EVGA 01G-P3-N959-TR vs. XFX HD-465X-ZDF2 Radeon HD 4650

[ferretmania]

Thanks to all who read this and respond!

I'm finishing my new build for a non-gaming computer to handle MS Office and some light Photoshop and audio and/or video editing and now need to buy the graphics card.

Components purchased:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400S Sandy Bridge
Mobo: ASUS P8P67 PRO LGA 1155
PSU: Corsair 520w
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB)

My finalists are:

(1) XFX HD-465X-ZDF2 Radeon HD 4650 ($55US)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150396

(2) EVGA 01G-P3-N959-TR GeForce 9500 GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130395

I chose these 2 cards because I want dual dvi ports to run extended desktop, low power consumption and quiet operation.

Although I realize that you can run extended desktop on a card with 1 dvi +1 vga, my 2 Viewsonic lcd displays look better with a DVI feed.

I also know that Adobe apps are a better fit with the nvidia chipset, but not sure I do enough Photoshop to matter. Audio editing is ProTools and video editing is Sony Vegas.

Given these specs, is one card a clear price/performance winner over the other!

Also, any advantage in trying to buy a used Radeon HD 4770 for a little extra processing power if I can find one for $70-80?

Again, thanks for your time and advice! [:henry chinaski:9]

 

[wiinippongamer]

I'd go for the 4650 due to being a newer card and thus using less power, performance wise I think they're about the same.

 

[ferretmania]

I'd go for the 4650 due to being a newer card and thus using less power, performance wise I think they're about the same.

Thanks for the quick response. Any thoughts about the wisdom of trying to buy a used 4770 for $70-80US?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220726402447

 

[wiinippongamer]

You could get a brand new 5670 which would perform about the same, With DX11 and using less power.

 

[ferretmania]

You could get a brand new 5670 which would perform about the same, With DX11 and using less power.

Please educate me about the dual monitor capability of this card, which in my case means I can have one app (say email) open on 1 monitor and another app open on the 2nd.

All the top selling 5670 cards on newegg have the following port configuration:


HDMI: 1 x HDMI

DisplayPort: 1 x DisplayPort

DVI: 1 x DVI


My understanding is that you can't simultaneously use the DVI AND
HDMI ports. My LCD's don't have display ports.

How then is it possible to get dual monitor functionality?

On AMD's website for this card, I did see this spec: Integrated dual-link DVI output with HDCP.

What is "integrated dual-link dvi"? And does this allow for diff resolutions on the individual displays?

Again, thanks for your time.

 

[wiinippongamer]

cards mark as Eyefinity ready can run up to 3 monitors off of the same card, like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102870&cm_re=5670-_-14-102-870-_-Product

All 5xxx series cards and above CAN use DVI and HDMI at the same time as far as I know, only if you want to use 3 monitors you'll have to use the displayport no matter what, that's on cards with 4 video outputs.

There are 5 types of DVI connectors:

Single link can go up to 1920x1200, and dual link can go up to 2600x1560.

 

[ferretmania]

cards mark as Eyefinity ready can run up to 3 monitors off of the same card, like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102870&cm_re=5670-_-14-102-870-_-Product

All 5xxx series cards and above CAN use DVI and HDMI at the same time as far as I know, only if you want to use 3 monitors you'll have to use the displayport no matter what, that's on cards with 4 video outputs.

There are 5 types of DVI connectors:

http://img.tomshardware.com/us/2005/11/23/pc_interfaces_101/dvi_types.png

Single link can go up to 1920x1200, and dual link can go up to 2600x1560.

wiinippongamer:

Great illustration of the differences in DVI configuration.

Here's my confusion. My LCD's have DVI-D single link male connectors. To connect 2 monitors to one dvi-i dual link port on the card requires a "y" adapter, no? Like the one below.

But doesn't this setup give you the same image on both monitors?

Not trying to be dense here, but I really don't understand how to get extended desktop with only 1 dvi out. Thanks for being patient with my non-comprehension.

 

[wiinippongamer]

If you use a Y adapter then yes it would give the same image on both monitors, If your monitors don't have HDMI all you have to do is buy an HDMI->DVI or DP->DVI adapter depending on which you want to use, that way you'll be able to configure each monitor independently.

This should work just fine: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189056&cm_re=hdmi_to_dvi-_-12-189-056-_-Product

 

[ferretmania]

Best answer selected by ferretmania.