Looking For a Graphics Card

[jradicle11]

I am currently using the on-board gpu my Gigabyte motherboard has, which is Radeon HD 4200. I'm looking to get a discrete gpu in the price range of $100-170. What I'm looking to get out of a graphics card is the ability to connect to three different monitors, one of which needs to be HDMI. My third monitor, the only one I really need to be HDMI, will be connected to a home theater receiver which is hooked up to an LCD TV and surround sound. The only reason I want it to be HDMI is because I have a few of those ports on the receiver and because I'm hoping it will transfer sound from my PC to the receiver as well. The other two monitors consist of an LG with VGA and DVI ports and a Samsung 26" tv with HDMI, DVI, and VGA. I'm looking for a reputable card with a good warranty and although I don't game much, I watch a lot of movies in 1080p. Also, I might start playing Diablo 3 so I would like something that could support the max graphics settings.

I currently have:

Antec Sonata III Case and 500w Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024

Gigabyte GA-MA785GT-UD3H Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128411

2x4GB G.Skill Sniper RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461

Western Digital Cavier Black 750GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136794

AMD Phenom II x2 3.4GHz Black Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103887

I think that covers all of it. If it makes any difference, I'm planning on adding an SSD ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706 ) and a new CPU ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103935 ).

Thank you

 

[Sunius]

What you need is a flex card. The Sapphire Flex technology lets you output to two screens via DVI and the third screen via HDMI.

At your price range the only Flex card available is HD 6770.

It will be able to max out Diablo 3 at 1920x1080 easily.

That card is out of stock on newegg atm, but I found it was in stock here:
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-DisplayPort-PCI-Express-100328FLEX/dp/B0056J9JAM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338536306&sr=8-1

 

[jradicle11]

So I won't need any Display port adapters, that's nice. Wow, it's quite a bit cheaper on newegg than on Amazon, must be why it's sold out. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Sunius]

Yea I know it's cheaper on Newegg. However, it's sold out and I have no idea when they are gonna stock in. I've search all over the internet and the only place I found it in was Amazon.

You can always email newegg and ask them about it.

$160 is pretty expensive for HD 6770, they usually go for $110-120 range. Other way is is buy a normal card and then buy an active adapter, but those go for $30. I see no point in doing that because you end up paying the same and making it work without an adapter is always more convenient.

 

[jradicle11]

Sounds like the Sapphire Flex cards are the way to go for what I need. That narrowed down my search quite quickly. Thanks for the help!

 

[Sunius]

No problem, glad I helped!

 

[jradicle11]

Are there any other cards capable of three monitors without displayport?

 

[Sunius]

High-end nvidia cards. But they cost $400.

I just figured another solution for you - you could go for two cards - one gaming card, like HD 6770 and another card just for extra monitor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161383
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127601

Each card would support 2 monitors each without Display port adapter.

 

[jradicle11]

Do I need to use crossfire two utilize to cards? How come I can't use my on-board graphics + a card to use three monitors?

I was looking at the FleX 6870 but it is deactivated on newegg and elsewhere, I wonder why.

 

[Sunius]

You can always buy a gaming card and try to see if on board works. It sometimes does, it some times doesn't. Depends on the motherboard. And to use extra monitors, you don't need to crossfire. Crossfire is only needed if you want extra performance for games, but HD 5450 is so weak it wouldn't give any performance boost. It's just good enough for general computer use and monitor outputs.