Video card - need help picking the best one out of this list...

Spades22

Spades22

CAGiversary!
Well theres a few video cards I can buy here...but I don't know which one to get. Basically what I'm looking for is the best performance, graphics come 2nd. I guess I'd be looking mainly for PCI/PCI-E but maybe AGP. This comes with windows vista/xp...and I might end up building a comp. so I'm not sure about the specs yet. Anyway, thanks in advance, but which one here is the best...and how much better is it than the others?:

- ATI Radeon X1600 PRO 512MB PCI-Express - $150
- ATI Radeon X1650 PRO 512MB PCI-E/AGP - $130
- ATI Radeon X1950 PRO 256MB PCI-E - $150
- ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 256MB PCI-E -$100
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO 256MB PCI-E -$150
- GeForce 8500GT 512MB PCI-E - $90

- The last one is a ATI Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB PCI-E for 200$...which is more than I want to spend really unless its ALOT better than the rest shown above.

So...which one of these is the best? I'd prefer to spend as little as possible...bujt I want good performance for my PC. Thanks.
 
ok well I've tried the X1600 and it worked quite well...so then I guess the X1950 is better than the 1600 even with it having 256MB less? The 1600 says 512MB DDR2 memory and the 1950 says GDDR4 memory and dual 400mhz...whatever that all means lol.

I want faster gaming speed (less pc lag) mainly....(And I wish I had a 2900XT lol...but I don't want to spend that much)

so then the 1950 is the best from that list? XD


I was also surprised at the cheap GeForce card though....I thought 7300GTs were 100 bucks Canadian and isnt the 8500 a lot better?
 
- ATI Radeon X1950 PRO 256MB PCI-E - $150

I'm an Nvidia fan but my friend has this card and it runs just as good (and sometimes better) than my 7900GS OC. I love those $100 - $150 range cards. Great deals and mine plays the Bioshock demo maxed at 30FPS. Now that's bang for buck.
 
Ok awesome. These are Canadian deals too...so if the newegg USA prices are even more, it must be a good deal. BTW Moxio...don't know what you mean but I said the X1950 was a PCI-E (nvm just saw its 512mb...but I cant order there from Canada anyway). Hopefully they still have the X1950 256mb in stock when I go....if not is there anything else thats a pretty good deal?

Actually thanks for the link...thats exactly what I was looking for before. Looks like the X1950 is a darn good card for the price I can get it at right now. According to that tier...it says its not really worth upgrading a card unless its 3 tiers higher...so thats basically one of the best cards you can buy right now. Didn't expect it to be that high...but I'm DEFINITELY getting it if I can.

Thanks all :D
 
Actually I decided to build a computer....so could you guys maybe help me pick out the other parts too that are a good price for my money? I want to keep this comp. under like 700 American... or 800 Canadian not including the monitor. I was thinking:

-2GB ram - any good brand, or is it all the same?
-windows xp...or vista?...btw is it easy to install windows myself?
- AMD athlon 4800+ Processor ... I heard its a good one. Is intel better or...
- Motherboard...don't know much about this. I guess one with a PCI-E slot, but besides that does this matter much?
- Power supply....er...don't know much about this either. As long as it powers my pc i guess lol

....and what else does it take to make a PC? I'm not actually putting it together myself, just maybe getting some of the parts.

Could I get all this for around 800 Canadian with shipping? (not necessarily tax). If not...what should I downgrade? I just want to play a decent amount of games.
 
RAM from different brands are basically the same if you're not overclocking or benchmarking. If I had to recommend one, it would be Corsair (I use Patriot, however). Just make sure they're DDR2 and work with your motherboard

XP vs. Vista... Depends. Depends on what you want to run/play, how much money you want to spend on an OS. If you don't already have XP anywhere, I'd just get Vista Home or something. Installing Windows is like installing any application.

Right now, go for Intel Core 2 Duo processors... they outmatch the X2s

For motherboard, just get one that fits your needs. Like PCI-E or AGP slots, number of PCI slots, have SATA, IDE ports, USB 2.0, Firewire (IEEE 1394), its form factor (ATX, MicroATX, etc), and then read reviews or benchmarks if you're looking for overclocking. If you're going to get a Core 2 Duo processor and you don't need overclocking, I would recommend getting an Intel branded motherboard since they're really stable out of the box

For power supply just get a nice 500W to 600W one
 
Ok well I was initially thinking XP because I heard games run slower on Vista since it requires 2 gb just to run...but I don't know if thats right. So what would be a good intel processor that would be better than and I guess similar priced to something in my price range? I know athlon processors pretty well...but Intel i've never really looked at. Also I'm assuming PCI-E would be the best choice for a motherboard, right? ...and 1 PCI-E slot should do it? I'm not sure what the other stuff means...SATA, IDE, USB 2.0, FIREWIRE, form factor...is all that necessary? If only some of it is...which parts will give me the best performance for my PC?
 
Be sure to get...

...a CASE.

These normally come with built-in power suppies. Like Oktoberfest said, you need a nice one, don't skimp out on the power supply.

And you need a hard drive too. :p
 
Actually the Radeon X1650 is 256MB DDR3...is DDR3 better than DDR2? I noticed someone said make sure the ram is DDR2...so ya. What does DDR mean anyway...
 
I just threw some things together on newegg just to help you get a feel for what you need to put a PC together.

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - You said you already have a case but I added this one if yours is too small or just doesn't look cool enough.

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822144417- As long as you get a drive with SATA 3.0GB/s and 16MB cache, all you have to worry about is how much space you need.

HIS Hightech H195PRF256DDN-R Radeon X1950PRO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102064- You seem to have chosen this kind of card anyway.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814143070

COOLER MASTER eXtreme RP-500-PCAR ATX from factor 12V V2.01 500W Power Supply - Retail - Plenty of power for the PC you'll be building and I've never had a problem with my Cooler Master PS.

Patriot 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PDC22G5300LLK - Retail - Good brand, fast memory and a great deal with the mail in rebate.

EVGA 122-CK-NF66-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - I have this board and I love it. PCI-E, 4 USB, 4 SATA, etc.

Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Allendale 2.0GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E4400 - Retail - The E4400 adds 200Mhz for only $4 more than the E4300. These chips run very fast and very cool. So it'll be no problem if you ever feel like overclocking.

Totals $635.84 before $105 in rebates.

I'm not sure if being in Canada will affect any of the rebates as I've never had to worry about that.

Edit: I missed the DVD drive.

LG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model GSA-H54NK - OEM - Pretty good newegg reviews, good price. - $28
 
Sweet thanks...umm can Canadians actually order stuff from newegg? i didn't think so...but it'd be great if I could. How much more would it cost me do you think? Great deal too and seems like a great pc. Is 2GB enough for Vista...?

On the front page though the Nvidia motherboard you have seems to have some pretty bad reviews (only 55% give it 5 stars)...so i'm kinda scared about that one lol
 
[quote name='Spades22']On the front page though the Nvidia motherboard you have seems to have some pretty bad reviews (only 55% give it 5 stars)...so i'm kinda scared about that one lol[/QUOTE]

Plus, it doesn't have any pretty colors on it.
 
colors...on a motherboard? O_O Anyway that pc looks great to me, great price and all...just uneasy about the motherboard. If anyone has any other good cheap alternatives thats great...or thinks they can improve that computer suggestion at all. Oh ya and...well I could basically care less what my comp looks like...as long as it works good. It could be hot pink with green neon flames for all I care :p

Actually Spread posted that list...and said he could play the bioshock demo at 30FPS maxed so if everyone thinks thats the best computer I can get for that price I'll go for it. Spread do you have vista or XP? I want to sooner get vista...I'm just not sure if it lags me because of the 2GB requirement. Will I need 3 gigs if I go vista?
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128012

My motherboard, and it's beyond awesome. It has 4 eggs, like the other motherboard posted, but you'll have to actually read the cons in the reviews to see that they're nitpicking over little things, not really the quality of the board. I see a bunch that say "lack of manual" and stuff like that. I, for one, received my manual and screws that a lot of people say they were missing, so I'm not sure.

The one that Spread posted has a bunch of DOA's and broken things in the reviews.

EDIT: And it has pretty colors.
 
[quote name='red flare graf']http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128012

My motherboard, and it's beyond awesome. It has 4 eggs, like the other motherboard posted, but you'll have to actually read the cons in the reviews to see that they're nitpicking over little things, not really the quality of the board. I see a bunch that say "lack of manual" and stuff like that. I, for one, received my manual and screws that a lot of people say they were missing, so I'm not sure.

The one that Spread posted has a bunch of DOA's and broken things in the reviews.

EDIT: And it has pretty colors.[/QUOTE]
Couple of notes/concerns about that motherboard.

1. Don't get it from newegg.
Newegg does not guarentee revision numbers. The latest revision of that board adds support for the new 1333fsb, and potentially the new Intel line of processors. The latest revision (r3.3 i believe but 3 or higher is fine) is what you want. No point in settling for less.

2. The "D" is essentially a useless feature. If you can find the S3 for cheaper get that instead.

3. While the revision 3 does add 1333fsb functionality, the only (as far as I know) officially confirmed boards to support the new Intel line of processors is the P35 chipset based motherboards. These P35 boards are of comprable price to the P965s, though both are good boards and both are good for overclocking if you're into that.
 
lol crystal I don't know what you're talking about at all with D, S3, 1333fsb, P965, etc. Hmmm well not sure what motherboard to get then. I'm hoping to order everything tomorrow, so if you guys have recommendations on anything to change with the PC Spread mentioned...or go AMD instead of intel...or a better motherboard or whatever, then reply fairly quickly :D

Oh ya so actually I read that a couple times and pieced some things together so I kinda get what you're talking about. Basically everything except the D and S3. Is that a necessity really or what does it help. Oh ya and for overclocking Im not really into that yet. Maybe in the future, but not this year probably.So I guess the P35 would be a better choice then...

Thanks
 
[quote name='Spades22']lol crystal I don't know what you're talking about at all with D, S3, 1333fsb, P965, etc. Hmmm well not sure what motherboard to get then. I'm hoping to order everything tomorrow, so if you guys have recommendations on anything to change with the PC Spread mentioned...or go AMD instead of intel...or a better motherboard or whatever, then reply fairly quickly :D

Oh ya so actually I read that a couple times and pieced some things together so I kinda get what you're talking about. Basically everything except the D and S3. Is that a necessity really or what does it help. Oh ya and for overclocking Im not really into that yet. Maybe in the future, but not this year probably.So I guess the P35 would be a better choice then...

Thanks[/QUOTE]
Well, you see how the mobos here are something along the lines of GA-P965-DS3? The GA is the company (gigabyte in this case, a highly reputable company), the P965 is the chipset that the mobo uses (P965 is a little older than P35 but quality is comprable except for the 1333fsb thing.), and the DS3 is basically the version of the board. The D in DS3 is gigabyte's "extra durable" motherboard. Essentially its a useless feature, because unless you're jumping up and down on the silly thing when you're trying to put your CPU or Memory in, the standard S3 is more than enough for you.

I personally bought the GA-P35-S3 along with the lower yet highly overclockable E4400 CPU so that when Intel's new line comes out, I can just upgrade to a mid-range CPU.
 
$130 - Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35

$205 - CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz

$70 - RAM: Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

$115 - Video card: HIS Hightech H195PRF256DDN-R Radeon X1950PRO 256MB

$60 - Power Supply: Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU ATX 12V 2.0 500W

$80 - Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
____________________

Total: $660 + shipping + tax.

That's about what you're looking at for $700 USD. Of course you can downgrade your motherboard to this with the sacrifice of no RAID if you prefer. That CPU is really good on price/performance ratio, and perhaps there are better Power Supplies out there for the price. All in all these are the things I drew up in 15 mins. You shouldn't have a problem finding those parts at a Canadian site.
 
how about the fans and stuff...and burners etc. And one thing I keep forgetting is that I need to buy Windows I guess...which is fairly pricey too.
 
