~$100 GPU advice desperately needed, no gaming

[Dre325]

Hi all,
I'm currently building a new i7-930 system. I've bought or decided on everything except the graphics card and since this is my first build I'm struggling to make a decision. I have a Corsair 650W, Gigabyte x58a-UD3R mobo, 6gb OCZ gold, and am buying a 24" 1920x1080 LCD and likely another in the future. I do not play games (maybe will try some in the future but nothing crazy) but mainly want something that will support multimedia, HD movies, video editing, and I do a fair amount of CAD work in ProEngineer.

I originally set my budget at $100 give or take and want a card with 1gb of memory for the CAD work. I've considered the 4670 on the cheaper side and think this would probably meet my needs, but have also seen the 9600GT recommended here, the 5670 looks great and is more power efficient, or even the 4850 or 250gts. For only a bit more money than the 4670, I could get more performance, but I cannot decide what to get!

Please help!!

 

[jyjjy]

The HD5670 is a good choice.

 

[mohsentux]

^ +1

 

[jsc]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2569.html

 

[rolli59]

You could even consider the HD5570

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, the HD5570 might be fine as well but the price difference between that and the HD5670 is pretty negligible so might as well go for the better card in cases where the PSU can handle it and the 650w Corsair certainly can.

 

[Dre325]

Is there a specific 5670 that you all would recommend or should I just pick one based on price?

The 4850 is considered a better card. Why do you all think I should go with the 5670? Low power consumption and low heat plus fair performance is what I gather from reviews, especially for a non gaming machine.

 

[rolli59]

You nailed it. + it is newer tech.
Pick based on price and warranty.

 

[Dre325]

So I've been heavily leaning towards the 5670 based on the advice above and the pricing right now for a 1GB version is around $105 to $110. However, I was going through NewEgg last night and noticed there's a Sapphire 5750 on sale for $120 shipped. LINK.

Now I'm not a gamer by any means (to be honest I've never had a computer capable of playing most of today's games so part of me wants to at least try some once my new rig is complete). What are your opinions on whether you think the extra $10 or $15 is worth it for the 5750? Will I see any benefits whatsoever outside of gaming??

As usual, thank you for any advice!!!

 

[jyjjy]

In general no, there would be no benefit but you mentioned CAD and for that perhaps so, but I honestly don't know. Perhaps someone else can answer that.
If you ever DO want to game though it will help a lot, especially at your resolution.

 

[jaguarskx]

For multimedia I recommend the HD 5570 (it's about as powerful as a HD 4670). For moderate gaming get the HD 5670. See multimedia score charts from my following post:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/285664-33-good-graphics-card-decode-1080p-h264

 

[Dre325]

Cool jyjjy. Anyone else know if there are other advantages to the 5750 for me? I'm leaning towards it at the moment.

 

[skolpo]

I'm going to echo what jyjjy said. Unless you want to do some moderate gaming, picking up an HD5750 over an HD5670 bares no benefit.

 

[Dre325]

Shoot, can't you guys see that I'm reaching for some sort of benefit of the 5750 to justify the price increase to the wife? Ha ha . Thanks for the replies!

 

[rolli59]

If you are doing Inventor and mechanical desktop you can argue the cost difference.

 

[Dre325]

I went with the Sapphire HD5750. I basically got it for only a few bucks more than the $110 5670 and now if I decide to pick up a few games (and I think I will) I'll be covered. $134.99 on Newegg- $15 instant-$4.05 Bing cash back for a total of $115.94. Not bad!

 

[rolli59]

Great enjoy the wonderful world of gaming.

 

[Dre325]

Will do, and thanks for your advice