Best graphics card for doing everything!

btk_1

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What is currently the ultimate graphics card that will do it ALL... including gaming and video editing (to a proficient level). Is there such a beast? Thanks!
 



If i was shooting blind on a subject like this, which i am as things like resolution and what CPU you have etc etc make a differance as regards what makes a sensible sugestion. Then for all round general base covering i would say a HD5850.

These things are subjective of course others may have a differant take on it but given what the card brings to the table in terms of gaming ability/feature set and encoding support given the right software its where i would look. It may be that Nvidia cards have better encoding abilities, i have no experiance with them so cant comment.

Was it just a general question or can we help you pick a card for a specific set up ?

Mactronix
 

btk_1

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I'm considering one of today's top of the line systems that will last me more than just a few years... the CPU I'm leaning toward is the i7-980X in a LGA1366 board supporting both SATA 6 and USB 3... like the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 or the Rampage III Extreme to be released. Furthermore, I will be selecting a 30" monitor that is at/near the top of its category based on reviews... and the resolution I'll be looking at will probably fall somewhere in the 1280x1024 to 1920x1200 range.

I may have not been exactly correct when I said the graphics card that will do everything... "will be proficient in gaming and video editing". I may should have pointed out proficient in "gaming and CAD"... because I believe that is what some forum members have stated isn't well supported (both) in higher end graphics cards.

Like I said, I'm looking for the ultimate graphics card that will do it ALL - at a proficient level - that will fit with the top of the line system described above.

Thanks!

 

btk_1

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So... if I chose a very high end gaming or CAD card... which of those two specialty cards (and their corresponding drivers) would serve me best for everything else graphics related (except CAD in the former case, except gaming in the latter case)? Would they perform equally well for everything else non-gaming or non-CAD related? Lastly, if I'm not planning to use my system for extreme gaming or use it for intensive CAD work, would a mid-level gaming or CAD graphics card serve me just as well? If so, it doesn't seem appropriate to me to throw a mid-level card in a very high end system?? Thanks!
 
Bang for your buck the 5850 is a phenomenal graphics card. The price vs performance difference to getting a 5870 isn't quite as good although the card does perform slightly better. Of course the 5970 is a beastly card that should do anything and everything. I don't know why a graphics card and drivers are different for CAD, though, so perhaps do a search for "CAD graphics cards" or something, but the ones I listed are great for other applications. Nvidia has some good cards to offer as well but I didn't like their price points.
 

btk_1

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Thanks Wolfram23 for your reply. It sounds like you're saying that even though I'm not an extreme gamer... the 5970 is the ultimate gaming card "that should do anything and everything" well for all other applications, except CAD. Although, maybe not the greatest bang for the buck as the 5850... it should perform the best and be more future proof (who knows maybe drivers might come out some day for the 5970 to support a little CAD... if not, I'll still have chosen the most powerful gaming card currently). I'm not sure, but I think maybe that high-end CAD cards (as high end as the 5970 on the gaming side) may be more expensive... if so, then for that comparison the 5970 would be the best bang for the buck. However, I still don't know if a high-end CAD card would perform better than the 5970 for all other applications, except gaming. Thanks!
 
The hardware (chips) for the CAD graphics cards and the gaming cards are basically the same. the main differance is in the drivers and the cost. The most expensive gaming card is less than half the cost of a low-end workstation (CAD)card.you might look at the various prices. for ATI Radeon is the Gaming brand and Fire GL is the workstation version. For Nvidia, G-Force is the gaming cards and Quadro is the workstation version.