I am beating a dead horse. But I need help on choosing a graphics card for 1680 x 1050 (resolved)

Ok so I think someone said in another post that for higher resolutions such as widescreen you need more ram in your graphics card.

Then someone said to stear clear of the 8800 gts 340/680 or something like that and go with the 8800 gt superclock with 512.

Let me give you my budget because I have been staring at video cards on newegg all morning and I can't decide. I have gotten lost in what to choose. I see numbers that look higher than other cards and cost less, but those don't seem popular which confuses me.

I am willing to spend $300 so have at it guys. Tell me what is the best bang for my buck.

Please help I don't know what to do.

this help any?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+4018+1305520548+106792522&Configurator=&Subcategory=48&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=


out of that list maby this one but to each his own
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339


whatever you get make sure the mobo and the power supply can support it

When you say Motherboard can support it- You mean the pci express 2.0 x 16 right?

Ok so I opened up the case to check the power supply. It said maxout put 270 watts. That isn't very good is it?

Here is my motherboard model number P5E-VM DO AsusTek

Looking through those cards and prices I would say you should only be considering two cards.

8800GTS 512mb
9800GTX 512mb (which is based of the 8800GTS 512)

Both of these cards will handle that resolution easily and both out perform the older 8800series cards:
8800GTS 320, 8800GTS 640, 8800GTX 768, and 8800GT 512.

The 8800GTS 512 and 9800GTX 512 both compete very well together with the 9800GTX just eeking out a bit ahead in most cases. I say most cases because in benchies it has been shown that the 8800GTS 512 has come out on top by a small margain.

Anyway buy either one of those and you will be happy. Don't even look at the 9600GT because it performs under the 8800GT and thats why the 9600GT is so cheap.

It comes down to cost vs performance. You can buy the 8800GTS 512 for around $239 Vs buying the 9800GTX for around $300.

Check out this review and benchmarks http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/xfx_9800gtx/

Wow nice post. That was really helpful and it cleared up some confusion on my part. I guess I will go with the 8800GTS 512 and save a few
bucks. I can't imagine the extra $70 will make much of a difference in the long run.


Thank you!!!

So far this forum has helped me:

1. Buy 4 gigs of Ram that matches with my Motherboard
2. Identify the graphics card I will go with.


Now can anyone help me solve the one problem I didn't see going into this. As Scotty says, "Captain, I need more power."

Motherboard is Asustek P5e-VM DO 4400 intel Duo. Currently when I pop open the hood I see it says max 270 watt outputt. These cards seem to need 400+. Do I just take a tape measure and order a new power supply?

Ghalandria wrote:When you say Motherboard can support it- You mean the pci express 2.0 x 16 right?

Ok so I opened up the case to check the power supply. It said maxout put 270 watts. That isn't very good is it?

Here is my motherboard model number P5E-VM DO AsusTek

Well that board does support PCIe X16 but I do not think it supports 2.0 but that is ok because 2.0 is backwards compatible with 1.0

Now your PSU is not enough though. You are going to need a bigger PSU.

Did you build this PC or buy it from dell, hp or some other place? I ask this because some companies have special PSU's in their units with non-standard plugs for the board. A regular store bought psu may or may not work.

The 8800GTS 512 requires a PSU that puts out 26-28amps on the +12 line.

Always buy a well known brand name and do not EVER cheap out on the psu. Brands to look at: Antec, Thermaltake, PC power & Cooling, Mushkin, OCZ, Corsair, Enermax to name a few. A good quality 550watt PSU should be your minimum size but make sure the amps on the +12 volt line are high enough.

power supplies are tricky beasts, amps, 12v rails, wattage all these things matter

and

i highly recomend you install your power supply first and turn the pc on before even cracking your gfx card box

but as far was power supplies, i'm not even touching that realm as from what little info i know it sounds like a good 550 with proper jacks for your shiney new card is all you need

if your lucky you might even find one that fits within your stated 70$ budget

but if this helps

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010320058+4026+1230113789&Configurator=&Subcategory=58&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=

then enjoy

but tech geek i am not

Shoot. Looks like the computer is needing a complete overhaul.


The computer was not built by dell. (No dell stickers)

The computer was a gift and I think it was bought online (put together) and shipped to us. I don't know who made it. All it has is an intel core 2 duo sticker on it. I think they spent around 500-600 bucks for the thing, maybe less.

I think I am stuck then. I am afraid to put in a power supply by myself, and I don't want to mess up the CPU.

So I guess I am stuck with my current graphics card Nvidia 8500 GT.

Any suggestions? Should I not buy a card since I need more power and a new Cpu?

I also just wanted to say thanks for all of your efforts. I need a buddy who knows how to do this stuff who lives in my area. Maybe I can bribe one of those geek squad people at best buy to upgrade my pc.

I once watched someone put together a computer for me. But I don't think he connected everything... that computer died 2 years later.

The powersupply is quite easy to swap out. We can help you on here.

I see you live in the Los Angeles area. I'm sure one of us 'tech' guys live near you? I mean I liver in Riverside which is not that far away. I'm sure something can be worked out so you can get some help. I'm willing anyway.

Well I am willing to drive to Riverside or wherever if someone is willing to help me out. Of course I will need to have all the parts ready.

I don't know maybe $40 would be worth someone's time.


Ok well. How do we start?

If it's easy I am going to trust you. How do you find a power supply that fits with your case? I am not sure how to tell you what kind of case I have.

the good thing about pc parts is they are basically standardized, a few photos of the case and maby the powersupply sticker would probably suffice

I am sorry I am getting frustrated because I am so lame I can't even figure out how to post a picture on the forums. This is why I usually avoid forums, I am completely inept.


I am going to go to Best Buy and see what they charge to swap out a power supply. I hope I don't need to upgrade my CPU to be able to use the 8800 GTS 512.

Your CPU should affect your graphics card selection at all. And don't worry about knowing 100% about trolling forums, you'll get the hang of it.

Ok I went to Best Buy. Good news is they only charge $40 for installation of the power supply. I can install the graphics card and Ram myself.


So I just need to go select a power supply. They (think) said that my case uses a standard ATX power supply.

So I just need to find something with 600-700 wats to cover the card and comp.



- Anyone know how to close down threads when you think they are done?-

i'll lock and mark resolved, pm me if you need it back open for some reason