Educate Me

[RiotBricker]

So, after joining the forums this morning the community has be vastly helpful in concluding that my current video card (Nvidia Zotac GeForce GTX 550Ti) is, in some way broken. I can compute normally, and run some games such as Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2.

Other games, However either crash themselves or my entire computer. While I'm super bummed that I purchased a lemon with an abysmal Warranty (required registration within 14 days of purchase) for more than I would have liked to have spent in the first place I've got no clue where to go next or even where to start.

I would like Graphics that will pull me in without the card costing me an arm and a leg but I haven't a clue what makes a graphics card 'Good'.

For instance: I haven't a clue why THIS card is so astronomically cheap (which leads me to believe worse than my current one)

I can see that they have the same amount of memory (although I'm lead to believe DDR5>DDR3)
but they both support 1080p and have an HDMI port (2 of my most important requirements for a video card, as my monitor is a 40" Samsung TV).

Currently I'm running:
Mobo: ASUS M5A97
CPU: AMD Fx 4100
VC: Zotac GeForce GTX 550 Ti
RAM: 4Gb DDR3 1333Hz (Soon to be 16Gb Corsair Vengance 1600 assuming the mail is on time and I haven't made a stupid Rookie mistake in buying incompatible 8gb sticks of RAM)

Please Help.

 

[hero1]

Which card are you currently looking at?

 

[ikaz]

It is worst and memory type is a big issue a very general rule is with in the same generation of a card the higher the model number the better. Your best bet is to tell us your bugdet and we can suggest card. Also not to come down on you again but buying 16gig of memory for a PC that not being used for say video editing etc. is a big waste, 8 gigs is more than enough for gaming.

 

[esrever]

that card is much worse than your current one. If you want to see how cards perform relative to eachother, there is the Graphic Hierarchy chart here on toms.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

the best graphic card for your money article here is pretty good if you just want to have a budget and stick to it.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-2.html

if you want to see how cards stack up for the cost here is a performance/dollar chart
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan/29.html

finally, read warranty information before you buy the card.

 

[Azn Cracker]

Yea dont get that card. Its terribad.

Try this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125451

 

[COLGeek]

So, after joining the forums this morning the community has be vastly helpful in concluding that my current video card (Nvidia Zotac GeForce GTX 550Ti) is, in some way broken. I can compute normally, and run some games such as Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2.

Other games, However either crash themselves or my entire computer. While I'm super bummed that I purchased a lemon with an abysmal Warranty (required registration within 14 days of purchase) for more than I would have liked to have spent in the first place I've got no clue where to go next or even where to start.

I would like Graphics that will pull me in without the card costing me an arm and a leg but I haven't a clue what makes a graphics card 'Good'.

For instance: I haven't a clue why THIS card is so astronomically cheap (which leads me to believe worse than my current one)

I can see that they have the same amount of memory (although I'm lead to believe DDR5>DDR3)
but they both support 1080p and have an HDMI port (2 of my most important requirements for a video card, as my monitor is a 40" Samsung TV).

Currently I'm running:
Mobo: ASUS M5A97
CPU: AMD Fx 4100
VC: Zotac GeForce GTX 550 Ti
RAM: 4Gb DDR3 1333Hz (Soon to be 16Gb Corsair Vengance 1600 assuming the mail is on time and I haven't made a stupid Rookie mistake in buying incompatible 8gb sticks of RAM)

Please Help.

BTW, what make/model of power supply are you using?

 

[RiotBricker]

I'll try to respond in order:

I'm not looking at any card in particular, I'm just unclear what makes one card better than another (other than beef and number of fans).

I'm not dead set on a price range but maybe $150ish(?) I'm watching the Shell Shockers on Newegg (I'd prefer a deal). Speaking of which the reason I picked the 2x8gb up is because it was nearly as cheap as the 2x4gb (Discount Code on top of a Shell Shocker). But I do know it's overkill.

I'll definitely be doing some research and consulting here before I buy anything, thanks for the suggestions!

I was asked about my PSU earlier and told it was sketchy. It's a Cooler Master GX 750w. I'm going to attempt to run my card on another board

 

[RiotBricker]

I found a good deal on the GeForce GTX650 Ti 1Gb for $110 any opinions?

 

[cdrkeen]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/680?vs=541

 

[RiotBricker]

Thanks! I'm curious. Is running 2 cheaper cards in SLI or Crossfire (I don't really have any clue what I'm talking about) something I should possibly consider doing or is a single card the only way to go on my budget?

 

[esrever]

single card is better.

 

[RiotBricker]

Okay, I'll start seriously shopping. The one Azn sent me too has a pretty sweet bonus for buying the card so it may be a good way to go, I'm gonna check out your links real close too esrever, thanks!

 

[RiotBricker]

My old card started giving me more problems so I decided I need to buy now. I bit the bullett and went with the AMD HD 7850, it was more than I wanted to pay but I'm glad to get the games with it. I'm also going to take and buy 2 more sticks of the AMD performance edition RAM to get me up to 8gb so I can sell the RAM I got a good price on, hopefully that'll offset the cost of the card. Here's a link to the new card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150609

I'm sure I'll be happy with it (as long as it turns out to actually be my GPU and not a bad PSU).