Choosing between 9800GT Green, 5670 and Gt 240

[plastichairball]

Hi all,

I'm on a limited budget of £50 (maybe pushing to £60), and what I'm looking for is a card that will fit the low power output of my current PSU. My PSU is a 300W with two 12v rails with 8A and 14A. I've been looking around for cards that don't require an external power connector, and came down to the 4670, the 5670 and the GT 240. However, I also noticed that there are some 9800 GTs out there that are branded as Green or Energy Efficient, and don't require as much power as a regular 9800 GT.

My question is, for my budget, which is better? I have a 24 inch monitor and would like to play games on 1920 x 1200 with maybe medium to high detail. My machine is an Acer M464, with quite a small case that rules out huge cards. Double slot cards with large coolers will fit, though it will be very snug. Currently I'm running a 9600GT that came with the system, but its a rubbish DDR2 version. I'm running 4gb of RAM, one SATA HDD and a Q6600 quad core. Nothing else is really drawing any power and I don't have many things attached via usb.

So my list of possibilities (in order of best to worse) looks something like this, but please correct me if I'm wrong!

5670 1Gb
9800 Gt 1Gb (if compatible)
5670 512mb
9800 Gt 512 mb (if compatible)
GT 240 1Gb DDR5
GT 240 512 mb DDR5
GT 240 1 gb DDR3
4670 1 Gb DDR3.

Now I know everyone's first and correct reaction will be to upgrade the PSU, but I am on that budget. Any suggestions would be very welcome!

 

[plastichairball]

Quick update, it seems that some 9800 Gt 1Gb versions aren't compatible, so the list looks like this now:

5670 1Gb
5670 512mb
9800 Gt 512 mb (I've checked and there some from Zotac that are low power)
GT 240 1Gb DDR5
GT 240 512 mb DDR5
GT 240 1 gb DDR3
4670 1 Gb DDR3.

Could anyone give any advice or recommendations based on my budget? Many thanks!

 

[djbrad007]

I tried a 5670 1GB last week on a Athlon x4 635, 1920x1200.

TF2 ran great on very high. However, I did not have any recent game to test.

But the card was great.

I think 5670 wins some games and loses some against 9800GT, but you get dx11.

Beware, some models do require the 6 pins and some don't.

 

[plastichairball]

Hmm, thanks for that warning! I've been browsing 5670 cards under the assumption that all of them didn't require external power connectors! Thanks for that.

Am I right in saying that a 1gb card will be more beneficial for 1900x1200 gaming than a 512 due to a higher frame buffer? In that case, would a 1gb GT 240 DDR3 be better for higher resoultions than a 9800 Gt 512? Thanks!

 

[hell_storm2004]

I would suggest the HD5670 1GB. DX11, newer architecture, runs cooler which equates to a better card overall. But if you do not care about DX11, then i would definitely suggest the 9800GT, which is faster than 5670.

I would not be going for the GT240 and the 9800GT green edition. Don't buy them.

 

[FunSurfer]

Quick update, it seems that some 9800 Gt 1Gb versions aren't compatible, so the list looks like this now:

5670 1Gb
5670 512mb
9800 Gt 512 mb (I've checked and there some from Zotac that are low power)
GT 240 1Gb DDR5
GT 240 512 mb DDR5
GT 240 1 gb DDR3
4670 1 Gb DDR3.

Could anyone give any advice or recommendations based on my budget? Many thanks!

The 5670 has the best power/perfomance ratio (from the cards mentioned your list).
You need to check first if the PSU can handle the card:
Your PSU has a total of 22A on the 12V rails so you need to find how much current the Q6600 and the HDD consumes, subtract it from the 22A and see how much left for the graphic card.
There is a list of power consumption of cards in this site (in the middle):
http://www.google.co.il/imgres?imgurl=http://www.geeks3d.com/public/jegx/201003/gtx480_power_consumption_furmark.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.geeks3d.com/20100327/nvidia-geforce-gtx-480-and-gtx-470-reviews-available/&usg=__eRRl1YflRDnGG3l2vzRiQUQXGMA=&h=1091&w=400&sz=63&hl=iw&start=41&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=I_EzdY_vpZk78M:&tbnh=150&tbnw=55&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGPU%2Bpower%2Brequirements%2Blist%26start%3D40%26um%3D1%26hl%3Diw%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2SKPB_enIL371%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1

Divide the wattage shown by 12 to see how much current each card consumes.