[quote name='Spades22']Actually Spread posted that list...and said he could play the bioshock demo at 30FPS maxed so if everyone thinks thats the best computer I can get for that price I'll go for it. Spread do you have vista or XP? I want to sooner get vista...I'm just not sure if it lags me because of the 2GB requirement. Will I need 3 gigs if I go vista?[/quote]
I use XP. I play too many older games and nothing about the Vista UI is making me want to switch. When I get a DX10 card, I'll upgrade to Vista.

2GB should be enough, even for Vista. By the time you need more you'll be able to buy 2x1GB for dirt cheap.

[quote name='Spades22']how about the fans and stuff...and burners etc. And one thing I keep forgetting is that I need to buy Windows I guess...which is fairly pricey too.[/quote]

The case I posted has a nice 120mm fan in the front and lots of cases have these.

The cooling for Core 2 CPUs is very effective. Many users have OCed their 2Ghz CPUs to as high as 3Ghz with stock cooling. So you don't need to worry about CPU cooling.
 
easily the x1950 pro. The other comparable card is the 8600 gts or 7900gs. Both can be found for a similar price.

I might go with 8600 gts as it might run better in newer games than the x1950 pro, but still does nearly as good in older dx9 games.

Also consider a 8600gt which can be had for $100 on Newegg. You can get a XFX overclocked one on Newegg with Lost Planet for $120 AR. The 8600gt is slower than a x1950pro or 8600gts, but it will probably work fine at lower resolutions.

Motherboard? There's a Gigabyte with P35 Intel chipset for $95. I'd combine that with an E4300 cpu. YOu should be able to overclock it at least enough to equal a $200 cpu if not faster. IT's only $120.
 
how about monitors? Is there anything to look for in a monitor? I noticed some have 2ms, some 5ms, some 8, etc. Which is the best one to get?

Lots of monitors I've seen/bought are crappy and are never really clear. I've had this trouble with samsung especially...but HP monitors have always been perfect. Now if I could just find a good deal on one lol
 
I have a 20" ViewSonic. I think it's 5ms. It works great and looks very crisp. I got it refurbished for $150.

Acer is known to have cheap monitors but I think they are still fairly good quality. My dad likes his 22' Acer.
 
I can't stand Acer...I've had extremely bad experience with their computers too... Viewsonic looks good though. I'll give them a shot...so is 5ms the best? Or what does the ms mean anyway? The lower the better?

Also, I'm just curious...but why is intel core 2 better than amd athlon x2? The AMD cards I've looked at are generally cheaper priced with higher base GHZ and cache shown. Like...an AMD 5000+ is 170$ here in Canada, while the intel e4400 core 2 is also 170$. But the AMD has 2.6ghz with 1 gb cache and the e4400 has 2.0ghz shown. Would the intel still be the better buy?

I also found a motherboard for athlon processors with 2 pci-e slots, 4 slots for ddr2 ram, 4 sata, 4 or 8 usb...for 120$ CDN. The one review was good, but that seems like a good deal. The company is MSI...but I can go like 30 bucks higher and get an Nvidia if you think thats a lot better, even though the reviews kinda stink.

BTW whats SLI/crossfire for on the motherboard anyway...I can save like 50 bucks if I dont get SLI...
 
[quote name='Spades22']I can't stand Acer...I've had extremely bad experience with their computers too... Viewsonic looks good though. I'll give them a shot...so is 5ms the best? Or what does the ms mean anyway? The lower the better?[/QUOTE]

You can read about what "Response Time" is here. It'll tell you what the ms mean. Generally 5ms is a good LCD for gaming, 2ms is even better. Viewsonic is a good company; I have 2 of their 20" LCDs. Very solid.

