

My 2 cents.

------------------------------ Q6600 stock; GB-P35-DS3L; 4GB A-DATA Vitesta Extreme; Sapphire ATI 4870 760/1000; 1+ TB HDDs (Seagate + Maxtor + WD); OCZ StealthXtream 600W; ASUS VW222U 22"
 Reply to hallowed_dragon
albenza   08-26-2008 at 08:35:10 AM
- 0 +

Already have a Q6600 in mind..

No matter what I need the signal from the mobo to the screen... if you know what I mean.

Reply to albenza
hallowed_dragon   08-26-2008 at 08:41:53 AM
- 0 +

Depending on your budget I would recommend a 8800 GTS (512) from nVidia or an ATI 4850 if you have a better budget.
Otherwise a 9600 GT will suffice for what you need or even a 9600 GSO.

------------------------------ Q6600 stock; GB-P35-DS3L; 4GB A-DATA Vitesta Extreme; Sapphire ATI 4870 760/1000; 1+ TB HDDs (Seagate + Maxtor + WD); OCZ StealthXtream 600W; ASUS VW222U 22"
 Reply to hallowed_dragon
random1283   08-26-2008 at 08:50:49 AM
- 0 +

Probably go for the 9800GT or 9800GTX because they are mid ranged match well with your CPU but they also offer CUDA which could help your editing depending on what apps you use.

------------------------------ Core 2 duo E6750@ 3.72ghz,Geil ultra 2gb 800hmz @1050mhz 5-5-5-15,
Asus P5K mobo,74gb raptor,250gb WD sata hdd,
His ICEQ 4 4850 512 Turbo,Pioneer sata 18X dvd writer,

Reply to random1283
albenza   08-26-2008 at 09:14:42 AM
- 1 +

I honestly think a 8800GTS or higher is overkill,

Setup so far looks like this.

Q6600
Kingston HyperX 2x2gb 1066mhz
Asus P5kc
Asus 8600GT 512mb GDDR3 Silent
250GB WD HDD

This is just within the budget. Leaving roughly 50$ for shipping cost. I guess I could throw in another 50$, but that's it.

Any suggestions to this setup? (within budget)

Reply to albenza
hallowed_dragon   08-26-2008 at 09:48:52 AM
- 0 +

Its a good setup for what you will do. Good luck! :)

------------------------------ Q6600 stock; GB-P35-DS3L; 4GB A-DATA Vitesta Extreme; Sapphire ATI 4870 760/1000; 1+ TB HDDs (Seagate + Maxtor + WD); OCZ StealthXtream 600W; ASUS VW222U 22"
 Reply to hallowed_dragon
Noya   08-26-2008 at 10:04:44 AM
- 0 +

I don't know the prices in Denmark, but here (in the USA) the 8600gt is about $40-50 w/rebate. The 8800gs can be had for $60-70 w/rebate, and is 10x better than the 8600-series so it's well worth an extra $10-20. The 8800gs is basically a neutered 8800gt (384mb vs 512, 192-bit vs 256-bit, 96sp's vs 112 sp's). Again, at $60-70 it's a steal and destroys the 8600gt in older games like FarCry, FEAR, COD2, etc.
$62:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showt [...] 0&t=905836
Review:
http://sg.vr-zone.com/?i=5573
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1 [...] top_384mb/


Message edited by Noya on 08-26-2008 at 10:08:32 AM
Reply to Noya
Legless Ethiopian   08-26-2008 at 10:19:03 AM
- 0 +

Isn't that ram you have picked out overkill? You can probably save some money if you get some ddr2 800 or if you don't plan on overclocking some ddr2 533 or 667.

Reply to Legless Ethiopian
huron   08-26-2008 at 10:29:00 AM
- 0 +

Agreed legless - if you aren't going to push that system, you don't need DDR2 800. That would certainly save some $$$.

Reply to huron
albenza   08-26-2008 at 10:46:20 AM
- 0 +

Thing is, I was going for a 1:1 ratio at stock settings.

//Edit

Ah, was just reading up on this.. 1:1 ratio would be 533mhz.

Thanks for making me aware of this.. (phew)

//Edit2

Hmm.. still not to sure on this. Damn ratio always confusing me.


Message edited by albenza on 08-26-2008 at 12:00:47 PM
Reply to albenza
outlw6669   08-26-2008 at 01:10:49 PM
- 0 +

Yes, you would be correct.
A stock Q6600 with RAM at a 1:1 ratio to the FSB will be using DDR2 533 speeds.
I would not recommend purchasing DDR2 533 for your system, however.
Stick with DDR2 800, 4-4-4-X.
If you want to run it at a 1:1 ratio, you can drop the timings way down.
However you do it, you will not see more than a 1-2% performance drop/gain.

Here is how it works.
DDR2 RAM is running double data rate to the FSB clock.
With a Q6600, you are using a 266Mhz bus stock or 1066Mhz Quad Data Rate FSB.
At that FSB, you would either double the base frequency or half the rated QDR frequency to obtain your 1:1 ratio RAM speeds.


Message edited by outlw6669 on 08-26-2008 at 01:13:54 PM
------------------------------ If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce today would cost $100, get a million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.
PSA
 Reply to outlw6669
albenza   08-26-2008 at 01:57:27 PM
- 0 +

Ah, so it comes down to running 1:1 on the base frequency and not the RAMBUS and FSB Total.

Thanks for clearing that out.

Reply to albenza
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > Need help choosing VGA card
Go to:

There are 975 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.653 seconds
Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
Related Topics
See all relatives topics
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them