Need help in selecting a card

[phoenixankit]

My current PC is this
Intel Pentium D 2.8GHz
Intel D102GGC2 Mobo
1GB DDR2 RAM
Nvidia 7300LE

Yes, I know, it's terrible.

I have narrowed my list down to these:
9800GT for Rs7000 (~$139)
4850 for Rs8200(~$162)
4830 for Rs7585(~$150).
Any other card you recommend in this price range.

I'm going to upgrade my RAM to 2 GB alongside this. I'm planning to buy a good C2D/lower end C2Q in the future, maybe a year from now. I'm looking for a card, which would last me a good 3-4 years. I'm a light gamer and I won't play at anything more than 1280x1024 (17" LCD).
Which one of these is the best buy? Also, will my PC be bottlenecked because of my processor? Even if it is, is it wise to let it be until I buy a better CPU+Mobo? And, will these be adequate for a C2D/lower end C2Q?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Slayer32163]

It depends what games you are running and if you are running for performance or just want to see all the eye candy

 

[djcoolmasterx]

A 4850 is a good buy, what PSU do you have?

 

[phoenixankit]

I'm looking for a card that would give me decent FPS in most/all new games at Mid level settings at 1280x1024.

@dj: My PSU sucks, I will buy a better one. Would a 4850 go waste because I won't run any game at more than 1280x1024?

 

[Slayer32163]

go with the 4850 or if you want go with a 4870 single 1 gig for 20 dollars more and would last you long time

 

[Slayer32163]

try this cardhttp
://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

 

[Slayer32163]

sorry http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

 

[RazberyBandit]

I would avoid a 9800GT in favor of either a 9800GTX+ or GTS 250. The 9800GTs are notoriously hot (as in temperature) and the GTX+ and GTS 250 would offer better performance at a very similar price. All these as well as the ATI choices should allow you to run games at higher graphics settings at that resolution, so no, they wouldn't be wasted.

Your choice would boil down to personal preference and the cards' power requirements vs your PSU's capability.

I'd also consider installing another 1GB or RAM if you can. 2GBs total would increase your performance in everything, especially games. RAM prices are pretty cheap right now.

My brother has a similar system, but with a 9600GT and 2 GB of RAM and he can play most of his games at high settings @ 1280x1024.

 

[Jaysin]

The 4850/4870 may be a bit on the overkill side for your needs. You could almost just justify a 4830 at that resolution unless you plan on upgrading your LCD in the near future.

 

[huron]

I agree...the cards listed are overkill in my opinion as well. I'm pretty sure you'll have some bottlenecks with your current setup, even with an improved GPU.

 

[lasoski311]

i think your gonna need more memory, and new PSU, and a video card to play games at decent fps so heres my suggestion....

Memory: ($29) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141199

Power Supply: ($35/$20 after MIR) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148038

Video Card: ($130) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130468

Total: $194/$179 after MIR (Approx. $225/$210 after MIR including shipping & tax)

 

[phoenixankit]

Yes, as I wrote before, I will be buying 1 more gig of RAM, and a PSU.
@huron: Yes, even I think there will be bottlenecking because of my CPU. The question is, if I buy a C2D a year from now, will there be bottlenecking because of the 4830/4850/9800GT? Or are these cards good enough? As I wrote before even if my PC is a bit bottlenecked, is it wise to let it be until I buy a better CPU+Mobo?

I am not planning to get a larger LCD anytime in the future. So according to the reactions here, I think a 9800GT/4830 will be quite enough.

OT: Is there a performance difference between a 512MB 9800GT and a 1GB 9800GT?

EDIT: Also, can someone go here and guide me which PSU will be enough for a 9800GT/4830/4850 PLUS a C2D

http://computers.shop.ebay.in/items/Power-Supplies__power-supply_W0QQ_catrefZ1QQ_flnZ1QQ_sacatZ3670QQ_sopZ2QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em282

 

[RazberyBandit]

Performance differences between identical cards that have lesser and greater memory capacities really don't make a difference until you're playing at higher resolutions and need the extra texture memory. 512MB would be fine for your needs.

Price range on PSU? Only one I can find I like is the Corsair 650TX, which is a good PSU. They sell well here in the US and have a lot of power available on their single, 52A 12V rail. I've never heard of TAGAN, and the CoolerMaster 600W ones are under-powered on the 12V side (two 18A 12V rails).

 

[phoenixankit]

I'd like it as cheap as possible. What do we have to look for when buying a PSU? What should be adequate for a C2D + 9800GT on the 12V side? The Corsair is too expensive

 

[hellraiser06]

Ok, so you are in India... I live in Mumbai. Originally from Delhi...

Anyways, go for 9800GTX+ or ati 4850........... GTS series are yet not available in India AFAIK, and GTX series is notoriously expensive... GTX 260 core 216 is like INR 25K (~USD 450), when it should be about INR 8K actually (~USD 180).....

Go for ati 4870, if you want the card to last for 4 years at your resolution.... but it costs about ~INR 17K (~USD 250).

Also, if you can wait for one month, there are some new cards being released that should bring these prices even lower and/or you will find greater performing card in your current budget..

But, if you cant wait for some reason, from your list, choose 4850 or 9800GTX+. 4850 is similar to 9800 gtx+ and they both would beat 9800 GT hands down in any game and 4850 is way cheaper than gtx+ on ebay (difference is about 2K....).


And, just curious, where are you buying the cards from, coz they are cheaper than the prices I had in mind.?

