Rekrul wrote:

Sorry I haven't responded to all the suggestions. I started to get confused again, looking at all the different model numbers an […]
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Sorry I haven't responded to all the suggestions. I started to get confused again, looking at all the different model numbers and specs. Then I had major problems with my old system (changed a ScanDisk setting telling it to not check long filenames and it renamed most of the files on my system to their DOS names!) so now I'm using the new one.

A friend recommended an ASUS GT 400;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … #scrollFullInfo

$95 seems like an average price for it, and the reviews are mostly positive.

A couple people mentioned it blanking the screen for a few seconds when it gets hot, which is something I would definitely like to avoid. However many also mention over-clocking it, and I've never really been one to OC. I prefer stability rather than the extra little bit of performance I'll get. Also, many people were running games at high resolutions with all the settings turned up to max, while I'm usually happy playing at 1024x768.

That's a GT 440 , not a 400. Small difference there.

Rekrul wrote:

Being able to turn all the settings to max is nice, but all I really want is for the games to not have major graphical glitches, not to crash and to not lag.

Really now, if you want all these things, then you shouldn't be sticking with a Core 2 Duo.

I can't see why you should spend more than $50-60 at this point (assuming you don't mind waiting for a good sale). Even if you're interested in getting a card that you could feasibly use in whatever your next system might be, by the time you get said system, something feasibly much nicer might be available.

Jorpho wrote:

That's a GT 440 , not a 400. Small difference there.

Yes, I made a typo. It's fixed now.

Jorpho wrote:

Really now, if you want all these things, then you shouldn't be sticking with a Core 2 Duo.

So you're saying that a Core 2 Duo isn't capable of reliably playing games without graphical glitches, stuttering and crashes?

Jorpho wrote:

I can't see why you should spend more than $50-60 at this point (assuming you don't mind waiting for a good sale). Even if you're interested in getting a card that you could feasibly use in whatever your next system might be, by the time you get said system, something feasibly much nicer might be available.

I looked at some cheaper cards and virtually every one had some negative point that turned me off. For example, one said that it used a ribbon cable for the VGA port and people complained that there was interference when using a VGA monitor. Or another that had slower ram, people complained of very low FPS times in games unless they turned the settings way down.

As long as it will work reliably, I'd rather have an over-powered graphics card, rather than save a few bucks and end up with something that can't keep up with the CPU.

As I've said before, I know very little about picking a good graphics card. Every time I find one that sounds good to me, I read reviews and people say that it's crap. I've looked through the suggestions in this thread, but I can't decide.

Rekrul wrote:

Jorpho wrote:

Really now, if you want all these things, then you shouldn't be sticking with a Core 2 Duo.

So you're saying that a Core 2 Duo isn't capable of reliably playing games without graphical glitches, stuttering and crashes?

Glitches and crashes are more a matter of drivers in most cases. (I suppose the newest cards might not have quite as good driver support as older cards, in one sense.) Stuttering is nigh inevitable; that's why games have adjustable settings.

Every time I find one that sounds good to me, I read reviews and people say that it's crap.

That's because it's impossible to please everyone. If you go looking I'm sure you will find plenty of people vociferously declaring that your Core 2 Duo is crap as well.

Rekrul wrote:

Jorpho wrote:

Really now, if you want all these things, then you shouldn't be sticking with a Core 2 Duo.

So you're saying that a Core 2 Duo isn't capable of reliably playing games without graphical glitches, stuttering and crashes?

I wouldn't worry about this too much. I had an overpowered GTX 285 in a C2D E8400 machine and it still manhandled anything I threw at it at 1680x1050. It looks like a GTX 285 still outperforms a GT 440, so there you go, the GT 440 should be fine in that regard. Now, whether or not the GT 440 will perform to your liking, that's another story. 😉

If you want some validation for your choice, Tom's Hardware has the GT 440 listed as one of their "best cards for the money" last month..

Sune Salminen wrote:

One more vote for the GTX 460. Get the 1GB version.

+1

Your power supply has 2x 6pin PCI-E power connectors right? If you have a OEM rig the power supply is going to be your limiting factor in choosing a card unless you plan on replacing it too. What's your power supply?

bushwack wrote:

Your power supply has 2x 6pin PCI-E power connectors right? If you have a OEM rig the power supply is going to be your limiting factor in choosing a card unless you plan on replacing it too.

Aren't there splitters and adapters and whatnot for power supplies lacking such connectors? (Of course, using too many splitters on an underpowered PSU isn't a good idea.)

Jorpho wrote:

bushwack wrote:

Your power supply has 2x 6pin PCI-E power connectors right? If you have a OEM rig the power supply is going to be your limiting factor in choosing a card unless you plan on replacing it too.

Aren't there splitters and adapters and whatnot for power supplies lacking such connectors? (Of course, using too many splitters on an underpowered PSU isn't a good idea.)

Yeah splitters will not help if the power supply is only 400 watts.

bushwack wrote:

Sune Salminen wrote:

One more vote for the GTX 460. Get the 1GB version.

+1

Your power supply has 2x 6pin PCI-E power connectors right? If you have a OEM rig the power supply is going to be your limiting factor in choosing a card unless you plan on replacing it too. What's your power supply?