 

[plastichairball]

I would suggest the HD5670 1GB. DX11, newer architecture, runs cooler which equates to a better card overall. But if you do not care about DX11, then i would definitely suggest the 9800GT, which is faster than 5670.

I would not be going for the GT240 and the 9800GT green edition. Don't buy them.

Thanks for the advice, I was thinking much the same thing. DX11 is something that's on my mind, some say its not important now but they said that about DX10 when it first came out and it went mainstream quite quickly. I would like to know why you don't advise going with the green 9800 GT? I know it's slightly lower clocked than a normal 9800 GT, but surely even a lower clocked version is still quite powerful? I suppose if the 9800 GT has the edge over the 5670 in terms of performance, a slightly underclocked one would make them pretty even. After that it's just price and features, isn't it?

 

[plastichairball]

The 5670 has the best power/perfomance ratio (from the cards mentioned your list).
You need to check first if the PSU can handle the card:
Your PSU has a total of 22A on the 12V rails so you need to find how much current the Q6600 and the HDD consumes, subtract it from the 22A and see how much left for the graphic card.
There is a list of power consumption of cards in this site (in the middle):
http://www.google.co.il/imgres?imgurl=http://www.geeks3d.com/public/jegx/201003/gtx480_power_consumption_furmark.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.geeks3d.com/20100327/nvidia-geforce-gtx-480-and-gtx-470-reviews-available/&usg=__eRRl1YflRDnGG3l2vzRiQUQXGMA=&h=1091&w=400&sz=63&hl=iw&start=41&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=I_EzdY_vpZk78M:&tbnh=150&tbnw=55&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGPU%2Bpower%2Brequirements%2Blist%26start%3D40%26um%3D1%26hl%3Diw%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2SKPB_enIL371%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1

Divide the wattage shown by 12 to see how much current each card consumes.

Thanks man, that is some really good practical advice. It really really helps! Now, to take it one step further... how can I tell accurately how much power my CPU and HDD are consuming? And that's without fiddling around with a multi-meter. Thanks!

 

[hell_storm2004]

So if its even then why go for the DX10 card, when you can get a DX11 one... right?

With the cards that you plan to add and if you want to overclock, even then a good 450W from a reputed brand should be enough. Which PSU do you currently have?

 

[Mousemonkey]

Thanks for the advice, I was thinking much the same thing. DX11 is something that's on my mind, some say its not important now but they said that about DX10 when it first came out and it went mainstream quite quickly. I would like to know why you don't advise going with the green 9800 GT? I know it's slightly lower clocked than a normal 9800 GT, but surely even a lower clocked version is still quite powerful? I suppose if the 9800 GT has the edge over the 5670 in terms of performance, a slightly underclocked one would make them pretty even. After that it's just price and features, isn't it?

How many DX10 titles are there? Not ones with DX10 tacked on as an afterthought but proper DX10 only? It never really went "mainstream" and whilst I hope that DX11 does a lot better it isn't quite here yet and neither is the hardware, second gen should always be better than the first hopefully, so if DX11 is what you're really after then wait for the next round of cards.

 

[plastichairball]

So if its even then why go for the DX10 card, when you can get a DX11 one... right?

With the cards that you plan to add and if you want to overclock, even then a good 450W from a reputed brand should be enough. Which PSU do you currently have?

Too true, too true. The only other factor is price. I'm really really struggling to find a 5670 in my budget range, and the 9800 GT is indeed cheaper. My current PSU is a no name brand came with the PC 300W with dual 12v rails supplying 8A and 12A. Not great, but then again I'm not a millionaire and I can't save up for a new psu and gpu. I pretty much have one shot, one budget to spend!

 

[hell_storm2004]

300W wont run a 9800GT anyways, so it looks like you have to get a new PSU to start off with.

 

[plastichairball]

How many DX10 titles are there? Not ones with DX10 tacked on as an afterthought but proper DX10 only? It never really went "mainstream" and whilst I hope that DX11 does a lot better it isn't quite here yet and neither is the hardware, second gen should always be better than the first hopefully, so if DX11 is what you're really after then wait for the next round of cards.

True again, true. I suppose I should have said it went mainstream as a feature. Problem is, if I waited for the next round of DX11 cards to come out, and following that for them to drop in price I might be stuck with my current card maybe into 2012!

 

[plastichairball]

300W wont run a 9800GT anyways, so it looks like you have to get a new PSU to start off with.

