• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Budget Graphics Card ~£50

gee3000

gee3000

gee3000

Associate
Joined
28 Jan 2007
Posts
1,586
Location
London
Hey guys,

I bought the following system about 2-3 months ago to be used as my pc at work:

  • AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 620 2.60GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail
  • OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G16004GK)
  • Asus M4A785TD-M Evo AMD 785G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard
  • Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ)
  • Corsair CX 400W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-400CXUK)
  • Xigmatek Asgard Mid-Tower Case - Black
  • Sony Optiarc AD-5240S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
  • Xilence XPF120R Red Wing 120mm Quiet Fan
As it was only going to be used for basic office work + some photo cropping, sizing etc in Photoshop, I didn't think a graphics card would be required. But since then, I've bought a 24" monitor and run @ 1920x1200 res, and Photoshop really seems to struggle with most basic work like moving things around a canvas, distorting, cropping, etc.

In the Windows Rating thing, the current onboard graphics scores as follows:

  • CPU: 7.1
  • RAM: 5.9
  • Graphics (desktop): 4.2
  • Graphics (gaming): 5.3
  • Hard Drive: 5.9
I need a compatible, best-bang-for-your-buck graphics card which is in the £50 price range. Only DVI output is required, but it should be able to handle atleast Photoshop :/

Thanks.
 
What version of PS are you using?

Performance of CS4 plummeted when they introduced GPU support so maybe thats what you are seeing.
 
I always though any old 2D card would be fine for things like Photoshop. But it's been fairly slow for me for a while, though I can't remember if it was before or after I dropped down to a 7300le from gaming cards that I noticed the performance drop.

I think I have Photoshop Elements 4... will have to check when I get home.

So, looking forward to hearing peoples feedback as well.
 
Another vote for the ATI Radeon HD 4670 here. It appears to be the best value under £50 and is also energy efficient.
 
Try disabling GPU support in the options and restart Photoshop.
I think its Performance Preferences > GPU Settings > OpenGL support

There really shouldn't be any need to fork out for a graphics card just to get this running smoothly.
 
Last edited:
CreAtiv3 said:
Try disabling GPU support in the options and restart Photoshop.
I think its Performance Preferences > GPU Settings > OpenGL support

There really shouldn't be any need to fork out for a graphics card just to get this running smoothly.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Turning off GPU support actually worked! What a stupid feature :|

Worth getting the card anyway since I'm not paying for it? :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom