Graphics Card Advice

[widowtwanky]

Hi, I've had a look through the "what 2 buy" sticky, but was hoping for some more specific advice. I'm about to buy a new graphics card - I currently have a GeForce 8800GS but managed to kill it whilst upgrading the rest of my PC 0*(

PC Spec is ...
Gigabyte M52LT m/b
AMD Phenon II x4 x 3.2GhZ 955 Black edition
8 Gb DDR3 RAM
2 monitors - 1 x 24" & 1 x20"
Decent PSU 1000W (forget the make)

By basic requirements are to be able to play WoW on the larger monitor whislt watching media player on the other - otherwise I get bored when farming 0&)
I also want something as queit as possible

Budget is flexible, but somewhere around the $100 mark I guess. (want to keep costs down as this is unexpected extra expense) I've been looking at the ATi 5570 chipset, but also at the "silent series" - most of these seem to be around the 5450 chipset which I assume isnt really powerful enough, although ASUS do sell a 5570 slient.

So...

Any thoughts on whether the 5570 chipset will deliver what I'm after
Is silent / fanless worth it, or do I just sacrifice GPU power / make a load more heat for my system fan to deal with so get more noise anyway?

Many thanks.

[Asera]

A 5770 or 6850 would be a better choice.

[Stereye]

You can also go with a GTX 460 which are right around the 150 mark right now on newegg, and a lot of them have MIR's that drop them down to about 130. My brother got his GTX 460 a couple weeks ago for 110 after MIR, so if your not in a real big hurry you can watch for better deals.

---------- Post added 2011-02-15 at 02:23 PM ----------

Also along the lines of a Radeon card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161309

[Wries]

Definitly 5570 over 5450. The difference in amount of shaders is huge.

Thing is it's still about as powerful(meh) as my mobility HD 5650 chip in the laptop. So as a desktop chip for use with 2 monitors, with a 3d application on one and a video rolling on the other.. eek!

Assuming your monitors are at least 1680x1050, it would probably boil down to having pretty low settings in WoW, (preset "good" with some tweaks up and down on different settings, guessing). And perhaps making sure that the video you're watching is decoded with the help of a software decoder (cpu) might help.

Going for another chip in your price range, I'm guessing the 5670 won't do much of a difference though it IS clocked higher. I also believe there is at least one completely passively cooled Radeon HD 5770 out there, though it's probably going to cost you a little over budget.

Edit: The card Stereye linked is great and for a greater price than I'd expect. Go for it imo.

[vesseblah]

Both 5450 and 5570 are rather shit for gaming use, and will be really disappointing if you try to play some games that need 3D power. If you need silent computer, there are better ways to do it than gimping yourself with worthless graphics cards. Any 'quiet' model after market cooler in decent card like Radeon5770 or GTX460 will most likely make less noise than the fans in your CPU and PSU.

[ztkraptor]

Whatever you do, do not go Nvidia.
Yes I'm a nvidia fanboi. However you will obviously have better performance/compatibility using AMD's own Chips aka ATI.

[Bloodmayj]

Whatever you do, do not go Nvidia.
Yes I'm a nvidia fanboi. However you will obviously have better performance/compatibility using AMD's own Chips aka ATI.

This is completely wrong. NVidia and ATI both perform the same within 1% on the other's chipset. It's all based on the card, not who made your motherboard (not factoring performance from the motherboard itself into this).

[nwo]

A 5770 is the least you should get if you want to get decent fps @ high res without having to turn everything down. A GTX460 is a bit better but also a bit more expensive. HIS usually make pretty good cards that run silent in comparison to others. However, there are some exceptions, so it is always a good idea to read up on some reviews before you finalize your purchase. I found a HIS 5770 for $99 after $30 MIR...runs pretty silent according to the reviews:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-338-_-Product

[Cilraaz]

Whatever you do, do not go Nvidia.
Yes I'm a nvidia fanboi. However you will obviously have better performance/compatibility using AMD's own Chips aka ATI.

Bloodymayj is 100% correct. This "logic" is 100% wrong.

[TanAxys]

hmmm...
that's a lot to ask for around $100

I'd hit up e-bay or maybe look for an open box/recert of a 5770 or 450

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16814121390R 460 w/ DVIx2 for $119, good luck

[Deleted]

Is silent / fanless worth it, or do I just sacrifice GPU power / make a load more heat for my system fan to deal with so get more noise anyway?

With the number of rebates that i'm seeing on Newegg and your budget of ~$100 you could easily invest in a 5770, most of which have decent coolers that should run quietly and keep the GPU cool. One that comes to mind is the Sapphire Vapor X model. As mentioned a number of times above, the performance of this card is particularly good for its price.

With your budget, you'd have to sacrifice some noise for performance, but not much and you could always adjust the fan speed if your PC is idle.

If you've built yourself a conventional system, then the noise level produced by these custom made GPU's should be the least of your worries.

[Cows For Life]

Hi, I've had a look through the "what 2 buy" sticky, but was hoping for some more specific advice. I'm about to buy a new graphics card - I currently have a GeForce 8800GS but managed to kill it whilst upgrading the rest of my PC 0*(

PC Spec is ...
Gigabyte M52LT m/b
AMD Phenon II x4 x 3.2GhZ 955 Black edition
8 Gb DDR3 RAM
2 monitors - 1 x 24" & 1 x20"
Decent PSU 1000W (forget the make)

By basic requirements are to be able to play WoW on the larger monitor whislt watching media player on the other - otherwise I get bored when farming 0&)
I also want something as queit as possible

Budget is flexible, but somewhere around the $100 mark I guess. (want to keep costs down as this is unexpected extra expense) I've been looking at the ATi 5570 chipset, but also at the "silent series" - most of these seem to be around the 5450 chipset which I assume isnt really powerful enough, although ASUS do sell a 5570 slient.

So...

Any thoughts on whether the 5570 chipset will deliver what I'm after
Is silent / fanless worth it, or do I just sacrifice GPU power / make a load more heat for my system fan to deal with so get more noise anyway?

Many thanks.

There are a few fanless 5750/5770 models out there that give you silence without sacrificing performance but they easily cost as much as GTX 460/HD6850 cards. Powercolor and Gigabyte models come to mind immediately.

Whether it's worth it or not depends on how much you value silence and how quiet the rest of your system is.

[widowtwanky]

Thx for all the adivce guys. In the end, I decided to open the wallet a little bit more and go for a 5770 - the Sapphire vapor-x. Let's hope it arrives soon so I only have to limp thru one night of raiding will all my graphics settings on minimum!

[Deleted]

I know this is offtopic,but i always wanted to ask xD how would a gts450 do with a phenom 955 black adition and 4gb ram in WOW?since i dont really play big resolutions..

[nwo]

I know this is offtopic,but i always wanted to ask xD how would a gts450 do with a phenom 955 black adition and 4gb ram in WOW?since i dont really play big resolutions..

Should be good enough to run WoW maxed, possibly with the exception of shadows.

[Deleted]

Should be good enough to run WoW maxed, possibly with the exception of shadows.

Thanks