[quote name='Spades22']Also, I'm just curious...but why is intel core 2 better than amd athlon x2? The AMD cards I've looked at are generally cheaper priced with higher base GHZ and cache shown. Like...an AMD 5000+ is 170$ here in Canada, while the intel e4400 core 2 is also 170$. But the AMD has 2.6ghz with 1 gb cache and the e4400 has 2.0ghz shown. Would the intel still be the better buy? [/QUOTE]

Not all Core 2 Duo are better than AMD Athlon. In your case, it is likely that the 5000+ is better than the E4400, according to this chart. Core 2 Duo really shines with its top of the line, like E6750/E6850, and the quad cores. While it's true that you can overclock E4400 to match the performance of higher end CPUs, for you, it is not recommended. GHz doesn't really mean much anymore; before it was a MHz battle, now it's how they perform in real world situation that counts (I don't have a technical explanation). So I would stick with the best Intel CPU you can buy, hopefully something along the line of E6750 (~$200 USD).

[quote name='Spades22']I also found a motherboard for athlon processors with 2 pci-e slots, 4 slots for ddr2 ram, 4 sata, 4 or 8 usb...for 120$ CDN. The one review was good, but that seems like a good deal. The company is MSI...but I can go like 30 bucks higher and get an Nvidia if you think thats a lot better, even though the reviews kinda stink.[/QUOTE]

MSI makes good motherboards; I had a few of their products, including motherboard and video card. Whatever board you choose, make sure you read as much reviews as you can, from reputable sites.

[quote name='Spades22']BTW whats SLI/crossfire for on the motherboard anyway...I can save like 50 bucks if I dont get SLI...[/QUOTE]

SLI means connecting 2 nVidia GeForce cards together, and Crossfire means connecting 2 ATI cards together. If you will not get a 2nd video card, don't waste money on SLI/Crossfire.
 
ahhh ok thanks for the thorough reply. I guess you need 2 of the same video cards to use SLI/crossfire? I probably won't bother then...but I do prefer ATI to Geforce. Even when they're on the same tier i seem to get much better performance with ATI. So, since they're at the same price, would you suggest the 5000 or 5200 AMD Athlon X2 instead of the e4400 or e4800 Intel?
 
I think the lower range of Intel's (e4x00) only goes up to E4500 a 2.2Ghz chip. If you want to spend more there are the E6x00/E6x50. They have more L2 cache and higher FSB. Any dual core CPU will work well with games.

I would suggest an Intel CPU because there are a lot of faster processors that you can upgrade to when the time comes.
 
I think I get what you mean...get the motherboard with the 775 socket that supports intel instead of the motherboard that supports AMD even if the AMD processor X2 5000+ is better than the dual core e4400 even though the price is the same?
 
If you're unable to spend the money on a faster Intel CPU, then sure, you can go with the cheaper Athlon 5000+. The up and coming AMD Phenom will run on socket AM2 motherboards, so choose a known brand name like Gigabyte and Asus. For low end CPUs, it probably doesn't matter much if you choose AMD or Intel; though for high end CPUs, its definitely Intel's territory.
 
Well what's considered high end? I pretty much have my pc mapped out thanks to you guys, just have to decide on this processor and motherboard yet...
 
I think high end would be anything better than the E6650. A little more than you need I would say. If you're going to spend that much on a PC component for a gaming computer, it should be spent on the video card.
 
ok well maybe I'll just go for the AMD 5000+...since I think it only pays to go intel if I'm getting the 6xxx series. Hmm and AMD is coming out with new processors soon apparently..which I think was said...so then it should be alright getting a motherboard that just supports AMD too...
 
Coming back to this, my original plan didn't work out so well so I'm thinking of just buying a dell machine...they have one for 999$ right now, but I'd probably leave out the 22 inch monitor and buy a 19 inch for 100 some less.

Its got:

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (4MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,1066 FSB), english
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs
22 inch E228WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
128MB nVidia GeForce 8300 GS
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
1 Year Next Business Day Onsite/In Home Service and Tech Support

for 999... I'd phone and see how good the power supply though...I don't see it mentioned anywhere. I'd put in my own video card though...the only thing that concerns me is the 250GB HD. Should I upgrade it to 320 for 50 bucks more or just leave it as is?

Or does anyone have dell coupons or know of future good deals...and are their pc's made well?
 
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