Video cards

[Dansmail26]

I am confused on video cards. I am not a super gamer, just once in a while want to play a game like call Of Duty 2 Modern. I put together an OK system with a AMD Phenom triple core processor and 8 gb of memory. it has a pci x16 slot.
What is an economical video card to use with it? Are the off brand boards that Tigerdirect sells any good?

Gigabyte ga-m68mt mb
amd phenom II x3 2.6 ghz
8 mb ddr3
450w psu

 

[Dansmail26]

I have a 450w psu.

 

[Dansmail26]

Would a card like this work? Also, it's a pc express 2.0 do they also work in a regular pci express x16 slot?
Sorry, real newbie here!

This is $50-
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5639261&csid=_21

EVGA GeForce 9800 GT 1GB GDDR3, HDMI, VGA & DVI
Interface Type: PCI Express 2.0

Interface Speed: x16

Connector(s): DVI
VGA (15-Pin D-Sub)
HDMI

Multiple Monitors Support: Yes

Max. Monitors Supported: 2

Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce

GPU Series: NVIDIA GeForce 9

Lifestyle: Performance

GPU/VPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT

Maximum Resolution: 2560 x 1600

Additional Features: Nvidia PureVideo HD
PhysX by NVIDIA

Maximum Analog Resolution: 2048 x 1536

Maximum Digital Resolution: 2560 x 1600

Memory Type: GDDR3

Memory Interface: 256-bit

Video Memory: 1GB

Stream Processors: 112

Core Clock: 550 MHz

Memory Clock: 1800 MHz

Shader Clock: 1375 MHz

Memory Bandwidth: 57.6GB/sec.

Overclocked: No

APIs: DirectX 10
Shader Model 4.0
NVIDIA CUDA

1080p Support: Yes

Video Output: DVI
HDMI
VGA

Low Profile: No

Cooling Type: Fan

Multi-GPU Support: SLI

Minimum PSU Wattage Requirement: 350 Watt

 

[eleclerc]

I always tell people to buy the same brand video card as motherboard. Nothing confirm us that Asus video card or any company will work at 100%. but want you need, you didnt require full compatibility but a video card to do some gaming

Your PSU is a little bit low in power but some video card do not require a lot of power.

Another thing, you need a 6-pin PCI Express® connector on your PSU, or buy a video card without it.

Use Dansmail26 one, it will run great for you.

 

[Dansmail26]

How about the geforce 9800 I sited above, will that work?

 

[tomskent]

the 9800 card is too old, you want a card that will run Direct X11.
As for a 6 pin pci-express power connector, if you power supply doesnt have one then you can get an adapter (usually video cards come with them) that connects 2 molex plugs to a 6 pin. You can also buy them from a computer store for a couple of bucks.
You missed an important part of asking for hardware, what is your budget!

 

[johnners2981]

I always tell people to buy the same brand video card as motherboard. Nothing confirm us that Asus video card or any company will work at 100%.

I've never heard of any problems compatibility problems with different brand gpus and motherboards, any sources?

 

[dish_moose]

The keep the same brand mentality is well .... BS. There are standards associated with hardware that ensures they play well together. Please tell us the type/model of 450W PSU you have - not all are created equal.
-Bruce

 

[Dansmail26]

-I'll get my invoice out with my ps model and post it.
-I'd like to be under $100.

I called nvidia today and asked a lot of questions. They did tell me the 9800 was a great board and still is for older games, but new ones are using directx11 wich it doesn't support.
They said it was equivalent to their 440 chip set, as long as I had 2 gb of memory on it. It seems like that board is pretty expensive though.

I am confused what to do!

 

[tomskent]

for around $100, get a 6770.
Way better then a 9800 plus it can do DirX11

 

[HVDynamo]

The power supply is first and foremost the most important, like mentioned above not all supplies are made equal and a good 450Watt power supply would be sufficient for most single cards whereas a not so good 450Watt supply may fail under the extra strain. The 6-pin power for video cards is also important for the power supply to have. There are adaptors but usually when adaptors are needed in a situation like yours the power supply is not up to the task. As far as the video card itself is concerned I would simply use this list once we have determined the power supply is solid enough:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997.html

The 9800GT is still a decent DX 10 card. I am still running a 9800GTX which is only a bit faster and I can max out the graphics in Modern Warfare without any issue. Some people are mentioning DX 11, which is nice, but not necessary. All of the Call of Duty games do not use DX 11 and from an article I just read, Modern Warfare 3 will be no different. I would look into the games you want to play and see if DX 11 is really necessary for you if you are actually going to get the 9800GT. All other things considered, it isn't a bad idea to get a DX 11 capable card as it can only increase future compatibility, any card listed in the link I provided above should be DX 11 capable. I hope I have given you enough information to make an informed decision. Good Luck!

 

[HVDynamo]

for around $100, get a 6770.
Way better then a 9800 plus it can do DirX11

This is a good recommendation, it is also likely more power efficient as well.

 

[Dansmail26]

I believe the psu is a Thermaltake brand.

 

[HVDynamo]

I believe the psu is a Thermaltake brand.

Chances are that supply will be more than capable of supplying power to the AMD 6770 that tomskent mentioned. Does it happen to be this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153138

The thing I am most interested in is whether it is 450Watt peak or continuous. A lot of supply manufacturers will market the peak wattage but in reality the continuous power output is somewhat lower. The supply I linked to mentions under features "Stable 450W continuous output (peak power 550W) @ 40 °C operating environment." If it is that supply I would say you are perfectly capable of running any single card inside your budget you mentioned. If it isn't that supply I would need a model number for it to really tell for sure, however thermaltake tends to make good equipment.

 

[Dansmail26]

The supply came with the case (kit from Tigerdirect) so my paperwork doesn't spell out the model number and I haven't had time to take the case apart to look for a model number.
I really appreciate all the help. The chart listing all the gpu's was a great help.

I guess I am going to look for one of the amd boards. I really am trying to only spend around $50, but I don't want to be penny wise pound foolish! I do game so little though. I just bought a Viewsonic 22" 1080p monitor last week, the pic is so great I decided I wanted to game a little again!

 

[Dansmail26]

Best answer selected by Dansmail26.

 

[Dansmail26]

But I am still open to suggestions!

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey