2560 x 1600 Monitor Video Card for Photoshop CS4 and Games?

[matt266507]

I need some advice on the best card that will be able to occasionally play video games but mostly be used for Photoshop CS4 (i.e.-GPU use). The set-up would be a Dell XPS 420, a Dell 30" 3008WFP Monitor, 4GB of RAM and a Quad Code 2.56GHz. Oh and I also want to be able to run a Dell 2408 24" monitor with the 30008WFP. Thanks!

 

[evongugg]

Tell us about your power supply.
How many amps do you have on the 12v rails?

 

[matt266507]

I'm not good on PSU's but here's what the Dell PS has on it:

DC Output 425W

OUTPUT: +5V /22A Max -12V / 1A Max
+5V (FP) /4A Max +3.3V / 17A Max

+12VA /18A Max +12VB / 18A Max +12VC / 18A Max

Combined Power On +3.3V and 5V Rails not exceed 150W
Combined Power On +12VA, +12VB and +12VC Rails not exceed 410W
Max Continuous Total DC Output Power Shall Not Exceed 425W

Hope this helps. Thanks for your help.

 

[blackhawk1928]

If you want to play games at 2560x1600 then I would recommend a card based on what kind of games you are playing:

For Cs4, any mid-high range will do fine
-For games like Call of duty and normal non-intensive games then I think a GTX275 or GTX280 would be fine.
-However if you play really graphically intensive video-games and want them on high settings like Company of Heroes, crysis, bioshock etc then I recommend you get either a GTX285 or a GTX295 or you can buy two cheaper cards like 2x GTX260s or 2x GTX275s, because that resolution is really really high, its far higher then 1080p so you are going to need something "beefy and juicy" to power that.

 

[Dustpuppy]

At 2560x1600 you really won't be able to skimp on a cheap graphics card. Plan on at least a 260 preferably a 275. If you go to sli, you will certainly need a bigger PSU but for any single card your power supply is sufficient (487x2 etc counting them as dual).

Anyway 2010 is going to be an orgasmic year for pc gaming so plan on being good for at least a year.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Going SLi with a GTX260 is not recommended for his PSU, since it will stress it way too much. Same for a 4870. Whereas 2xGTX275 in SLi is a definite no-no unless he upgrades the PSU.