Need a good but fairly cheap graphics card

[chazzzjonesss]

okay so i am looking to build a mix of a gaming and school use pc and i need some advice on a good but fairly cheap graphics card. I would prefer one without a fan (a heat sink instead) because i have been told that they last longer and make less noise so if you could find one which is around £100 that would be great.

Here are the parts i am planning on using, i know they are not all designed for gaming but thats because i need one which will last and is good for my school work -

Coolmaster Elite 330 Case with Coolermaster Elite 460W PSU

Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 Socket AM3+7.1 Channel audio ATX Motherboard

Crucial 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz Ballistix Sport Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V

AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95w 1.5MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor

Black 3.5'' Bay Internal Card Reader with SIM and IR

LG GH22NS70 22x DVD + RW with DL & RAM SATA Optical Drive

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2 socket 775, 1156, 1155, 1366, AM2, AM3 heatpipe CPU cooler

Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM Caviar Blue

a few extra details - The processor is a true triple cored machine unlike the core 3 which is a hyper threading processor, i also need 2 strips of memory to work in unganged mode to get the best performance from the motherboard, i dont tend to use segate hard drives as they always seem to be noisy and pack up after 3 years so the one above is a Western Digital.

 

[chazzzjonesss]

i was thinking of using the http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gts-450 because it looks good for gaming but it has a fan which im not sure about :L i mainly wanna using the gaming aspects of the pc for World of Warcraft and other games like that

 

[blistactor]

the gts 450 is actually a really good card for the money, and is the cheapest card on the tech radar best graphics cards of 2012 list (http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/15-best-graphics-cards-in-the-world-today-654141/page:3#articleContent) i would get one myself but unfortunately i can never find them in stores, also i really wouldnt worry about the fan, it really isnt that loud and most likely will run fine for years

 

[metal orient]

For £100 you want to look at a the HD 6850.

You'll be safer with an actively cooled GPU rather than a fanless one, unless you are really into silent PCs. You can still get a quiet system with a fan on the GPU. Hell my 6950 is pretty quiet and it's got a radial fan on it.

 

[blistactor]

For £100 you want to look at a the HD 6850.

You'll be safer with an actively cooled GPU rather than a fanless one, unless you are really into silent PCs. You can still get a quiet system with a fan on the GPU. Hell my 6950 is pretty quiet and it's got a radial fan on it.

agree with the hd 6850 if u can get it dat cheap, otherwise id stick with the 450

 

[chazzzjonesss]

For £100 you want to look at a the HD 6850.

You'll be safer with an actively cooled GPU rather than a fanless one, unless you are really into silent PCs. You can still get a quiet system with a fan on the GPU. Hell my 6950 is pretty quiet and it's got a radial fan on it.

yeah that is a good card but i think i may go with the GeForce GTS 450 as it is a bit cheaper than the HD 6850 but still gives great performance what is your opinion on the GTS 450 if you dont mind me asking?

 

[metal orient]

yeah that is a good card but i think i may go with the GeForce GTS 450 as it is a bit cheaper than the HD 6850 but still gives great performance what is your opinion on the GTS 450 if you dont mind me asking?

Well i know it's a pretty decent card, my mate (who has now upgraded to a 560Ti now) had one and it ran most games pretty well and quiet as well. Seems liek a pretty good deal for £70 but i'd go for the 6850 as it's quite a lot more powerful and only £30 more:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/291?vs=316

You can have a look at what Tom's recommends here:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32400-3.html
But bear in mind they don't keep up with current pricing and the 6850 is about £100 these day not £120

The cheapest i can see in a quick search is £99:
http://www.ebuyer.com/244442-asus-hd-6850-direct-cu-1gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-display-port-eah6850-dc-2dis-1gd5-v2

 

[striker410]

Hi, welcome to the forums.

First off, I see a few issues with your build.
-That CM PSU has to go. Coolermaster PSU's are pretty terrible, I wouldn't want to run my system on one. That 460w is actually a 400w. Get a decent 430w-500w PSU.
-You might consider getting an Intel Pentium CPU, as they are priced similarly but perform far better than an Athlon II x3. Tom's did a bunch of research and found that the G860 and G630 outperform even AMD quads.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-10.html If you go with an Intel Pentium, you can grab a cheaper mobo and drop the CPU cooler as you won't be overclocking. Use that extra money to grab a 6850/70.

Finally, I would choose the 5770/6770 over the GTS 450 as it costs the same but performs better. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/316?vs=296
Of course the 6850 is superior to both.

Hope that helps

 

[Tavo_Nova]

corsair cx430 430w psu is the way to go.

cooler master hyper 212 evo cpu cooler

and if your dead set on an amd system go for it you won't lose much from it either way but if you can spare some case

go with an i3 2100 performs better, less power,

5770/6770 or go 6850/6870 whichever you can find cheaper betweein 6850/6870 let's say for example you find a 70E (sorry don't know how to type your currency) and a 6870 for 99/100E then go with the 6870 it should be a steal price

 

[the_creed4]

definatly go with the 6850, i JUST got it today an dim amazed, can run my games on almost ultra at 1280x1024

 

[chazzzjonesss]

Hi, welcome to the forums.

First off, I see a few issues with your build.
-That CM PSU has to go. Coolermaster PSU's are pretty terrible, I wouldn't want to run my system on one. That 460w is actually a 400w. Get a decent 430w-500w PSU.
-You might consider getting an Intel Pentium CPU, as they are priced similarly but perform far better than an Athlon II x3. Tom's did a bunch of research and found that the G860 and G630 outperform even AMD quads.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-10.html If you go with an Intel Pentium, you can grab a cheaper mobo and drop the CPU cooler as you won't be overclocking. Use that extra money to grab a 6850/70.

Finally, I would choose the 5770/6770 over the GTS 450 as it costs the same but performs better. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/316?vs=296
Of course the 6850 is superior to both.

Hope that helps

Okay i will have a look into some of the stuff you suggested but ive got a few questions if thats okay,

my first one is how do you know its only a 400w? because it says that it is 460w :L

also will the processor i am thinking of getting run games such as World of Warcraft or is it better to get a Intel Pentium one?

would you mind linking me to some of the stuff you described above so i can have a look at it and see the prices please that would really help


THANKS A LOT!!!!

 

[striker410]

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Elite-Power-460-W-Power-Supply-Review/1005/9

Cooler Master Elite Power 460 W is simply an Elite Power 400 W with a new label. The two units are absolutely the same. This is simply unbelievable.

This unit can't deliver its labeled power - like the Elite Power 400 W, it can only deliver up to 420 W.

I'd say that's pretty damning evidence.

I linked a Tom's Hardware article where they found the G630/860 to far outperform all Athlon X3's. I suggest you take a look.

Here's the processor I'm talking about: http://www.ebuyer.com/264715-intel-pentium-g850-2-9ghz-socket-1155-3mb-l3-cache-retail-boxed-processor-bx80623g850 It's 100MHz less than the G860 but there will be no noticeable difference.

And a good PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/271798-corsair-430w-v2-cx-series-psu-cmpsu-430cxv2uk
And a 6850. http://www.ebuyer.com/244442-asus-hd-6850-direct-cu-1gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-display-port-eah6850-dc-2dis-1gd5-v2

 

[chazzzjonesss]

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Elite-Power-460-W-Power-Supply-Review/1005/9

Cooler Master Elite Power 460 W is simply an Elite Power 400 W with a new label. The two units are absolutely the same. This is simply unbelievable.

This unit can't deliver its labeled power - like the Elite Power 400 W, it can only deliver up to 420 W.

I'd say that's pretty damning evidence.

I linked a Tom's Hardware article where they found the G630/860 to far outperform all Athlon X3's. I suggest you take a look.

Here's the processor I'm talking about: http://www.ebuyer.com/264715-intel-pentium-g850-2-9ghz-socket-1155-3mb-l3-cache-retail-boxed-processor-bx80623g850 It's 100MHz less than the G860 but there will be no noticeable difference.

And a good PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/271798-corsair-430w-v2-cx-series-psu-cmpsu-430cxv2uk
And a 6850. http://www.ebuyer.com/244442-asus-hd-6850-direct-cu-1gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-display-port-eah6850-dc-2dis-1gd5-v2

oh okay thanks yeah that is pretty good evidance :L
yeah i looked at the article and it does look a bit better but ive got a few more questions because im knida new to this stuff so im still learning so i want to make sure i know what im buying before i get it :L

you said that if i go with that processor you suggested i can get a cheaper motherboard is there any ones that you would suggest?

and if i do end up getting that processor and a cheaper mobo i can drop the CPU cooler? my computer would run fine without it?

and will these parts you suggested be good for MMORPG games such as world of warcraft?:L

 

[truegenius]

get either hd7750 or hd7770 with fan.

 

[truegenius]

get either hd7750 or hd7770 with fan.

 

[striker410]

This is a pretty good board: http://www.ebuyer.com/266605-asus-p8h61-m-le-usb3-intel-h61-socket-1155-8-channel-hd-audio-matx-p8h61-m-le-usb3-r3-0 Doesn't support Sata3, though. However at this budget an SSD shouldn't be a big concern.

Yes, you can drop the CPU cooler. The CPU will come with one.

Yeah they will take down WoW with ease.