New graphics card for sister

[DELETED_83755]

My sisters 8600GT 256MB in her dell Inspiron 530 is broken.


The card shouldn't require any extra power apart from the PCI express slot and needs to have 2X DVI output so that she can use 2 displays.

Any suggestions on a card that's equivalent or better for the least amount of money?

 

[cmndr_andi]

Any chance of getting a repair/replacement from dell? - that should be free if you are still in the warranty period.

As for a replacement card, even a 5570 is a good deal more powerful as is a GT 220.

 

[DELETED_83755]

Its over 3 years old now, so out of the warranty period. Thanks for the suggestions, although its slightly over her budget of £40-£50. I'm amazed how expensive these budget cards are, my GTX260 was £114!! May have to look elsewhere for a better price

 

[HW91]

Its over 3 years old now, so out of the warranty period. Thanks for the suggestions, although its slightly over her budget of £40-£50. I'm amazed how expensive these budget cards are, my GTX260 was £114!! May have to look elsewhere for a better price

well the cheapest this gen card you will find is £40, and the cheapest reasonable gaming card is ~£100

 

[cmndr_andi]

Its over 3 years old now, so out of the warranty period. Thanks for the suggestions, although its slightly over her budget of £40-£50. I'm amazed how expensive these budget cards are, my GTX260 was £114!! May have to look elsewhere for a better price

You can find GT220 cards for a touch under £50, but you may need to look around.

I would suggest against spending less (5450, GT 210) as these cards are not made for gaming and will perform worse than a 8600GT, these cards are mainly designed to decode HD video and that's about it.

You may want to consider looking at 2nd hand cards, you will likely be able to get a 9800GT which doesn't need external power for that budget - but as with all second-hand cards, you will not get any warranty.

The prices do seem high, but its mainly to do with the weakness of the £, and most of these cards need to be bought originally in $. Also, at this end of the market, the cards are just cut-down versions of current high/mid range cards. So if you could spend a bit more and had more power available you could get a card many times more powerful for a mere £80.

 

[jigger]

A HD4670.

 

[cmndr_andi]

A HD4670.

+1 A great little card, and if you know where to look you can get a passively cooled one of these (Sapphire RADEON HD 4670 Ultimate Edition) for a shade under £60. Bargain IMHO.

This review shows how the 4670 does in games (ie. rather well).

 

[mame]

GT240 seems a better card than the 4670 but only has 1x DVI and 1xHDMI