graphics card compatibility

[charmed]

Hi all,


I'm wanting to buy a graphics card for my husband as part of his xmas presents but i need some technical advice please. The card i had in mind is: Geforce 8500GT 1GB/PCI Express x16. Could someone tell me is this is compatible with his motherboard? His motherboard is Asus P5GD1-VM - spec is intel 915 chipset, dual channel ddr 400, pci express architecture. I havent a clue what i should be looking for when looking at compatibility of graphics cards with motherboards so any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, should i be looking for as much in built memory on the graphics card as possible - ive seen that they range from 256mb upwards?

 

[bf2gameplaya]

That card is compatible, sure. But it is very underpowered as are all 8500s.

If you are choosing nvidia try the 9600 series as any 9600GT with 512M will run circles around the 8500.

 

[chechnyan]

ohh this is you'er first post
e777m ..hi and welcom
i wish i have a wife like you ...
it will be good if you tell us what is you husband intend to do with his pc
for example the card you mention above is honestly considerd very weak for playing games other than that its sufficient
the memory on the card is depend on the resolution you use but these days all card in the market came in 512mb and the 1gb one are for the big screen

if you want more specific advice on a model
tell us what is you budget, the screen resolution, and the computer CPU model
i will be glad to help

 

[chechnyan]

and yes the card you mentioned will be compatible with motherboard but you may need to check the power supply power before looking for better graphic cards
because the newer cards do need greater power supply

 

[charmed]

Hi there! Thanks for your advice. His CPU is an intel pentium4 3ghz, screen resolution is set at 1024 x 768 (hope thats what you meant). He wants to use his pc for gaming. Last year i bought him medal of honor airbourne but his couldnt play the game due to it being very slow and something to do with Shader 3.0 support i think! I've also bought him Assasins creed this year but i dont think he'll be able to play that either. Im looking to spend around £50 - £60. Hope hope you can help!

 

[chechnyan]

ok
you should read this
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Best-Graphics-Card,review-31363-2.html

but if search hard you may find better cards for that money
something like 9600gt as bf2gameplaya sayed
or even HD3870 and 8800gt these are very great cards
and as i say'ed before you may check the power supply
if you look around the power supply you should see a label with these numbers
+3.3v, +5v, +12v,
the +12v one should have more 18AMp at least
that because i suspect that that machines PSU would be little weak

 

[TemjinGold]

Hi there! Thanks for your advice. His CPU is an intel pentium4 3ghz, screen resolution is set at 1024 x 768 (hope thats what you meant). He wants to use his pc for gaming. Last year i bought him medal of honor airbourne but his couldnt play the game due to it being very slow and something to do with Shader 3.0 support i think! I've also bought him Assasins creed this year but i dont think he'll be able to play that either. Im looking to spend around £50 - £60. Hope hope you can help!

Hi there, just wanted to clarify some stuff that has already been mentioned a bit. The amount of memory on a video card is NO indication of its performance. A high amount of memory is only useful for really powerful cards (ones that cost close to 10X your budget) when doing really high resolutions. If he's only on 1024 X 768, that's a really low resolution. For that res, either a 9600GT (nVidia) or an HD3850 (ATi) would be fine. To determine a video card's power, remember this rule: If the first digit is 7 or higher for nVidia and 3 or higher for ATi, then the second digit trumps the first digit. So a 3870 would be better than a 4670 and 8800 > 9600 > 8500. If the second digit for both is the same, THEN the first digit matters (there are few exceptions to the rule I laid out but for the most part, you should be fine following this guideline.)

Forgot to mention: For the most part, here is how to interpret the second digit for video cards: 8 = top performer, 6 = value, 5 or lower = stay away if gaming.

If you can spare the cash, I would also look into a cheap 22" LCD so that he doesn't need to use such a low resolution. A lot of modern video cards are wasted on that res (and games look so much better at higher ones.)

As for the power supply, you should be fine if you've got at least a 350 watt.

 

[runswindows95]

At 1024X768, the Ati HD4670 is the best bang for your buck. It runs a lot of modern games at that resolution with no problems, and it doesn't require a high end power supply.

The Cards: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Description=HD4670&bop=And&Order=RATING

Benchmarks: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3405&p=1

 

[jitpublisher]

For his PC, I would follow others and suggest either a 3850, or a 9600GT and 512 meg of memory on either one. More memory than that on these cards is not needed, it's just a marketing scam to sell to people who think that if 512 meg of memory is good, 1 gig must be better! It just does not work that way.
Any card higher up the charts than these, and his P4 is not going to be powerful enough......a more powerful graphic card would just be wasted money.
But definetly, if he wants to game, forget about the 8500's.

 

[eklipz330]

This is my personal opinion. If your husband is a tech head, don't buy him the video card, let him pick it out. Cause if you end up buying something he knows is garbage, than he won't like your gift, and you won't like that he won't like your gift, etc. etc.

 

[bf2gameplaya]

This is my personal opinion. If your husband is a tech head, don't buy him the video card, let him pick it out. Cause if you end up buying something he knows is garbage, than he won't like your gift, and you won't like that he won't like your gift, etc. etc.

I disagree, she's asking the right questions and she's trying to get him something he would like, if it doesn't work as intended, they will get a replacement...and all the while he will be able to game better because of her. That is a nice gift.

PC kit for men is like jewelry for women...as long as you get something tasteful and versatile, you have a hit!

 

[jyjjy]

Not sure what it costs there but an HD4670 is your best bet. It's just as good as the HD3850 people are recommending but is much more likely to work with your power supply.

 

[charmed]

Hi all, thanks to everyone for their advice and input. I've decided to go with either the Ati Radeon HD 3870 or the Asus 8800GT (as some of you suggested) both with 512mb which ive found for fairly reasonable prices. Just one more question regarding power supply: will either of these cards be okay with 350 watt power supply? Also just to clarify - they will definitely work with his motherboard? Thanks in advance, i can definitley say that i have learnt a great deal about graphics cards and im sure that my husband will be impressed with my new found knowledge come Christmas day! lol!

 

[jyjjy]

Any modern card will be fine with that motehrboard but it's doubtful that either of those will work with a 350 watt power supply(unless it is a particularly nice one.)
Get the HD4670. It's either that or you'll have to upgrade the power supply most likely.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121274