Help with a new card for my system...

Forum Graphics & Displays : Graphics Cards Help with a new card for my system...

Hi all, my system specs:
Mobo: ASUS M4A785-M
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 925 2.8Ghz
4gig RAM
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Specs for my MOBO:
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM2Plus/M4A785M/

Processor Socket: AMD
Processor Interface: Socket AM2+
Form Factor: Micro ATX
Processors Supported: AMD Athlon
AMD Sempron
AMD Phenom
AMD Phenom II
AMD Athlon II
Northbridge: AMD® 785G and SB710 Chipset
Southbridge: SB710
Memory Supported: 1200MHz DDR2 (OverClocking)
Memory Type: DDR2
Maximum Memory Supported: 16GB - 64bit
Max. Memory Supported Per Slot: 4GB
Channels: 8 Channels
Audio Chipset: VT1708S
Video Chipset: ATI Radeon HD 4200
Video Memory: 512MB Share Memory
PCI Slots: 1
PCI Express X1 Slots: 1
PCI Express X16 Slots: 1

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I've been using the on-board video with no real problems since I bought it... but now i'm trying to play a WII Emulator with COD MW3 and it does run but the sound and video get a little choppy when under heavy graphics. So I assume I need a new video card, and because the mobo is Cross-fire ready, I assume this means if I get a Cross-fire card, the onboard graphics and the new card will work together, correct?

I'm not sure about the DDR3-4-5 GDDR and so on... i was just on Tiger.com looking under catagories that would work with this mobo and found this:

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http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] eviewStart
HIS H545H1G Radeon HD 5450 Video Card - 1024MB DDR3, PCI-Express 2.0, DVI, HDMI, VGA

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: ATI Radeon
GPU Series: ATI Radeon HD 5000
Lifestyle: Mainstream
GPU/VPU: RADEON HD 5450
Maximum Resolution: 2560 x 1600
Additional Features: ATI Avivo HD Technology
Maximum Analog Resolution: 2048 x 1536
Maximum Digital Resolution: 2560 x 1600
Video Card Profile: Low Profile
Memory Type: DDR3
Memory Interface: 64-bit
Video Memory: 1GB
Stream Processors: 200
Core Clock: 650 MHz
Memory Clock: 1334 MHz
Overclocked: No
APIs: DirectX 11
1080p Support: Yes
Video Output: DVI
HDMI
VGA
Low Profile: Yes
Cooling Type: Heatsink
Multi-GPU Support: CrossFire-X
Minimum PSU Wattage Requirement: 400 Watt

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Also wanted to note, I use 2 displays, one is a regular LCD monitor that uses either DVI or VGA and the other is a 51" 720p Plasma TV which I use HDMI. I have always used the DVI for the monitor when I did not have the TV, but when I bought the TV and tried to connect the DVI and HDMI, I was not able to switch back and forth between the displays, if HDMI was plugged in it did not see the DVI at all... so I've been running HDMI to the TV and VGA to the monitor because I dont have a choice.

So my questions are, will this card work perfectly with my mobo?
Will they work together to create a super card?
Can I use the DVI and HDMI on this card together (unlike the mobo)?
I did not want to spend over $100 for a card, and from the looks of things on the tiger.com site this is the best one... am I right?

If you say this card will not work with my system, why? And what should I be looking for?

Thank you all!

Message edited by integraoligist on 12-02-2011 at 04:58:01 PM

Reply to integraoligist

Oh yes, I wanted to add that I watch HD movies on the TV through the PC and will be wanting to play the WII Emulator on the TV as well if this makes any difference.

Thanks again!

Reply to integraoligist

Yes it will work.

They won't work together, it's or the on board or the pci-e slot you use.

Don't think you can use both, not sure though.

Newegg is cheaper i believe, cheapest, good one with rebate is 20 bucks.

I would go for something stronger like a HD6670 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150542

But need to know your psu first to give a good advice.

Reply to robjordy

I just bought a new 500w psu, so it's ready to take anything.
I thought the whole purpose of Cross-fire was to support multiple GPU's by combining their power together?

Just searched that card you mentioned and it's here: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] pNo=602622

That card says it's PCI-E 2.1, I didnt think I could use it because the info on the ASUS site says the MOBO is PCI-E 2.0?

Reply to integraoligist

In 99,999999999 % of the cases a 2.1 card will work with a 2.0 mobo. If you had a 1.0 mobo the chances of incompatibility would be greater.

500W should be more then enough for the 6670

Not sure anymore bout what i said about the crossfire, i thought you couldn't do that with the on board, this says it can i think. Only don't see your on board on that chart. http://sites.amd.com/PublishingIma [...] _1618W.jpg

Reply to robjordy

The hybrid crossfire tech to use the onboard with the video card generally does not work well. You will have lots of compatibility issues.

If you look at the toms benchmark charts on the hybred cross fire, most casses the graphics card slows down to meet the on board actually decrease its output.

Best bet is to go with a card like a 6670 or a 6770 and just disable the onboard. You might want to look to see if any of the users of that emulater recomend a video card. You might be able to get by with a less expensive card like a 6450.

Reply to bucknutty

I did talk with the emulator folks, they said pretty much any card will work better then the on-board... so i figure, just in-case i want to do some regular PC gaming, I might as well get a good card.

So if cross-fire is pointless, should I be looking at 2.1 cards?

Reply to integraoligist

Yes, the 6670 or the 6770 will be ok for casual gaming, watching movies etc. and give a good bang for the buck.

Just depends on the bucks you wanne spend.

Your rig could support a gtx560ti or HD 6950 if you wanted, but they are expensive and overdone for your needs.

Reply to robjordy

So 2.0 and 2.1 dosent matter? Just as long as the card is 16x?

The only diffrence I see between the 6450, 6670 and 6770 is the Core Clock and Memory Clock...

The Core Clock is about 50 to 200mhz faster on each, but the big difference is the Memory Clock speed of 1000 to 1600 to 4800mhz.

Are these speed what I should be looking at and are the main difference in cards / price?

Reply to integraoligist

2.1 should work in a 2.0, no problem. They even work with 1.1, only 1.0 is risky i believe.

Clock speeds etc. don't say everything, it's also about cuda cores/streaming processors, memory bandwith, the processor itself ( how it's build ) and some other things i can 't remember . . . :whistle:

For a clear ( theoraticly ) comparison you can use the site hwcompare, you'll see the difference in the things mentioned above.

Reply to robjordy

Like this for example ; http://www.hwcompare.com/10279/rad [...] n-hd-6770/

Reply to robjordy

Thanks for the link,
Not that I have a better understanding of what I'm looking at I've came across these 2 pieces:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] DIS%2f1GD5
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] %20100327L

Now the specs say the Core clock is faster on the ASUS by 100mhz but the stream processors are 240 more on the Sapphire...
According to the link you posted above, the Sapphire is 81% better pixel rate and a 36% higher texel rate then the ASUS.

But does the ASUS trump the Sapphire because of the quality of the board?

Reply to integraoligist

Board quality is pretty much the same, if you mean how it's build and material use etc.

It just a faster processor and streaming thingies ( gotte stop, been on the pc to long, now i even can't remember how those stupid things are called :pt1cable: , the difference is in this info ; 6750 ; 720 SPUs as well as 36 Texture Address Units and 16 Rasterization Operator Units. 6670 ; 480 SPUs, 24 TAUs, and 8 ROPs.

Reply to robjordy

so for $5 more... Sapphire is the way to go then

It also says it has AMD Eyefinity, now i'm not looking to have 3 monitors side by side, I'm just interested in having my LCD monitor in use working on something (using DVI connection) while also watching a movie on the TV (HDMI)

Can I use this to run both at the same time with totally different resolutions?

The current onboard will do both VGA and HDMI at the same time (not DVI and HDMI) but the resolution needs to be the same, which screws up either one or the other.

Reply to integraoligist

Don't know about that i'm afraid. Eyefinity and stuff is a mystery to me.

Reply to robjordy

Yes you can mix and match resolutions with extended desktop. Eyefinity combines the 2 screens into one big screen, so they have to have matching resolutions.

Reply to bucknutty

Great, but what about using the HDMI and DVI at the same time, is it capable of doing this?

Reply to integraoligist

The 5000 series and 6000 series can have 1 HDMI and 1 DVI mixed in any way you can imagine. So you can have dvi going to monitor at 1280x1024@60hz using onboard sound, and hdmi going to the tv at 1920x1080@ 120hz using the on video card sound through the HDMI. This would be an extended desktop. You can do excel and e-mail on the monitor and watch a dvd or avi on the tv.

Reply to bucknutty

great! Thanks guys for the help!

Reply to integraoligist

Reply to robjordy

Well, just went through a few more cards and found this XFX 6770 for $5 more then the Sapphire 6750... plus the Lifetime warranty.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] eviewStart

You guys are $5ing me to death here!

Now it says you can have upto 4 monitors going at once, most monitors I see are just DVI, but there are only 2 DVI ports on the card.... how do you utilize 4 monitors?

Message edited by integraoligist on 12-03-2011 at 04:57:05 PM

Reply to integraoligist

Thats a nice card. Most monitors today have DVI and HDMI. That funky port on the far left is a display port. It is new tech and only newer expensive monitors have a display port. Depending on the actual card layout in order to use 4 or 6 monitors you have to use Eyefinity you often need display port monitors because those can be daisy chained. So one wire from he card to monitor 1. Then a wire from monitor 1 to monitor 2 and so on.

You have to read the actual desciption of the card or maybe even the specs on the websie because even though there are 2 DVIs and HDMI you may not be able to use all 3 at once.

This card would fit your frst question rather well. Monitor on DVI and TV on HDMI.

Reply to bucknutty