Can I use this Graphics Card?

[anthony101]

Hi,

OC are selling this graphics card:

OcUK GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - OEM (Grade A Refurb - 3 Months Warranty)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-087-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=

But it says this in the description:

Note: These cards require PCI-E x16 slots, they will not function in a x8 slot so for SLi you need dual x16 mainboard. Finally 500W minimum for PSU and 600W+ is recommended.

I have an A BIT IP35PRO Motherboard. Can I use that card?


Is this card better than the one I currently have which is a GeForce 8600GT - 256mb memory. Even though I'm not a gamer I have felt this graphic card has been the poor component in my system which is otherwise half decent (I think)

If I cant use it, can anyone suggest something. The range is just overwhelming I dont know where to start. I would like a quiet one that has enough power to eventually run two monitors. Not for gaming, its for audio applications, but im not adverse to playing the odd game

Thanks.

 

[Overslop]

The card will work fine in your motherboard and it is better than your current card. But don't buy it - it's a waste of money for the price it's listed as. If that's the limit of your budget then perhaps consider this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-071-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1833

It may look like an inferior product from the spec sheet but is actually a fair bit better.

IMO though you should buy secondhand and get something like a GTX 260. It will be much better and within your budget if you look around and get yourself a good deal.

Ninja Edit: What are the rest of the spec of your PC? You want to make sure you are not "bottlenecked" by other system components, otherwise upgrading could be pointless.

 

[anthony101]

The card will work fine in your motherboard and it is better than your current card. But don't buy it - it's a waste of money for the price it's listed as. If that's the limit of your budget then perhaps consider this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-071-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1833

It may look like an inferior product from the spec sheet but is actually a fair bit better.

IMO though you should buy secondhand and get something like a GTX 260. It will be much better and within your budget if you look around and get yourself a good deal.

Ninja Edit: What are the rest of the spec of your PC? You want to make sure you are not "bottlenecked" by other system components, otherwise upgrading could be pointless.

I had a feeling about that card to be honest so I appreciate what your saying. However, I wont go for a SH GC. I couldnt take the risk that it was going to be noisy. It has to be new. Budget is a concern, but I can go more expensive than the one I mentioned.

My System:
ABIT IP35 Pro MB
Intelcore 2 Quad Q660
4 Gig Dual channel DDR2 Crucial Ram (cant remember the exact type, but its decent)
Corsair 620w modular PS
NIVIDIA G Force 8600GT
Antec P180 Case
3 Internal Hard drives

Extras:
2 sound cards using 2 PCI Slots
1 RME 9652 card (attached to an external RME ADI-8 DA/AD Convertor)
1 M Audio 24/96
+
1 Texas instruments firewire card

The extras I mention because space is getting tight in there. So maybe a huge GC with massive fan could be an issue.

I use this computer for music applications, but also some Photoshop stuff.
I dont really play games with it, but I have ran a few.

The graphics card I need is more important that its silent than powerful. I wont ever overclock the machine. However I did always feel that GC I was using let the system down a bit. On one or two of the music application i use, screen draw could certainly be a little snappier I feel. So, silent or as quite as possible is important, but I would also like something a bit more powerful and I would much prefer if it has 2 connection for monitors. I only use one at the moment, but I can see my self having to end up using 2 sooner or later.

Thanks in advance

 

[Overslop]

Which music applications are you using? I don't know of any that require good graphics cards to run perfectly but I'm all ears.

 

[anthony101]

I use a number of audio progs on PC and Mac

Pro Tools and Reason on my Mac
Cubase 5, Ableton Live, Reason and Reaper on my PC. While I cant really change much in my Mac I can with the PC.

Over the years the graphics in audio applications have become more intensive and with photo realistic plugins that take up most of your screen which you end up having a few on the screen at the same time+ sample accurate audio editing that you need to zoom in and out of fast and larger sessions (more track count) in general I the Graphics card isnt as unimportant as it once may have been.

Graphics cards are still perceived by many musicians as the least important factor in a PC, and next to that probably power and cooling (big mistake). When I purchased the card I have now I noticed a big difference in many areas such as Stability, responsiveness, zooming in and out of heavy sessions etc. I then started paying more attention to other areas like the power supply etc. For two years now my Quad PC has been very good because I chose parts carefully and didnt really skimp to much on anything. But now I do feel my current GC is letting the system down.

DAWs are memory intensive, resource hungry applications. Even more so than the heaviest games. It stands to reason if I use a poor card with a low amount of Ram resources are simply going to be spread thin. Its like a heavy duty game I suppose. To run it well you need a good or great GC, but also need the CPU, Ram to run it. No point in having a 700 pound GC if you have the least powerful CPU and only 2 gig of ram


Edit
And: I do tend to use Photoshop more on my PC than I do with my Mac. It looks great on the Mac, but Ii just feel sluggish to me. Doesnt matter which Mac you have, its something to do with the ultra nicey graphics. As if your walking in space..