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Help with picking out Video Card Please

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Help with picking out Video Card Please

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I was wondering if someone could suggest a PCI-E video card for this little spare PC that I recently built..I'm not looking for anything fancy, just something kinda cheap that might play CnC Tiberium Wars, Sims 2 and such..Some Newegg suggestions would be appreciated..My budget is around $50 usd, give or take 10 bucks..Below are the specs..Thanks a bunch

AMD X2 BE-2400 2.3GHz
Seagate 320GB HD
WD 160GB HD
LG DVD/RW
BIOSTAR MCP6P-M2
Transcend 2GB PC2 6400
NVIDIA GeForce 6150
SB Audigy 4
Turbolink LC-A420 28A-12v
Windows XP SP2

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i would recommend a 4650 it seems to be right at your price range

it should be able to play sims 2 but tiberium you would have to crank to low probably

if you save about 40 more bucks you could do a lot better with a 9800GT, 4670, or 9600GT/GSO(GT is faster) those cards are in 80-100 range but they would give some pritty big gains over the 4650

you might could find a good deal on one shop around.

if you want a brand name suggestion: for ATI(the 4650 or 4670 cards) i would go with sapphire or visiontek, for nvidia (the (9800GT,9600GT/GSO) i would go with EVGA(all around good), XFX(tends to be a little faster), or BFG(amazing quality/warranty)

also you can check out toms GPU(video card) buyers guild in the video card there stuff is spot on (the speed chart at the end lists the cards in order of fastest to slowest so you know which one is better bang for buck)

hope this helps

Reply to rammar16

Thanks for the suggestions..I found this HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 for $69.99 w/ free shipping..Any thoughts on it? Also I will have to use the Pci-E power adapter it comes with cause my power supply doesn't have one on it.Will that be a problem, and do ya think my PS can handle this card? thanks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102794

Reply to rockgirl26
- 0 +

Actually this is best choice for $70. Go for it. Your psu is good enough for the graphics card.

Reply to hsetir

If you are going to go that high I would do the MSI 4670. Its $79.99 with a $15 mail in rebate. I don't have a benchmark to prove it but I'm sure it will outperform the 3850 you linked. The 4670 also doesn't require a power cable.

From ati.com, the 4670 requires a 400W and the 3850 requires a 450W. Yours might just barely work.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by Legless Ethiopian on 11-09-2008 at 04:12:52 AM
Reply to Legless Ethiopian
- 0 +

It can probably handle the HD3850 and that's a pretty good deal.
If you can handle mail-in rebates or don't mind using ebay the 9600gso is a better deal and overclocks very nicely.
If you want to be safe and certain your PSU can handle the card go for the HD4670 as it doesn't need a power cable at all.
All 3 of these cards are approximately the same performance with the 9600gso having the advantage when overclocked and the HD4670 being small and power efficient.

Reply to jyjjy
- 0 +

Legless Ethiopian wrote :

I don't have a benchmark to prove it but I'm sure it will outperform the 3850 you linked.

Not really, they are basically the same in performance if I remember correctly.

Reply to jyjjy

hsetir wrote :

Actually this is best choice for $70. Go for it. Your psu is good enough for the graphics card.



Thank you, I just purchased that one! wish me luck with it..lol

Reply to rockgirl26

Ok, First I want to thank everyone for their responses..But I decided to go through my box of spare parts and I found an Okia 550w PS w/ 24A on the 12v rail..Now my question is..Should I go with this power supply for the HD 3850 I just bought?

Reply to rockgirl26

No your other PSU says 28A, if that is true than it is better. Amps usually are as important as watts and build quality with power supplies.

Reply to The_Blood_Raven

The_Blood_Raven wrote :

No your other PSU says 28A, if that is true than it is better. Amps usually are as important as watts and build quality with power supplies.


you couldnt be more correct!

Reply to wahjahka
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