Unfortunately, my power supply is only 365W and doesn't even have one PCI-E connector on it. 🙁

In fact, other than the motherboard connector, it only has four SATA connectors, and one each large & small molex connectors.

Most of the card descriptions don't even bother to mention how the card is powered. 😕 😠

You'd be surprised what sort of video card you can run off a 365W PSU. It just depends on the quality of the unit and the actual amperage available on the 12V rail. I wouldn't necessarily rule out the GTX460... I ran my GTS250 just fine off a 350W PSU for quite a long time, and it looks like the GTX460 takes about the same amount of power under load.

I'm currently using Core 2 Duo E6300 with HD5670. Works nice, rocks in all the games I play, that would include Skyrim, Risen and Dragon Age: Origins. All works at max. I don't seem to like most of the modern games, so the videocard is perfect for me. Besides, it was worth only $100 and that makes me happy too 😀

The more I read, the more confused I get.

I started out thinking that I just needed to pick a good card for the price. Then I learned that I have to worry about how the card is powered, which seems to be almost impossible to tell before you buy it. Now I discover that I also have to worry about the amperage of my power supply as well.

I literally have no idea what to buy...

Rekrul wrote:

The more I read, the more confused I get.

I started out thinking that I just needed to pick a good card for the price. Then I learned that I have to worry about how the card is powered, which seems to be almost impossible to tell before you buy it. Now I discover that I also have to worry about the amperage of my power supply as well.

I literally have no idea what to buy...

Could you post the specs of your PSU?

Also, I also have the HD5670 and am very happy with it 😀
Though if you buy one, try to get a GDDR5 version instead of the DDR3 version. They cost somewhat more though

He says it's 365W. That's surely enough for a card that doesn't require the PCIe power cable. BTW, the 5670, 6670 and 7670 use the same GPU.

I would guess OP probably has an HP DC7700/7800... 365W is an oddly specific rating for a PSU, and the HP business-class systems are the only ones I know of that use such a thing.

If it is indeed the unit I'm thinking of, it's a good quality Lite-On '80+' efficient unit with two separate 12V rails... IIRC, one is at 12A and the other at 14.5A. That would be more than plenty for a 5770/6770, 7770, GTS450 or GTX550Ti. There should be one regular molex connector in there somewhere, that can be used for hooking up a 6-pin PCIe power adapter.

Technically the PSU should even be able to provide enough power for a GTX460, but the need for two PCIe power connectors would make it troublesome to hook it up.

swaaye wrote:

He says it's 365W. That's surely enough for a card that doesn't require the PCIe power cable. BTW, the 5670, 6670 and 7670 use the same GPU.

Not all PSU's are created equal, but Trashbarg's suggestion could be correct that it's a good PSU.
I didn't know the 5670, 6670 and 7670's used the same GPU 😀

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

I would guess OP probably has an HP DC7700/7800... 365W is an oddly specific rating for a PSU, and the HP business-class systems are the only ones I know of that use such a thing.

You guessed it; It's a DC7700.

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

If it is indeed the unit I'm thinking of, it's a good quality Lite-On '80+' efficient unit with two separate 12V rails... IIRC, one is at 12A and the other at 14.5A. That would be more than plenty for a 5770/6770, 7770, GTS450 or GTX550Ti. There should be one regular molex connector in there somewhere, that can be used for hooking up a 6-pin PCIe power adapter.

I really have no idea how to interpret the ratings on the PS, so I took a photo of it; 😀

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

Technically the PSU should even be able to provide enough power for a GTX460, but the need for two PCIe power connectors would make it troublesome to hook it up.

Yes, there's one molex connector on a very short cable. I'm currently using it to power the second drive from my old system. Once I get the final batch of my Staples Rewards, I'm going to get another internal SATA drive, and then I can just copy the contents of that drive to the new one and free up the molex connector.

Yep, that's the exact PSU I was thinking of. I even remembered the 12V current ratings correctly. So you'd definitely be OK for any of the cards I listed in my previous post.

As for the power connections, you can get molex splitters so you don't have to unhook the hard drive if you don't want to. And then you'd just need one of these things to convert the molex to the 6-pin connector used on graphics cards.

Exactly what I was thinking of. If you don't want to deal with eBay, the various HK shops like DealExtreme.com ought to have similar adapters (and free shipping). The only catch is that it will take a few weeks to arrive – but if you buy them locally, they'll probably cost $10 a piece.

To get a PCIe 6 pin power adapter, just pick a video card that comes with one.

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

Yep, that's the exact PSU I was thinking of. I even remembered the 12V current ratings correctly. So you'd definitely be OK for any of the cards I listed in my previous post.

One thing though; I've been looking at some of those cards on Amazon and when they show pictures of what comes with them, it usually shows a short cable that converts two molex connectors to a 6-pin PCI-E connector.

I only have one molex connector. Of course I could plug a splitter into it, then plug the two ends of the cable into the ends of the splitter, but then I'm basically powering it off one molex connector, not two. If the card would run off one connector, they wouldn't give you a 'Y' cable to connect it to two of them, would they?