Happy gaming mate
Kamal

 

[Bluescreendeath]

See if you can get the GPU used off of ebay and shipped to where you live. (if it is cheaper)

It's too bad Newegg on ships to the US.

 

[phoenixankit]

@Kamal: Thanks for the reply, but wherever else I've asked, they say that though a 4850 would be the best, the 4830/9800GT would be the best for 1280x1024 (Though I'd be content playing at 1024x768).
Also, are you sure that within around a month the prices will fall?

 

[hellraiser06]

@Kamal: Thanks for the reply, but wherever else I've asked, they say that though a 4850 would be the best, the 4830/9800GT would be the best for 1280x1024 (Though I'd be content playing at 1024x768).
Also, are you sure that within around a month the prices will fall?

Yup, thats true. 4830/9800GT wud be the best at that resolution, but, only for now and a few years, and you said you wanted a card that can last you for 4 years. Also, prices posted by you are like this:

9800GT for Rs7000 (~$139)
4850 for Rs8200(~$162)
4830 for Rs7585(~$150).

I would say the difference of INR 1200 and INR 700 is well worth the money... That means you can keep the card for longer than 9800/4830..... Besides who knows you might end uo buying a new monitor down the line in a few years....especially since the prices are falling...hell, I just bought a Samsung 22" LCD monster for just INR 11000...And its awesome...its full HD (1080p)...

I mean, all the cards will serve your needs and you will not regret buying any of them, but all I am saying is that 4850 will last you longer......Just my 2 cents.....

And, dude please tell me where are you getting the cards from??


And prices are supposed to fall because of a new lineups from both nvidia and ati, but I cant say that definitely for India.. Although I would wait if I were you..
In fact I AM waiting. I am supposed to be building a new rig for me, but I am waiting for 2 months to see the fall in prices for the processors mobo and graphic cards.

as far as PSU is concerned, man even I am bummed..... But I am lookin for it on the net... Will keep you posted.....

Kamal

 

[RazberyBandit]

pheonix, would the CoolerMaster eXtreme Power Plus 500W power supply fit your price range, or were you hoping one of the cheaper, no-name ones would be powerful enough?

Honestly, the PSU is the heart of the computer. I wouldn't go cheap on a PSU, ever, and no one should. The main reason I said I didn't like the CoolerMaster 600 is because compared to the 650W Corsair, it doesn't have nearly the maximum 12V rating. However, the 500W or 600W CoolerMaster PSUs would be sufficient for your application. The 600W would give more headroom to allow for even further upgrades in the future. I also prefer CoolerMasters "Real Power Pro" series to it's "eXtreme Power Plus" series PSUs. They're much higher quality. (I know this because I have one.)

 

[phoenixankit]

@Kamal: I'm in New Delhi, so I'll buy the cards from Nehru Place. But the prices I quoted were from here

http://www.lynx-india.com/

It's a really good website, anything you need, related to computers is available here.

Prices:
http://www.lynx-india.com/index.php?show_price=yes
(It's a long page, might take a while to load)

Yeah, I'll wait a month or so, no problem.

 

[hellraiser06]

@Kamal: I'm in New Delhi, so I'll buy the cards from Nehru Place. But the prices I quoted were from here

http://www.lynx-india.com/

It's a really good website, anything you need, related to computers is available here.

Prices:
http://www.lynx-india.com/index.php?show_price=yes
(It's a long page, might take a while to load)

Yeah, I'll wait a month or so, no problem.

Cool site man.. Thanks..


So I found a 4870 for 12K on the site. Thats cool. Its in my budget for my rig that I will make in 2 months or so. I am thinking of AMD Phenom II X3 720BE (shd be abt INR 7500) and an ASUS or Gigabyte mobo that are available for about 6K each.

So what card have you thought for buying outta your list?

Also, for your PSU, I think you should go to Nehru Place and ask them. I am sure they would have something cheap and nice to offer. Everybody cant afford Coolermaster or a corsair over here due to the steep prices. I cant. I would look for zebronics or iBall if I were you. I remember buying a 400W power supply two years back for INR 400..lol.... We shd get a similar deal on 600W PSUs too.. Here I would emphasize that you should go for at least 600W PSU.

So what games do you play???

Cheers
Kamal

 

[phoenixankit]

Yeah, even I was surprised to find such a website which supplies in India.

I've not yet decided, I'm going to wait a month or two, as per your recommendation, and then see which one is the best for my budget. Also, wattage is the thing that least matters in a PSU, I read that the amperage for the 12V rail is crucial.

 

[hellraiser06]

all right, found these wonderful cards for money,

http://www.lynx-india.com/index.php?productID=2281

http://www.lynx-india.com/index.php?productID=5081

http://www.lynx-india.com/index.php?productID=5943

http://www.lynx-india.com/index.php?productID=5264

these are the cheapest in their respective league.

Also, the PSU's that I was talking about before already have all the specifications according to Antec and coolermaster and corsair etc., so the only thing that remains to be checked is the wattage. And checkout the website of zebronics. Apparently, it has some nice cases and PSUs up its sleeves.

Cross check any PSU that you buy for the specs. And, while buying the graphics card from Nehru Place, cross check the prices from the links that I have pasted here. They should be cheaper in Nehru Place...
After going thru the sites, I realized this is the nice time to buy. Also, ATI and nVidia have released two new cards recently (HD 4890 and GTXX 275). Nothing to write home about. So, its not worth waiting for two months as I said before.. I am not saying the new cards are bad, but it would take more than 3 4 months for the prices of other cards to fall in the Indian markket...

Hope this helps,
Kamal