Best and Cheapest Video Card

[Jun aka Pekto]

AFAIK, the video chip is built in the motherboard, which you can't simple upgrade it, unlike a desktop PC.

Unless you have one of those $3k+ gaming laptops.

[ssaloon]

Hey guys, what are your thoughts on the Inno3D 8800GT 256ddr3 dvi 256bit? I'm shopping around for a video card to replace my aging and dying 7300gt.

Is it a good buy at around P4300? What are the other alternatives with the similar performance and price range?

I was eying the MSI NX8800GTS 320ddr3 320bit OC selling for P3700, but it's subject to availability since units are scarce, and they mentioned to me that it does not have a box and could be missing the drivers. Not too sure if it's brand new old stock, either...

Lastly, will my 500w power supply be able to power the video card, and will my old mobo (MSI K7N2 Delta) be able to accommodate this card?

Thanks in advance!

[Jun aka Pekto]

Hey guys, what are your thoughts on the Inno3D 8800GT 256ddr3 dvi 256bit? I'm shopping around for a video card to replace my aging and dying 7300gt.

Is it a good buy at around P4300? What are the other alternatives with the similar performance and price range?

I was eying the MSI NX8800GTS 320ddr3 320bit OC selling for P3700, but it's subject to availability since units are scarce, and they mentioned to me that it does not have a box and could be missing the drivers. Not too sure if it's brand new old stock, either...

Lastly, will my 500w power supply be able to power the video card, and will my old mobo (MSI K7N2 Delta) be able to accommodate this card?

Thanks in advance!

Your cpu would be the bottleneck. That motherboard is for the Athlon XP cpu with AGP video slot. You might want to upgrade to at least an Athlon 64 X2 dualcore along with the 8800GT. Plus, I don't think there's an AGP 8800GT.

I'd say it's time for you to save your money and buy/upgrade to a pc with a PCI-E video card slot. Don't waste your money doing further upgrades to that pc except to replace the dying 7300GT with a same family video card (7600GT/7800GS/7950GTX). There's the ATI 3850 if you insist on a modern video chipset. Your cpu would still be the bottleneck though.

That motherboard's AGP slot is 4x and 8x compatible. So a modern AGP card will work.

[jut703]

Hey guys, what are your thoughts on the Inno3D 8800GT 256ddr3 dvi 256bit? I'm shopping around for a video card to replace my aging and dying 7300gt.

Is it a good buy at around P4300? What are the other alternatives with the similar performance and price range?

I was eying the MSI NX8800GTS 320ddr3 320bit OC selling for P3700, but it's subject to availability since units are scarce, and they mentioned to me that it does not have a box and could be missing the drivers. Not too sure if it's brand new old stock, either...

Lastly, will my 500w power supply be able to power the video card, and will my old mobo (MSI K7N2 Delta) be able to accommodate this card?

Thanks in advance!

Sir why not get the nVidia 9800GT or the ATI HD 4830? Mas bago yung 2 cards na yan at nearly the same price, with significantly better performance.

Also sir kung hindi generic yung 500W PSU mo, ok yan, but if it's the one that came with the case, definitely generic yan. I would suggest staying away from generic PSUs. A "500W" generic PSU is actually only capable of 250-300W.

[Jun aka Pekto]

Sir why not get the nVidia 9800GT or the ATI HD 4830? Mas bago yung 2 cards na yan at nearly the same price, with significantly better performance.

He has an Athlon XP cpu. Considering even an Athlon 64 will handicap those cards, it makes sense to stick with a lesser and cheaper card. If he does upgrade later to a pc with PCI-E, he won't be able to carry over that expensive AGP card.

[ssaloon]

Actually, I'm using a C2D setup. E6300 if i recall correctly. And my 7300GT is already a PCI-E. (I must have got the mobo wrong, accidentally getting my old rig's receipt).

Some forumers at TPC recommended that I go for the 9600GT 512mb DDR3, which costs roughly the same as an 8800GT, but slightly faster than the former. The only problem with my present setup is that I have to upgrade my PSU as it is indeed the generic one.

What do you guys think about the 9600GT? I want to stay within my 4.5k budget.

[jut703]

Sir 8800GT > 9600GT po. :D But most 8800GT/9800GT/4830 are still at the 5k-5.5k range. If you're willing to stretch the budget a little I'd say go for it but if you must stay within 4.5k then the 9600GT retails for about 4-4.3k and is better than the 8800GTS 320MB while consuming less power. :D Likewise from the Red Team you can get a similarly-performing and similarly-priced 4670. It's cheaper by 200 petot on average. :D


IMHO, kahit hindi big-time yung card, it's good to invest in a decent PSU, 'cause when that one goes, it usually takes your whole board with you. :D
a 400-450W PSU would be enough for you, as long as you don't plan to SLI/CF anytime soon. :D
I got myself a Corsair CX400 for 2.6k. I think it's good value for Core 2 Duo users with midrange cards (E6550 * 2.8 w/ HD 3850 here).

