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Best graphics card, single PCI-E2, around £100

mcintyre94

mcintyre94

mcintyre94

Associate
Joined
18 Nov 2010
Posts
7
Hey guys,

I'm currently in the graphics card market and have concluded this place is the best to get them in the UK. I'm on a tight(ish) budget - looking for a card around £100. I can go up a bit, but please don't recommend too much above. It is also essential that the card only uses one PCI-E2 slot - there is space for overhang, but I can only provide one PCIE2 slot.

So far I'm thinking the 450 would be a good idea, maybe a 460 if I find one with only one PCIE required. Any other advice?

The card will need to play a few high-end games including Crysis and Fallout 3 on a 1366x768 resolution.

Thankyou in advance,
Callum.
 
mcintyre94 said:
It is also essential that the card only uses one PCI-E2 slot - there is space for overhang, but I can only provide one PCIE2 slot.
Click to expand...

When you say only use one PCIe v2 slot - do you only have one physical x16 socket available for installation, or do you mean that there is another card or physical obstruction next to the main x16 slot - so the cooler on the graphics card must only occupy the space around the main slot?

If you only have one x16 socket to use, but plenty of physical space for a cooler then do not worry - all modern graphics cards only use a single PCIe v2 connection to interface with the motherboard. When it says "Dual slot" it purely means the size of the cooler - as it overhands to occupy the adjacent slot, so another expansion card cannot be placed in this slot.

If you are limited by physical space and the cooler can only take up the single slot that it is assigned - then the 5770 linked to by burrell is definitely the best option. The 460 is a much hotter, more expensive card - I would expect a single-slot 460 to cost much more than £100.
 
Hey guys, thanks for the quick replies! :)

It can use one extension slot yes, but there is space around the slot. Sorry that wasn't clear - I was under the impression high-end cards often used more than one actual slot to draw power. That gives me a lot more confidence in my purchases.

Cmndr_andi,
I found the 460 around here at about £120 with a free copy of HAWX, but the deal may now be over. It'll probably be 450 or the best suggestion.

Burrell,
Thanks very much for the link, but there is space around the slot, I just need to use only one slot's power. I now see that is a standard, which I didn't realise. Sorry that wasn't clear in the OP.
 
If you have space around the slot for a cooler that takes up the space of two slots - then this is the card to go for.

The thing with power is - all modern cards only use one PCIE slot for data and power. However, more powerful cards are fed additional power using PEG connectors which go from the PSU directly to the graphics card. This means only one PCIe x16 slot is required - but you will need a PSU that has these connectors, or at the very least many molex connectors so adapters can be used. The GTX 460 above uses two 6pin PEG power connectors, the 5770 uses on. May I ask what PSU you are using?
 
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mcintyre94 said:
No brand or model number, so I assume it's just a generic no namer. Unfortunately this was my first custom built buy, so there were certain things I overlooked, and regret doing so.
Click to expand...

Ah, in that case I strongly suggest getting a decent PSU before installing a powerful graphics like a HD 5770 or GTX 460.

Something like this would do the job and hopefully not break the bank.
 
Alright, thankyou very much for your advice. I think I'll have to find some more money to get the PSU and graphics card, but I'd say the budget on the card is firmly limited to £100 now.
 
I will be honest and say I don't know a lot about the Nvidia-ATI debate, and I'm not overly knowledgeable in their specific areas. I'll look into both cards and decide properly. Thanks.

Also, would this PSU be sufficient, or would I notice a significant drop from 450 (or 500) to 430?
Only other difference is the drop from 4 to 3 4 pin molex connectors, and the drop from x5 to x4 sata connector.
 
mcintyre94 said:
I will be honest and say I don't know a lot about the Nvidia-ATI debate, and I'm not overly knowledgeable in their specific areas. I'll look into both cards and decide properly. Thanks.

Also, would this PSU be sufficient, or would I notice a significant drop from 450 (or 500) to 430?
Only other difference is the drop from 4 to 3 4 pin molex connectors, and the drop from x5 to x4 sata connector.
Click to expand...

That would do! But probably wouldn't run 2.
 
My current motherboard only has one PCIE2 anyway (hence my previous concern) so until that is upgraded, which is likely to be a while, I won't be expecting 2 graphics cards to operate.

Thankyou very much though, I'll have a look at the 450 and the 5770 now.
 
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