Suggest a graphics card?

[EricWilliams250]

I have some friends who casually play Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on PC. I tried to play, but my integrated graphics just won't cut it. I am looking for just a cheap card to be able to play this game. I don't plan on extending my PC gaming any further, I just want to be able to play this game with some friends for a while. I know very little on this topic, so help would be appreciated. I don't want to spend TOO much money, just get a card for the game. I have one pci-e x16 slot in my computer.

thank you

 

[ko888]

You still need to provide the brand and model of your computer, the brand and model of the monitor you are using, and your budget.

 

[EricWilliams250]

I have an HP Pavilion TV PC. I don't know the model number number because I am not at my house. My monitor is a 19' Samsung 953bw syncmaster. As for the budget, I don't really know how much graphics cards cost so I can't say.

 

[ko888]

How much are you willing to spend? $100, $200, $300, $400, $500 US? Give us a price range.

Give us a price range. I could recommend the highest end video cards currently available like the nVidia GeForce GTX 580 for $525 or an AMD Radeon HD 5970 for $500 but the power supply in your HP Pavillion wouldn't be able to provide enough power to them and they may very likely be beyond your budget.

Tell us if you would be willing to upgrade your power supply, if necessary, to accommodate a new graphics card. You will need to budget for this as well ($60 to $80 US maybe?).

 

[jyjjy]

His monitor is 1440 x 900 and he specifically asked for something cheap for COD4. Why are you even mentioning crazy high end cards?
The cards you should be looking at range from $50 to $80. This would be a good choice although you can get by with something cheaper if the price is too much;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102871

 

[ko888]

His monitor is 1440 x 900 and he specifically asked for something cheap for COD4. Why are you even mentioning crazy high end cards?
The cards you should be looking at range from $50 to $80. This would be a good choice although you can get by with something cheaper if the price is too much;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102871

Read more closely I said "I could recommend ...", I didn't say "I will recommend ...".

The OP didn't define his definition of cheap. If he would have specified under $100 then there wouldn't be any speculation.

 

[jyjjy]

Read more closely I said "I could recommend ...", I didn't say "I will recommend ...".

The OP didn't define his definition of cheap. If he would have specified under $100 then there wouldn't be any speculation.

Or you could have tried to be helpful rather than bringing up things that are obviously of no relevance. A request for a cheap card for occasional COD4 with friends on a low res monitor isn't exactly a tricky question.

 

[spentshells]

That game isn't very demanding. After reviewing cards around newegg that looks like the one unless you want even cheaper http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131381

this will require a 6 pin connector but is a bit faster

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, that is a nice deal. Not sure if it is going to work on a standard HP PSU though.

 

[EricWilliams250]

Thanks, both of those Radeon HD cards fit into what I was looking to spend. The power supply in my HP actually died already, so I have replaced it with a mediocre 630w. I was looking around at some cards myself though, and thought that maybe since I am already buying to get a fairly more expensive one so I can play some other shooters like BFBC2, Black Ops, etc. The GTX 460 for $199 and the 1GB 5670 for about $100 both look like nice cards for the task. Any thoughts on those?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-radeon-hd-6870-radeon-hd-6850,2782-2.html

In $100 category, the GTS 250
$99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130538

In $200 category GTX 460 unless you have PSU issues

When it comes to raw performance, the GeForce [460] shows a slight advantage [over the 6850]

$179 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130570

 

[mrjericho1991]

get gts 250 since that game doesnt supports dx 11,otherwise hd 5670 ddr5 would be your bet

 

[EricWilliams250]

The GTX 460 looks like the best option. While I don't have an awesome PSU, mine should more than enough to power this card. I have a 630W with a -12v@22A and a +12v@22A for approximately 30A combined. I read that the 460 only requires a 450w with a 12v@24A. I don't see an issue with this, but then again I am not that knowledgeable on the subject.

 

[ko888]

The reference version of the GTX 460 will draw a maximum of 13.3 Amps from the +12 Volt rail at maximum GPU load. Your power supply should have no problem handling it even if you decide to overclock the graphics card.

 

[jyjjy]

Even a mediocre 630w should handle a GTX 460. Honestly though it is some serious overkill for your resolution. I would at least go for the 7868mb model and save some money. The difference in memory size/bandwidth won't make a real difference on your monitor.
This one has very good and quiet cooling and a nice deal;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390

 

[EricWilliams250]

Thanks again, I will go with the 768MB version because I don't see the need to update my monitor anytime soon. However, I have purchased some EVGA products in the past and they have been of great quality, so I was wondering if spending the little extra money here would be worth it. The Asus looks like a nice card, but I also want one that is going to be reliable and long lasting.

 

[jyjjy]

Asus definitely makes top notch products as well. Especially if you are going to be overclocking I would definitely lean toward the card I linked because of the great cooling. If not then it doesn't matter too much.