GeForce Card Recommendation?

C

candyman56

CAG Veteran
The fan is starting to slowly go out on my GeForce 8500gt. I did some research and it seems like replacing the fan is a bit of a chore and just trying to find one that will fit.

I was looking at the GeForce 9500GT since I do not have a lot of money to spend. Is this a good card and is it better than what I have now or just comparable?
 
[quote name='Hydro2Oxide']What's your budget?[/QUOTE]

I am trying to stay under $100 on a card because I also need to get a 400-450W PSU for the new card since I only have a 300W PSU.
 
[quote name='candyman56']If I go with a GT240, and from your posts it sounds like I do not need a new PSU. Does it matter with which brand I go with? How come the GT240 uses less power, but a bit more powerful than what I have or even the 8800?[/QUOTE]
I'd stick with a reputable brand, like EVGA/MSI/ASUS/Gigabyte/XFX. I used to be a big BFG fan, but looks like they will be no more...

It's more powerful because it has more stream processors/different architecture, and smaller die sizes is what likely makes them efficient. I don't think the 240 is more powerful than an 8800 (at least not the higher end ones), but it's probably right under it in performance.
 
[quote name='candyman56']If I go with a GT240, and from your posts it sounds like I do not need a new PSU. Does it matter with which brand I go with? How come the GT240 uses less power, but a bit more powerful than what I have or even the 8800?[/QUOTE]

The GT240 uses a much smaller chip design than the card you currently have. You get more graphics power from the same power requirements. It runs perfectly fine on a 300W psu. This 512 mb version from XTX has the best customer ratings on Newegg. May as well go with that one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150472
 
[quote name='Lawyers Guns N Money']I'd stick with a reputable brand, like EVGA/MSI/ASUS/Gigabyte/XFX. I used to be a big BFG fan, but looks like they will be no more...

It's more powerful because it has more stream processors/different architecture, and smaller die sizes is what likely makes them efficient. I don't think the 240 is more powerful than an 8800 (at least not the higher end ones), but it's probably right under it in performance.[/QUOTE]

Yes, the GT240 isn't as strong as the 8800GT/9800GT cards. It's more in line with the 9600GT cards. Which still isn't a bad thing.
 
[quote name='Lawyers Guns N Money']I'd stick with a reputable brand, like EVGA/MSI/ASUS/Gigabyte/XFX. I used to be a big BFG fan, but looks like they will be no more...

It's more powerful because it has more stream processors/different architecture, and smaller die sizes is what likely makes them efficient. I don't think the 240 is more powerful than an 8800 (at least not the higher end ones), but it's probably right under it in performance.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='mogamer']The GT240 uses a much smaller chip design than the card you currently have. You get more graphics power from the same power requirements. It runs perfectly fine on a 300W psu. This 512 mb version from XTX has the best customer ratings on Newegg. May as well go with that one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150472[/QUOTE]

Thanks for clearing this up for me.

One last question. I am not a huge PC gamer and mainly game on my consoles. With the fan dying on the 8500GT and trying to stay within a budget due to finances, trying to find the best deal.

Like one poster above mentioned, what would your stance be on going with a 9500GT vs. GTS240?
 
[quote name='iKilledChewbacca']I am currently using a "ZOTAC nVidia GeForce 9500GT 1 GB DDR2 CARD" in my second CHEAP build and it runs very nice for only being $57.99 (NO REBATE!!). The reviews have all been great, plus there is free shipping on amazon if you buy it from them.

http://www.amazon.com/nVidia-GeForc...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1279812698&sr=8-1[/QUOTE]

No offense dude, but the 8500/9500GT (the same cards) are shit. They're good for a home theater PC, but they're garbage for gaming. I would never recommend either of them to anyone.
 
[quote name='candyman56']Thanks for clearing this up for me.

One last question. I am not a huge PC gamer and mainly game on my consoles. With the fan dying on the 8500GT and trying to stay within a budget due to finances, trying to find the best deal.

Like one poster above mentioned, what would your stance be on going with a 9500GT vs. GTS240?[/QUOTE]
No question in my mind, I'd go with the 240. Unless your budget forces you down to the 9500, the 240 is a much better card.
 
I just got back from CompUSA and found the 240 at a decent price after rebates. It was this one:

Galaxy 24GFF8HX2PMU GeForce GT240 Video Card - 512MB DDR3, PCI-Express 2.0, DVI, HDMI, VGA
http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5677158&CatId=3585

The guy at CompUSA was trying to sell me a 650W PSU to go along with this. My friend told me that a 400-450W wouldn't be a bad idea so my system has more than enough power. I couldn't believe this dude was trying to sell me the 650W.
 
If there's one thing most people do, it's overestimate the power consumption of a PC. A quality 400-500W PSU is more than enough to run a quad and a beefy video card. However, note that I said quality. There's some shitty 1000W PSU's on Newegg that I wouldn't trust to even run my HTPC.
 
[quote name='candyman56']The fan is starting to slowly go out on my GeForce 8500gt. I did some research and it seems like replacing the fan is a bit of a chore and just trying to find one that will fit.

I was looking at the GeForce 9500GT since I do not have a lot of money to spend. Is this a good card and is it better than what I have now or just comparable?[/QUOTE]

I feel your pain as I am in a very similar situation. I have an 8800GT and I think it is slowly dieing. For a few months now if I play a game that puts any amount of strain on the card, I hear a weird sound that almost sounds like a small blender. I check the temperatures when I'm finished playing the game and my temperatures get as high as the mid 80s which never used to happen.
 