[Jun aka Pekto]

Actually, I'm using a C2D setup. E6300 if i recall correctly. And my 7300GT is already a PCI-E. (I must have got the mobo wrong, accidentally getting my old rig's receipt).

Some forumers at TPC recommended that I go for the 9600GT 512mb DDR3, which costs roughly the same as an 8800GT, but slightly faster than the former. The only problem with my present setup is that I have to upgrade my PSU as it is indeed the generic one.

What do you guys think about the 9600GT? I want to stay within my 4.5k budget.

Oh okay..... Never mind. Time to splurge then. I'd go with what jut703 said.

[Revenant]

For around 4.4k-4.7k, you can purchase a brand new Palit 9800GT Green Edition for a lower power consumption. Just ask around the computer shops in the Gilmore area. PCHub has one at 4.5k.

Just remember to get the 512mb version. You're just going to waste your money with a 1gb version as this only offers, at most, 2% performance increase on selected titles. Same goes with its stronger sibling in the 9800GTX/250GTS.

[ssaloon]

I read that the 9800GT Standard is better and faster than its Green Edition counterpart? So I reckon that the standard edition is more expensive?

[Jun aka Pekto]

I read that the 9800GT Standard is better and faster than its Green Edition counterpart? So I reckon that the standard edition is more expensive?

I'm a little leery of Green Edition cards. Normally to achieve lower power consumption, slower ram is used or perhaps some underclocking is involved.

Anyway, 500w is plenty for even the fastest non-SLI/Crossfire or ATI X2 cards. I'd give it a try first with your psu before buying an expensive one.

I had a supposedly reputable Antec Tru-Power II 480w psu (bought in 2005) and it malfunctioned last year. I'm betting the psu problems of the past few years were related to this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague#Symptoms

Newer ones (after 2007) should be more reliable although I'd still check to see if similar defective capacitors are still being used.

[Galactus]

Why not wait for DX11 cards? Most cards out in the market are DX10 versions. The newer version supposedly offers better performance.

But if you can't wait, I'd choose to go Red Team (rather than Green), if you catch my drift. Over at TipidPC, somebody's offering the Radeon 4850 at 5.5k (made by Triplex). But if PSU's generic, 500w can't hack it. Better upgrade to FSP's or HECs.

[ssaloon]

No issue for DX11 cards since I'm not upgrading the entire system anytime soon.

Yeah, I think the caveat to my system is my PSU.

Add to the fact that I have 2 HDDs and 2 optical drives, I think the generic 500w just won't cut it. Ipon muna...

[ssaloon]

Double post

[Jun aka Pekto]

No issue dor DX11 cards since I'm not upgrading the entire system anytime soon.

Yeah, I think the caveat to my system is my PSU.

Add to the fact that I have to HDDs and 2 optical drives, I think the generic 500w just won't cut it. Ipon muna...

I guess those 4 devices do take a lot of juice...... Time for one those 850w-ers.

Or, just to throw a monkey wrench into the discussion....... How about one of this babies: video card psu for 5 1/4" drive bay . One of my friends have this on his tricked out rig:



http://www.ocia.net/reviews/powerpartner/page1.shtml

[ssaloon]

Hahaha tukso yan!

Btw, just to get me up to speed, who's the red and green team? Sorry, been out of it for so long.

[Galactus]

Red Team = ATI
Green Team = nVidia

[digitel]

PALIT video card is the best in the market IMHO

[jut703]

PALIT video card is the best in the market IMHO

It's not much of the maker, it's more of the card itself. Sige bili ka PALIT 9500GT mo para kainin ng PowerColor HD 5870.

All things equal, however, best to look out for is price. Sige may PALIT nga na GTX 260, eh kung may cheaper version with the same specs edi dun ka na.

IMHO in computers, it's very important to look out for specs. You have to check if it's at stock clock rates, if it's using passive or active cooling, if it has the right amount of HDMI and DVI ports, etc. Oh and warranty too. :D

And of course you have to be in the know when it comes to current technologies. Alot of people are often fooled by the notion that higher memory = greater performance. A 512 MB DDR2 8600GT is no match for my 256 MB GDDR3 HD 3850. Likewise the technology behind it has to be reviewed as well. A 512 MB GDDR3 8600GT is still no match for my 256 MB GDDR3 HD 3850.

The tricky part in video cards is that its actual performance is often not dictated by the sum of its parts. Kahit mas madami ka pang shaders, stream processors, kahit mas mataas pa core at memory clocks mo, it's best to check out benchmarks. If you're not in the mood to dig deep into all of those details, Tom's Hardware has got the right article for you: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...card,2404.html

[Revenant]

I read that the 9800GT Standard is better and faster than its Green Edition counterpart? So I reckon that the standard edition is more expensive?

Core clock and shader processor clock have been reduced by 8%, from 600 to 550 and from 1500 to 1375 respectively. In real word benches though, there were only 2-4fps difference, with the highest point fps taking the brunt while the lowest fps and midrange fps remained the same.

Mine is a Palit Super+ 9800GT (standard), while my friend's htpc had the Palit 9800GT Green Edition. We both had LCD monitors at 1680 x 1050.