What Videocard Should I Buy?

Damian Henderson · Mar 26, 2009

Ye very good quality, but all the cards are the same, no matter what brand, they either come with different clock speeds or different coolers.

I would personally just go for the cheapest one with aftermarket cooler.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131125

But I don't know about the rebate stuff over where you are, do you use rebate? Asus one has ($114.99 after $30.00 Mail-In)

Kyle Evers · Mar 26, 2009

That's the one I was looking at earlier, but they still suggested I get the ASUS one. And yes I will be doing the mail-in rebate.

Damian Henderson · Mar 26, 2009

Get the Asus then, cheaper after rebate.

Kyle Evers · Mar 26, 2009

Just purchased the PSU and graphics card. Can't wait for those to come in the mail. Also the processor that Matt Alpeter is sending me - It's going to be a big upgrade from my current specs between the new processor and graphics card and the PSU.

Dan Coldrick · Mar 26, 2009

Nice one Kyle, I'm sure you'll be very happy with your upgrades.

Philip Grimm · Mar 26, 2009

Go with a ati 4800 series card. The 4830 is what I just had but it broke a few days after I got it. It was an asus. Asus is usually a good company however. I have been building custom PC's for over 5 years.

I'd definitely go with the 4830 if your on a lower budget. It ran GTR evo maxed out with my amd 2 7750 kuma at 2.7 ghz, and 2bg of ram.

I will be upgrading to the 4870 however as the perfomance is much higher for just a bit more cash.

Stick with HIS, saphhire, Visiontek (lifetime warrenty) asus, and apollo seems to be a good up and coming brand out there.

Kyle Evers · Mar 26, 2009

Processor came today. Seems like a powerhog, the heatsink and fan are quite bulky. Going to wait until the 400W PSU comes.

Thanks again to Matt Alpeter for the free AMD 64 X2 6400+!

Philip Grimm · Mar 26, 2009

Should have definitely gotten a bigger PSU, I highly suggest returning it. I bought a 580 watt for 20 bucks off newegg, and it has the dual 12v rails.

I could build you quite a computer for less than 300 dollars. The proc is nice though make sure you have a motherboard that is compatible with the chip.

Kyle Evers · Mar 26, 2009

Yeah, I do have the right motherboard.

Everyone keeps saying I should be okay with the Corsair 400W, though I feel uneasy about it. However, I've heard Corsair actually underrates their products, and that the PSU could actually boast 500W+. I think I might return it and get a 520W PSU or so. Not getting a cheap PSU though, as they tend to be quite unreliable and the PSU is the backbone of your computer.

Here's some quotes of what they said regarding the Corsair 400W PSU:

"hes fine with that 400watt corsair i put one in a friends rig Athlon X2 5000+ 4gig DDR2 Adata Pc6400 and an ATI 4830 all extremely overclocked its dead stable unlike my rig...
its also highly effecient and as far as i can tell and as others have stated its conservatively rated id bet that power supply could easily deliver 450watts stable 24/7 if necessary besides"

"Nah, Corsair's are usually Seasonic or Channel Well, the two best OEM's on the planet.
and like I said, they underrate their stuff so that 400w could easily shoot out 500w+"

"I was running a GTX 280 and a Phenom II 940 on a 500w Antec for almost a month with no problems. Power supplies really aren't as finicky as most people think!"

"according to tom's (not a big fan of them as of late but still) a quadcore QX6850 on an X38 with 4850 only pulled 310w during heavy gaming so your fine"

Philip Grimm · Mar 26, 2009

If you were to go with the 4870 I would definitely upgrade regardless.

All I look for in a PSU is a decent manufacture and at least 20 good reviews on newegg. I was going for a cheap build. I got a great system for what I payed.

I hope you're getting all your products through newegg. They have the CHEAPEST prices ANYWHERE, great costumer service and quick shipping. Although since the switch to ups it has been lacking a wee bit.

Kyle Evers · Mar 27, 2009

Philip Grimm said:
If you were to go with the 4870 I would definitely upgrade regardless.

All I look for in a PSU is a decent manufacture and at least 20 good reviews on newegg. I was going for a cheap build. I got a great system for what I payed.

I hope you're getting all your products through newegg. They have the CHEAPEST prices ANYWHERE, great costumer service and quick shipping. Although since the switch to ups it has been lacking a wee bit.

Oh yes, Newegg has the best prices I have seen by far. They also have great service, and if you have troubles and you you mention it in a review, many times the manufacturer will respond.

Kyle Evers · Mar 28, 2009

Well I am getting good reassurance. I was asking people on a tech forum if my PSU was okay, and they said because it's a Corsair it will put out a good amount of power and I should be fine.

I'm assuming though that if I had another PSU by a different manufacturer, I would be in some trouble.

Damian Henderson · Mar 28, 2009

Kyle Evers said:
I'm assuming though that if I had another PSU by a different manufacturer, I would be in some trouble.

Not really, only if you brought one of the cheaper untrusted brands you could hit trouble down the line. Ocz and many other PSU's are really solid to, but Corsair are very highly regarded at the top of the PSU list quality and reliablity wise.

Kyle Evers · Mar 28, 2009

Damian Dainhumain said:
Not really, only if you brought one of the cheaper untrusted brands you could hit trouble down the line. Ocz and many other PSU's are really solid to, but Corsair are very highly regarded at the top of the PSU list quality and reliablity wise.

Well yeah that's what I meant.

Manufacturers like Seasonic, XClio, OCZ, and Corsair are good for PSUs and will often provide more watts than advertised.

Now if you will excuse me I must go to bed for a bit before I wake up at 2:00am again to watch the F1 qualifying.

Kyle Evers · Mar 31, 2009

I'm psyched, new 4850 and 400W PSU should be coming within the next 3 hours or so! Man then I can install my new processor too. Thanks again Matt Alpeter for the free processor, it really made this upgrade that much better.

Kyle Evers · Mar 31, 2009

Package just came about 2 minutes ago

!

Dave Gardner · Mar 31, 2009

get off here then and get it fitted kyle mate, no time to waste.

move it move it

oke:

Kyle Evers · Apr 1, 2009

Took me two hours to do everything O.o

A few complications. Lots of time spent on the CPU. