What Graphics Card To Buy??

[Makaveli84]

Hello,
I am building a new system, and i'm on a tight budget. Here are my specs:

- Intel i3 3 Ghz.
- 4GB DDR3.
- 1 x 250GB Sata 7200 rpm HDD (my current disk).
- 1 x 500GB Sata 7200 rpm HDD (new disk).
- 1 DVD-RW Combo + 1 DVD/CDW Combo.
- CoolerMaster case with an Elite CoolerMaster PSU (rated at 460W, actually outputs 400W, with 18A on each of the two 12V rails, efficiency = 70%).
- Windows 7 64-bit.

Now i need some advice about what graphics card to buy, knowing that i will be gaming on a 19" LG W1934S monitor (1440 x 900 16x10 resolution).
I am interested in having max performance with the least power consumption possible. To narrow it down, here are the cards within my price range:

- ATI 5550 (2GB DDR2)
- ATI 5550 (1GB GDDR5)
- ATI 5570 (1GB GDDR5)
- ATI 5670 (1GB GDDR5)
- Geforce GT240 (1GB DDR3)
- Geforce GTS 250 (1GB DDR3)
- Geforce GT430 (1GB DDR3)
- Geforce GTS450 (1GB DDR5)

Now i know that my PSU won't cut it for some of the mentioned cards, but i'm really not sure about this part (what cards need what PSU specs). That being said, my goal is to achieve decent, smooth and comfortable gaming at the mentioned resolution, and i am willing to upgrade my PSU, but only if absolutely needed (problem is that the cheapest PSU upgrade possible would cost me an additional 55$ for a 500W~550W PSU).
So to sum it up, i am looking for the best combination possible of card + psu for my display resolution, which i don't intend to change anytime soon. Oh, and DX11 would be a plus, but not a must.

Waiting for your advice.. Thanks in advance!

 

[wiinippongamer]

Your PSU should be enough for any of those cards except the gts250.

Go for the gts450 if you can afford it, if not second best choice would be the 5670.

 

[Makaveli84]

Well, the gts450 is considerably more expensive than the other cards.. Now i will be perfectly happy to shell out the dough only if it will work with the 400W PSU (which btw amounts to a combined 25A~26A on the 12V rails). So any confirmation regarding this?

 

[wiinippongamer]

It should work fine with that psu.

 

[Makaveli84]

Well, the salesperson at the retail store has me all confused now.. He says i need a more powerful PSU for the GTS450 as it draws as much or even more power than the GTS250..

 

[mrjericho1991]

1st choice from me will be gts 450,2nd will be gts 250,3rd will be hd 5670.

 

[Digital Dissent]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131330&cm_re=hd_5770-_-14-131-330-_-Product
hd 5770^^...faster than the 5600 or the 450 series. If you want to play crysis and mass effect etc, you need to consider a card like this. Those games are far from light weight. The 5770 is highly efficient and cheap but respectably powerful for its price.

 

[Makaveli84]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131330&cm_re=hd_5770-_-14-131-330-_-Product
hd 5770^^...faster than the 5600 or the 450 series. If you want to play crysis and mass effect etc, you need to consider a card like this. Those games are far from light weight. The 5770 is highly efficient and cheap but respectably powerful for its price.

Well, where I live, the 5770 is not really cheap, so it's not an option for me..

Saphire Radeon 5770 = 242$ U.S
Saphire Radeon 5750 = 210$ U.S
Saphire Radeon 5670 = 161$ U.S
Saphire Radeon 5570 = 147$ U.S

Inno3D Geforce GTS 450 = 197$ U.S
Inno3D Geforce GTS 250 = 151$ U.S
Inno3D Geforce GTS 430 = 113$ U.S

For me, the 5670 is probably the way to go.. Maybe the GTS 450, but that would be over stretching my budget.
Now i've confirmed that both will run on the PSU i mentioned, it's only a question of whether the gts 450 will give me a noticeable boost over the 5670 or not on my 19" 1440 x 900 native resolution..

Waiting for some more opinions for my specific resolution, since all benchmarks i stumble upon are general for all resolutions.

 

[wiinippongamer]

5670 will run on your PSU without problems.

GTS450=5750=GTS250 and 5670=9800gt, so there will be a noticeable difference in gaming performance, I'd say go for the 450 if you can afford it.

As for the benchmarks 1440x900 is very similar to 1280x1024, those you have to look at.

 

[Makaveli84]

Ok, here's where i'm at right now: torn between the gts 450 and the 5750..

Any advice? I've probably searched the entire world wide web but the results were inconclusive. Which is the better card between the gts 450 and the 5750, both 1 GB DDR5, no overclocking??

BTW, performance for older and current DX10 games is my primary concern, even though i am decided to get a DX11 capable card for future proofing (at least 2 years). So for me, the card that performs better on DX10 would be the way to go..

Waiting for your help guys.

 

[17seconds]

 

[Makaveli84]

Is it possible to know beforehand if the GTS 450 will be "overclockable" or not, and if it is, what would i require in PSU power to give it a moderate overclocking boost?

 

[17seconds]

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gts-450-review-roundup/

Measured power consumption (reference card)
Advertised GeForce GTS 450 TDP =106W
System in IDLE = 172W
System Wattage with GPU in FULL Stress = 275W
Difference (GPU load) = 103 W
Add average IDLE wattage 18W
Subjective obtained GPU power consumption = ~ 121 Watts
Mind you that the System Wattage is measured from the wall socket and is for the entire PC, the final measured TDP remains an estimate.

Our test system is based on a power hungry Core i7 965 / X58 based. This setup is overclocked to 3.75 GHz. Next to that we have energy saving functions disabled for this motherboard and processor (to ensure consistent benchmark results). On average we are using roughly 50 to 100 Watts more than a standard PC due to higher CPU clock settings, water-cooling, additional cold cathode lights etc.

Recommended Power Supply
Here is Guru3D's power supply recommendation:
GeForce GTS 450
On your average system the card requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit.

Based on our experiences we feel it's safe to say that you can gain the following overlock fairly easily.

Original Core Clock: 783MHz
Shader Clock: 1566Hz
Memory Clock: 1800MHz (x2)

Estimated safe overclock
Core Clock: 900MHz
Shader Clock: 1800Hz
Memory Clock: 2000 MHz (x2)

 

[mrjericho1991]

i would suggest a hd 4870 now,if its available in your country,but you will need psu upgrade also.however you need to get gts 450 if you donot want to upgrade supply.

 

[hitec16]

GTS 450 is what everyone will recommened and ur PSU will barely manage to run it when ur gaming so dont expect much or any Ocing

 

[jyjjy]

The HD5750 is quite low power and not far behind the GTS 450 in performance if you are concerned about the PSU. That said the GTS 450 should work and looks to be a better deal where you are. If you give it an OC you may want to keep it at the reference voltage as that is what has the most effect on power draw.

 

[Makaveli84]

Thx for the help everybody. GTS 450 is what i will get. I will leave it at reference for now, and probably upgrade my PSU and OC the card later on down the road.
Again, thx everyone, you've been very helpful!

 

[Makaveli84]

Oh, btw, how do you mark the thread as "Solved" on this forum?

 

[Mousemonkey]

Oh, btw, how do you mark the thread as "Solved" on this forum?

You can only do that if you opened the thread as a question but you opened this one as a discussion.

 

[wiinippongamer]

and how can one decide if it's a question or discussion thread?, I just put the title and section and it seems to select whether it's question or discussion randomly

 

[lt1z350]

I got my ultra 550 watt for 38 bucks at compusa.Get your self a hookup that you can get to buy stuff here in the states cheap and mail it to u . I would be willing to help u out but of course something in return trades can be good going both ways. If you can get it shipped just order it from them if not can look in store and see what is left at 15% off and let u know but would have to see what shipping from florida to u would be and see if still a good deal.

 

[Makaveli84]

You can only do that if you opened the thread as a question but you opened this one as a discussion.

I get it now, thanks.

and how can one decide if it's a question or discussion thread?, I just put the title and section and it seems to select whether it's question or discussion randomly

When you start a new topic, there are 3 tabs above the title box where you can decide what kind of thread it is.

I got my ultra 550 watt for 38 bucks at compusa.Get your self a hookup that you can get to buy stuff here in the states cheap and mail it to u . I would be willing to help u out but of course something in return trades can be good going both ways. If you can get it shipped just order it from them if not can look in store and see what is left at 15% off and let u know but would have to see what shipping from florida to u would be and see if still a good deal.

Well, i already have some relatives and friends over in the U.S. and i do buy stuff like books and CDs (that i can't find here) from over there. But regarding electronics, with the warranty considerations and all, i usually prefer to buy them locally. Anyways, thx for your help.