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Graphics Cards Choice Help Please!!

camel99

camel99

camel99

Associate
Joined
2 Apr 2007
Posts
25
Hi,

I am really struggling to choose a new graphics card!. I am not a big gamer but I will dabble in games like CS Source and probably wont be playing any of the latest games etc for a while.

I will mainly be using the card for graphics design work with Photoshop, Maya, 3D Max and watching films.

Will the EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS SuperClocked 320MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI suit my needs or could I get away with paying less for something like an EVGA GeForce 7950 GT Superclocked 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI?

It is to be paired up with the Samsung SM-226BW 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor

It must be quiet!


Thanks
 
Hi

Thanks for that but I think I want to stick to NVIDIA cards. I plan to use Maya and it has problems with many Ati cards.

Are there any NVIDIAs you would recomend?

THanks
 
camel99 said:
Hi

Thanks for that but I think I want to stick to NVIDIA cards. I plan to use Maya and it has problems with many Ati cards.

Are there any NVIDIAs you would recomend?

THanks
Click to expand...

7600 GT, 7900GS, or the 8800 GTS 320MB, depending on how much detail you want in Source ;) All should do the other stuff fine.

Now they have fixed the source fog issue, I can recommend the 8800 series highly. :D They are expensive though :eek:
 
My 7900GS overclocked hits my 100fps max at 1280x1024 in the Lost coast hardware stress test. My CPU is currently bottlenecking it I think as the difference between 550/800 and 650/900 was only 1fps from 101 to 102fps ;)

Lets just say CS:S will fly ;)
 
camel99 said:
Hi

Do you think I will notice a difference between the 8800 320mb and the 640mb versions? They are closesly priced!

thanks
Click to expand...

No difference for 1600 x 1000 or lower resolutions. After that, or with lots of AA, the 640MB pulls ahead. They both have the same GPUs though.
 
Hi

Im thinking that its not worth forking out for the 8800 GTS right now?

From what I read there is a good chance that when DX10 becomes mass market API these 8800s will become budget cards?.

I understand they are great for DX9 games now but is something like the EVGA GeForce 7900 GS KO 256MB not able to run the latest games at the moment anyhow? It will make a saving of £100 over the 8800s?

Cheers
 
I was going to recommend one of the £88 BFG 7600GT OC's like I got, and suggest you get a replacement Zalman VF700 cooler for stealth, but OCUK seem to be out of stock of these beauties at the moment.

How about one of these cheap OCUK 8600GTS?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-057-OK

I trashed the 8600GTS in another thread as being a bit overpriced but this seems fairly inexpensive. Or maybe get just an 8600GT. The thing about the 8600GT I've heard is that they can run very quiet apparently - they use less power than even a 7600GT and therefore don't put out as much heat, and as we know more heat means more fan noise.

However, I just re-read your post and saw you are using a 22" monitor with I guess a default rez of 1680x1050? You might want to consider spending a bit more for longevity, though I'm sure the 8600GTS will do CS:S fine at that rez. My 7600GT was great for Half-Life 2 when I briefly had a 20" widescreen with the same rez - though I'm currently hooked up to an LCD-TV using 1280x720, running Media Center and playing games from my sofa with an X-box 360 controller :)

I've got an X1950XT on its way to me though, just for a bit of extra oomph. Only paid £120, inc postage. Not bad.
 
Last edited:
Hi

Thanks all for your input. I think I have pretty much decided that I want the EVGA GeForce 7900 GS KO 256MB. I want to wait to see what happens with Directx 10 and how much of a games enthusiast i become before I get a beter card. £111.61 seems a good price and it should do all I want from it at the moment.

Below is the spec for the new machine I am building. I hope the graphics cards fits in nicely! If you have any opinions on my choices please share?.


EVGA GeForce 7900 GS KO 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (£111.61)
Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T-500 Dual Freeview TV Tuner (£64.61)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.67GHz (1066FSB) (£217.36)
Samsung SM-226BW 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Silver/Black (£270.24) Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 5000AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache -(£79.89)
Asus P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP (£120.46)
Lian-Li V-1100 Plus (£126.85)
Zalman CNPS9500-AT Aero Flower (£30.04)
620W Corsair CMPSU-620HXUK (£89.18)
Corsair Dominator TWIN2X2048-6400C4D 2x 1GB (£128.71)

Ta v much
 
Would drop the E6700 can save a bundle on a cheaper processor which can be clocked to run at 6700 speeds

Change the M/B to the DS3P

Could change the cooler to something else such as the Noctua or Tuniq Tower

Could change the Corsair to the 520 watt version

The RAM you could change to the Crucial Ballistix stuff
 
melbourne720 said:
You could get a e4300 and a EVGA 8800 GTS KO for less than an e6700 and a 7900 GS! :eek: And clock the e4300 way past the e6700!
Click to expand...

Definately... cheaper CPU (E6320) + 8800GTS for the win. It's the sensible choice if you want the most you can get for your money.
 
Thanks guys

I still find this a hard call.

I have definately settled on the EVGA 8800 GTS 320 but still undecided about the processor.

At the moment I have the E6600 in my shopping basket. I dont want to go any lower than that.
 
camel99 said:
Thanks guys

I still find this a hard call.

I have definately settled on the EVGA 8800 GTS 320 but still undecided about the processor.

At the moment I have the E6600 in my shopping basket. I dont want to go any lower than that.
Click to expand...

Then just buy it. :)
 
Will_3rd said:
Would drop the E6700 can save a bundle on a cheaper processor which can be clocked to run at 6700 speeds

Change the M/B to the DS3P

Could change the cooler to something else such as the Noctua or Tuniq Tower

Could change the Corsair to the 520 watt version

The RAM you could change to the Crucial Ballistix stuff
Click to expand...

i reckon he should keep the 620w, in case he wants a more powerful dx10 card later this year, the 620 is more likely to run it.
 
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