Which card to pair with a Q6600?

[sbog]

Hey guys, I picked up a new brand name computer with a Q6600 (G0) 2gb of ram and 320gb harddrive for £140 and I am wondering what graphics card would be best suited as this thing comes with VERY weak onboard graphics!

Some points to consider

• I have a DVI 1920x1200 monitor.
• This is for a bedroom, it needs to be somewhat quiet
• My budget is not really set as I am interested in hearing peoples options and the logic behind their choice, longevity etc.
• Not put off by getting a card and then overclocking it
• I will be buying more ram and a SSD - stay calm!

Also a side question: Are there any "decent" cards which do not need a dedicated power plug going into them (I forget the name of that). This is not a deal breaker as I can do some PSU swapping.

In summary, throw some different options at me which match my CPU please!

 

[Shakeel]

well if your on a budget then get a 8800/9800 both very good cards.

or else get a 4890, thise are very good cards or a gtx 275

if it was my choice id get the 8800/9800 and hten get the 5870 in the future when they drop in price

ive got an 8800 512mb on a 1900x1200 monitor and it plays resident evil 5 at full settings (amd 3.0ghz x2 and 3gb ram)

 

[Rroff]

Whats your main useage for the GPU? if your heavily into gaming then I'd be looking at the 260GTX or 4890 - unless you want to spend loads and go for the 5800 series... otherwise if you just do light gaming or none at all prolly something like a passive cooled 4670.

 

[cmndr_andi]

This card is pretty good and doesn't require a power connector. The graphical power of this card will do fine with your resolution on older games and newer ones with settings set to low. If you want to play modern games on high settings then you will need a graphics card with a power connection, and depending on the make/model/capacity of your current PSU- then you may need a new one to power a better graphics card.

Assuming you have a PSU that can power any graphics card, then let me say that the Q6600 is a very powerful chip and overclocks fantastically. If overclocked to ~3.4Ghz then the card that best "matches" the cpu is the fastest one you can afford. With this in mind, my high-end reccomendation for a GPU is this: Its brand-new tech, DX11 capable, and super fast- though you will be wanting a decent 500W PSU to power it.

 

[sbog]

Thanks for the info guys.

I do not tend to upgrade for a brave we while after this is bought so it is kind of tempting to get the latest and greatest directx11 card for furture proofing somewhat but that price is hurtful.
But in the real world, what difference would this make if I got a card which only supported directx10 and I tried to play a directx11 game?

I am not a gamer at all but the cold dark winter days are coming rapidly so much more indoors time to kill


I will research all of the cards listed and come back with more questions Any further input is welcome!