9400GT Compared to a very much older 6800 GT Ultra

[drewhosick]

Hey there,

Just a quick question. I just ordered a 9400GT. I know for a few more bucks I could have gotten a 9500Gt or 9600Gt or whatever but on a budget with a child and another on the way and I had to get an extra gig of ram. I'm not looking to play the hottest, newest games on the market at this point because I don't have time. I do photo editing and might take up Flight Simulator X again. I used to run it on a slower computer with 1 gb of ram and a 6800GT Ultra. I would expect going to a faster processor with 2GB's of ram and a 9400GT will be much better.

I take it the 9400GT is much quicker then the much older 6800GT?

 

[coozie7]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the 9400GT is quite a step down from the 6800, see here:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/radeon-geforce-graphics,review-31583-6.html

BUT, I'm not sure it will be such a problem: Photo editing needs more CPU and RAM muscle than video power and FSX is also heavily dependant on CPU/RAM so I suspect things on the gaming front may even out.

 

[drewhosick]

Even if the 6800GT was AGP and not PCI-E? Also how about the Radeon 4650. It looks higher on that chart but will it make much difference?

 

[drewhosick]

I'm just trying to stick to something that doesn't require too much power. I am using a 300W psu on an HP computer.

 

[coozie7]

The HD4650 would be a fair bit faster and as an added bonus, is better at HD/DVD decode, so if you can change your order I would suggest you do so.
I doubt the AGP/PCI-E bandwidth would be much of an issue, the cards we are talking about are simply not fast enough for it to make much of a difference.

 

[drewhosick]

I was also just looking at other options, because the model I was looking at is DVI only I'd need to get an adapter to VGA for my lcd(no DVI on it) The price difference between a 4650 with DVI only and a 9600 with vga is negligable. Now I figure my 300w psu won't support the 9600 but I have an older PSU from my old computer. It ran a 3400+ AMD on the older socket. I'm wondering if that psu will work with the newer AM2 socket motherboards. Will it also have the connector for the PCI express if I got a 9600? PCIE was just being introduced at the time. It's the AP-550DX from Mutant Mods.`

 

[coozie7]

Most cards come with a DVI/VGA adaptor for this very reason, if you are in the US, Newegg always shows a photo of the card and its bundle, if not, call your supplier and ask if the card has such an adaptor, even it the reply is no, they are widely available and not very expensive (a few dollars).
Saves all that messing around with powersupplies!

 

[drewhosick]

So the 4650 should work on the 300w psu even though it says it should have a 400w? I was going to put my 480w psu on the newer computer but it's a 20 pin connector and my motherboard requires a 24 pin. I read somewhere that it may still be possible to connect it anyways but I'd rather not if uneeded.

 

[coozie7]

No worries, the HD4650 barely draws 40 Watts at maximum load and typically about 25W, even when gaming.

 

[wjbyman]

You can't go wrong with a 4670, which does not need a 6 pin connector, AND will cut through older games with no sweat.

 

[jaguarskx]

The 6800GT vs the 9400GT is like a smack down between a retired marine veteran and a child with a toy gun.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Except the veteran does not end up with restraining order. :lol: