What Graphics card would you recommend?

[adiamant11]

I have the z68ap-d3 Gigabyte mother board and an i7 processor. I also have the thermaltake v4 case and a 750watt power supply. I need a graphics card that can run dual monitors. I need it to be cheap but effective. I DO NOT GAME ON IT. I use my computer for music and for photoshop/website design. Thank you for your help.

 

[jryan388]

Photoshop CS5 I think has Cuda acceleration, which means a half decent graphics card could speed it up. You just have to go into options and set the mercury engine to use the GPU. I think the gt 440 would be a good starting point. It's cheap too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134135
$50 after rebate, you're not going to find many cards cheaper.

It supports dual monitors for sure, as every card in the last few years does. Some support 3 to 6 monitors even.

EDIT: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/adobe-cs5-cuda-64-bit,2770-3.html
looks like that card isn't officially supported by nVidia, but can be hacked to be used.


I'd recommend a better card, though, if you want to speed it up a lot. For $110, gts 550 ti. For $200, gtx 560 or 560 ti. For 250, gtx 560 ti 448 core. For $320, gtx 570.

 

[amuffin]

6670

 

[jryan388]

6670

Get nVidia for CS5 cuda acceleration

 

[adiamant11]

Awesome thank you for your help. I have never heard of the brand you selected on newegg. Do they build good cards? Should I go for a different brand? Again thank you for helping me out.

 

[Kronk42583]

6670 is the way to go for sure. Awesome value card. Super cheap, dual monitors, some brands 6670s can do three I believe. Super cheap. Can run some games if you need to. Don't bother with graphics accelerated rendering like cuda. Not worth it. Ssd may show some improvement too.

 

[jryan388]

6670 is the way to go for sure. Awesome value card. Super cheap, dual monitors, some brands 6670s can do three I believe. Super cheap. Can run some games if you need to. Don't bother with graphics accelerated rendering like cuda. Not worth it. Ssd may show some improvement too.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/adobe-cs5-cuda-64-bit,2770-12.html

need I say more?

Mind, it's not going to make a huge improvement in all aspects, but considering how close it is to the AMD cards it seems like the obvious choice.

 

[jryan388]

Awesome thank you for your help. I have never heard of the brand you selected on newegg. Do they build good cards? Should I go for a different brand? Again thank you for helping me out.

It's a pretty cheapo brand, but that's a pretty low-end card. It doesn't need a good cooler and will be stressed less. If you want a 570, I'd go with a more well-known brand.

Please, don't get a 6670. There is absolutely no advantage to getting an AMD card that good since you don't game. I'd recommend max a 5450 AMD because it's soo cheap. Like 1/3 the price. And you won't notice the difference if you don't game. If you don't want to go the nVidia route with CUDA acceleration, that's what I'd recommend - a Radeon 5450.

 

[adiamant11]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125366

What about the gigabyte version of that card? The reason is the fan sound but im not sure how the quality is between the two.