Yeah, but as I said I can't get a new psu. And as far as I can tell, the 9800 GT green will run on my 300W.

 

[Mousemonkey]

True again, true. I suppose I should have said it went mainstream as a feature. Problem is, if I waited for the next round of DX11 cards to come out, and following that for them to drop in price I might be stuck with my current card maybe into 2012!

Sometimes the waiting is worth it though, I had to stick with a pair 0f 7900GT's whilst the 8800GTS/GTX's were doing the rounds because I believed that the next gen were going to be better and when the G92 8800's did come out they were indeed better and also cheaper, so it's not always a bad thing.

 

[plastichairball]

Sometimes the waiting is worth it though, I had to stick with a pair 0f 7900GT's whilst the 8800GTS/GTX's were doing the rounds because I believed that the next gen were going to be better and when the G92 8800's did come out they were indeed better and also cheaper, so it's not always a bad thing.

Well I admire your patience, mostly because I don't have it! I suppose if I was stuck with anything meatier than my current horrible DDR2 card I might be able to wait it out, but this card is making it very, very difficult.

 

[Mousemonkey]

The problem is that the cards you have listed are not that big of an upgrade from what you already have, the GT240 for example is the DX10.1 replacement of the 9600GT and the DDR3 version is the same and the DDR5 version is just a smidgen better and a 9800GT (full fat not Eco version) would most likely cause PSU problems with a 300 watter and the green version would not be much better than what you already have.

 

[plastichairball]

The problem is that the cards you have listed are not that big of an upgrade from what you already have, the GT240 for example is the DX10.1 replacement of the 9600GT and the DDR3 version is the same and the DDR5 version is just a smidgen better and a 9800GT (full fat not Eco version) would most likely cause PSU problems with a 300 watter and the green version would not be much better than what you already have.

I don't know about that. As far as I can tell from having 2 8600 Gt cards (one was 1gb DDR2 and the other was 256mb DDR3) the card I have now (9600gt 1 gb DDR2) is a huge step down even from a 4670. It has a meagre 128 bit bandwidth and the RAM is inferior. I think even a 4670 would be pulling myself up considerably, but if I'm going to spend the money I would like to get the best that I can for the money that I have!

 

[Mousemonkey]

If I were in your position (and I am, kind of) I would be looking to get a damn good PSU first as that would open up a lot more options of cards to think of getting, especially if you consider that the GTS450's are currently under £100 pounds and will hopefully get a lot cheaper as that's about what the GT240's were priced at this time last year.

 

[plastichairball]

If I were in your position (and I am, kind of) I would be looking to get a damn good PSU first as that would open up a lot more options of cards to think of getting, especially if you consider that the GTS450's are currently under £100 pounds and will hopefully get a lot cheaper as that's about what the GT240's were priced at this time last year.

Hmm, that does sound like the sensible thing to do, but it then leaves me with 2 problems.

1) I have to wait. Maybe a long time!
2) If I get a decent PSU it will eat into my GPU budget considerably. As it is I'm struggling to find anything decent under £60!

 

[plastichairball]

GT240 ddr5 512mb version..

Interestingly, you're the only person to say so! I've got it down as an option but a lot of people wouldn't throw that card for their dog to fetch! Benchmarks show it isn't that bad!

 

[Mousemonkey]

Hmm, that does sound like the sensible thing to do, but it then leaves me with 2 problems.

1) I have to wait. Maybe a long time!
2) If I get a decent PSU it will eat into my GPU budget considerably. As it is I'm struggling to find anything decent under £60!

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500W-Antec-EarthWatts-EA-500D-Green-80plus-Bronze-ATX12V-V23

 

[plastichairball]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500W-Antec-EarthWatts-EA-500D-Green-80plus-Bronze-ATX12V-V23

That is a great PSU, but the only problem with getting it is that I'd then have.... £3.70 to get a GPU. And I don't fancy my chances with that amount of pocket change! I think I was misunderstood earlier, I have a max budget of £60 for EVERYTHING! It is so limiting!! That's why I'm considering the above options that I initially posted!

 

[Mousemonkey]

With only £60 max you are pretty much boned mate.

 

[deweycd]

it would be in your best interest to wait, you never know you might find the money over the next few months to buy a GPU and PSU. It isn't possible to recommend a proper upgrade without feeling like we are shorting you due to the limited budget and PSU.