Which board: HD4850, HD5670, GT9800, GT240......???

[jammerben87]

Hi Guys, I'm looking into a new graphics card around the £70-80 (there is some leeway here) and am very confused about whats better, 512mb or 1gb, GDDR3 with 512bit or GDDR5 with 128b bit etc.... Ive found some from website that seems quite cheap, any thoughts?:

http://www.micomonline.co.uk/products.asp?partno=NE3TS25EFHD52 (GTS 250, only one ive found this cheap)
http://www.micomonline.co.uk/products.asp?partno=CGAX-4852IDP (HD 8450)
http://www.micomonline.co.uk/products.asp?partno=11168-02-20R (HD5670)
http://www.micomonline.co.uk/products.asp?partno=426018336-0568 (GT9800)
Is the GT240 worth looking at also?

all have 512 Mb memory but have different memory speeds etc and am having issues finding a clear favorite.

I have a:
motherboard: asrock 4core1333-glan motherboard
PSU: want to upgrade power supply so recommended wattage would also be helpful (current 350 which i think isn't enough)
Intel core 2 due E8400
Windows XP (also looking to upgrade in the future so can use directx 10-11)

Currently have a GT 8600 which is dying and want to upgrade to a decent board

 

[jammerben87]

Also forgot to add I have a 1440 x 900 monitor and am unlikely to go much bigger than this soon

 

[jammerben87]

http://www.lambda-tek.com/componentshop/index.pl?prodID=B229692 also...

 

[jammerben87]

hmmm, I think ill try to go for the GTS 250 and upgrade the PSU, PNY website says 450w minimum. Is there much difference between the manufacturers? Found cheap 250's by gainwaird and ASUS (though ASUS is out of stock at moment).

 

[jammerben87]

or club 3D green edition

 

[jammerben87]

Current PSU is only 350W so will have to upgrade, but they aren't that expensive i don't think. Saw Aria.co.uk did their own brand game ones for around £25 for 550/600W

 

[jammerben87]

The cards say the minimum rating they need is 450W so surely i need a more powerful one anyway?

 

[jammerben87]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/102994 ?

 

[jammerben87]

well if you reckon the ocz 400W will cover it then ill go for that

 

[jammerben87]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/550W-EZcool-Silent-Power-Supply-AMD-and-P4-Ready-12cm-Silent-Fan-24Pin-6xPCI-SATA-inc-P2-Cable
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-EZCool-Silent-SLi-pPFC-Power-Supply-PCI-E-plus-SATA-AMD-and-P4-Ready-12cm-Silent-Fan-ATX12v-Rea

 

[simon12]

I bought a budget 700W power supply and it can barely supply 300W. I currently have to use onboard graphics until I get a new one.

 

[jammerben87]

I dont know much about computer power supplies but I know enough electronics to know that simple voltage isn't enough, I just dont know what else to look for when it comes to graphics cards

 

[jammerben87]

Cool cheers for the advice, i'll remember those ones : P

 

[jammerben87]

One more thing to ask: I had a look at the back of my monitor and it has a d-sub and a dvi input, the gts250 has a two twin dvi outputs, does this mean they are not compatible?

 

[jammerben87]

is there a difference between twin dvi and normal dvi?

 

[jammerben87]

(the twins have an extra slot)

 

[jammerben87]

cool, cheers for the advice