[quote name='bg88']I feel your pain as I am in a very similar situation. I have an 8800GT and I think it is slowly dieing. For a few months now if I play a game that puts any amount of strain on the card, I hear a weird sound that almost sounds like a small blender. I check the temperatures when I'm finished playing the game and my temperatures get as high as the mid 80s which never used to happen.[/QUOTE]
You clean it out? Sounds like you've got dust in the card. Or it could be the fan going out.
 
[quote name='Lawyers Guns N Money']You clean it out? Sounds like you've got dust in the card. Or it could be the fan going out.[/QUOTE]

Mine has been sounding the same but I cleaned it out. I just rebought a 360 arcade 2 weeks ago that I haven't touched. I was thinking of returning to expand my budget a bit. Is the 250gt a very good card which some sites compare to the 9800?
 
I'm pretty sure the GTS 250 and the GTX 9800+ are the same chip (or at least the same g92 architecture), just rebranded. You should be able to find a 250 for a little over $100 after rebate. The extra performance would probably be worth the extra cash.
 
[quote name='candyman56']Mine has been sounding the same but I cleaned it out. I just rebought a 360 arcade 2 weeks ago that I haven't touched. I was thinking of returning to expand my budget a bit. Is the 250gt a very good card which some sites compare to the 9800?[/QUOTE]

You'd be MUCH better off with a 250 rather than a 9400, which likely wouldn't run much out there.
 
[quote name='Lawyers Guns N Money']You clean it out? Sounds like you've got dust in the card. Or it could be the fan going out.[/QUOTE]

I cleaned out my tower pretty thoroughly and I still get the noise and the high temperatures.
 
[quote name='SEH']You'd be MUCH better off with a 250 rather than a 9400, which likely wouldn't run much out there.[/QUOTE]

I ended up going with the 240 by Galaxy since none of the stores did not have the 250 in stock. The only brands that they had which carried the 240 was Galaxy, EVGA, and PNY. I also picked up a new PSU at 550W just to have the extra power in the system. I was thinking of getting the BFG 9800GT, but was thinking that the 240 offers a lower power consumption, runs cooler, and there is an HDMI port on it too. Is the 9800GT a much better card than the GT240?
 
[quote name='candyman56']I ended up going with the 240 by Galaxy since none of the stores did not have the 250 in stock. The only brands that they had which carried the 240 was Galaxy, EVGA, and PNY. I also picked up a new PSU at 550W just to have the extra power in the system. I was thinking of getting the BFG 9800GT, but was thinking that the 240 offers a lower power consumption, runs cooler, and there is an HDMI port on it too. Is the 9800GT a much better card than the GT240?[/QUOTE]

The 9800GT is a better card than the GT240. But if you bought a GT240, why did you buy a larger psu? I did mention that the GT240 will happily run on a 300w psu. Are you planning on upgrading the video card down the road? With a 550w psu, you can run a much more powerful video card than a GT240.
 
[quote name='mogamer']The 9800GT is a better card than the GT240. But if you bought a GT240, why did you buy a larger psu? I did mention that the GT240 will happily run on a 300w psu. Are you planning on upgrading the video card down the road? With a 550w psu, you can run a much more powerful video card than a GT240.[/QUOTE]

I was thinking of upgrading the video card later on.......but if this thing will run fine on a 300W PSU, maybe I might return it.
 
If you're looking to spend $100 or less, you need to take a good look at your spending options. Don't go less than a Radeon 4850 or 9800GT 1GB for each. You can find deals on power supplies and video cards easily enough. Here are some sites to start you out with:

http://forums.anandtech.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16
http://hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=28
http://www.pricewatch.com/ (for both power supplies & video cards - and just about anything else)
http://www.geeks.com/
http://www.google.com/products
And of course, ebay.com & newegg.com

Get a low cost power supply first, if you need one. Then get your video card. The GeForce 460s just came out. The 450s will be out mid-to-late August. You should be able to get a deal on either a GeForce 250 or a 4850 without issue. Get no less than 1GB of RAM if you want it to last a while. If you're thinking of Windows 7 one day in the next year, then you're best bet is to either go with an entry-level Radeon 5670 or 5750. Stretch for the 5750/5770 if you can. Depending on how long you wait, the next refresh of Radeon cards is due out in the Fall. The prices should drop and adjust then too.

Good luck!
 
I picked up a GTS250 for $50 (after rebate) from Fry's a couple of weeks ago. I came from an 8800GT which just died one day. The performance of the cards are "near" identical, and I've only noticed a very slight difference in lagging with the GTS250 when using Netflix via VirtualBox on Ubuntu (a scenario most people here are not likely to experience). ;)
 
I first returned the 240 and bought a 9800GT, which the fan on it was sounding like the days we would put baseball cards on our bike tires to give it that ticking sound. To me it just sounded like a bad fan, which I do not want to deal with. I returned the 9800GT and bought the GTS 250 512 mb card instead since they did not have the 1GB. I really like the card so far and it runs fairly quiet for the most part..........but this thing does get rather hot. I paid $119 for the card after an instant $35 rebate and then there is an additional MIR for $35. I guess for $84 this is not a bad card.

My thought now is to add an additional fan to the side of the case pulling out any additional heat from the case due to the heat. I want to upgrade my CPU in a month or so once I pull some funds together.

I plan to still keep the 550W PSU since I got CompUSA to give me a price at cost since one of the guys had screwed something up on me the day before.

Is the GTS 250 a good card?
 
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