Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > How to pick a non-gaming graphics card?
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
matts2   04-22-2009 at 11:57:19 PM

Every article I see regarding graphics cards tell me about the latest game. But I don't game. I am going to upgrade my computer and my sisters. What are the qualities I should be looking for in a video card? We both watch video, I use Gimp on photos, but nothing professional fancy. At the moment I am thinking of just getting something in the $25-30 range and picking at random. Is there anything I should be considering?

Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
AKM880   04-23-2009 at 12:00:24 AM
- 0 +

First Off,

What computer do you have? Is it OEM like Dell, HP, Compaq, Acer?
What are the components or specs of the computer. i.e, motherboard, CPU, GPU etc.

Secondly,

Are you planning on HD or any 3D work, other than the ones you listed?

Reply to AKM880
AKM880   04-23-2009 at 12:04:14 AM
- 0 +

Sapphire Radeon HD 3450 512MB - $34.00

This ones for movies, photos BUT not a gaming card since you don't game. It even has HDMI built in for HD content.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102821

Sapphire HD 4550 512MB 64-BIT DDR3 - $47.00

Almost the same as the 3450, but with higher memory. DDR3 vs DDR2, I doubt you'd see a difference thought.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102819

Reply to AKM880
AKM880   04-23-2009 at 12:08:33 AM
- 0 +

From Nvidia, they're offering the 8400GS, 8500GT, 9400GT for roughly the same amount. Both are almost the same. Not much difference except for maybe 512MB vs 256MB, and 128-BIT vs 64-BIT bus speeds.

 

Chaintech 8500GT 512MB 128-BIT - $47.00 / Save $10.00!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814145156

 

Asus 8400GS 256MB 64-BIT Bus - 31.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121240

 

MSI 9400GT 512MB 128-BIT Bus - $50.00
Similar to the 8500GT, but newer and in the 9+ series,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127396

 

If you want to have a better card, you can dish out 60+ dollars on a 9500GT but I doubt you'll need it for your purposes.

 

All the cards I listed should be HDCP compliant and have HD acceleration, I'm pretty sure. I'm almost certain they all have HDCP tho, good luck!

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by AKM880 on 04-23-2009 at 12:10:47 AM
Reply to AKM880
cadder   04-23-2009 at 12:21:51 AM
- 0 +

I was faced with the same thing. I don't game but that doesn't mean I might not dabble in it in the future. Plus I read where HD video requires a good amount of GPU power, and I didn't need to squeeze every last cent out of my build. I did want low power consumption (meaning low heat output).

I started looking at the low end cards on newegg and noticed that none of them got very good customer reviews. I concluded that the cheap cards had poor quality components or poor quality control. I went up a few notches until I found some products with good customer reviews, and bought an MSI 4670. So far I haven't done anything with it that I couldn't have done with an el-cheapo video card.

Reply to cadder
AKM880   04-23-2009 at 12:41:32 AM
- 0 +

Yepp, the 8400GS is a good HTPC card, I have one in a Dell. The 4550 is also but its from another company, ATI. A 4670 is a gaming card at best., and it is over his expectations in my opinion.

Reply to AKM880
JWL3   04-23-2009 at 07:43:52 AM
- 0 +

Search the local dumpsters for anything that will fit your computer - PCI, AGP, or PCI Express. If you don't game, a 20 year old card will do. I"m sure your friends have some lying around from their old computers. I know I do.

Reply to JWL3
matts2   04-25-2009 at 04:38:23 PM
- 0 +

AKM880 wrote :

From Nvidia, they're offering the 8400GS, 8500GT, 9400GT for roughly the same amount. Both are almost the same. Not much difference except for maybe 512MB vs 256MB, and 128-BIT vs 64-BIT bus speeds.



Thank you for you responses, and thanks to everyone else who responded. But this is almost the reverse of what I would somehow like. I am pretty techie, but I don't have much graphics knowledge. So I have no idea if extra memory is useless or helpful, if the bus speed matters or not. How do I judge a desktop card? I can't go to reviews, reviews only tell me about the last 8 card set up for gaming. (OK, 8 is an exaggeration, but boy will I look prophetic when they do build that system.) I do understand why the reviews are for latest and greatest expensive game cards, but a little dregs now and then for those of us who don't game would be nice.

(OK, I do crossword puzzles, but I am not very good at them and I don't think they stress my graphics engine quite as much as they stress my brain.)

Again, again, thanks.


Reply to matts2
Bronze Graphics badge coozie7   04-25-2009 at 10:05:13 PM
- 0 +

At the moment ATI seems to have the best playback and decode performance for both normal DVD and HD formats.
Look to; HD3450, HD4350, HD4550.
Do not worry about the memory, memory interface bitwidth, shaders or memory type, they are of no concern to a non-gamer.
You should check the connections the card comes with and, even if you're not in the USA the customer reviews on Newegg.

Reply to coozie7
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > How to pick a non-gaming graphics card?
Go to:

There are 985 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.589 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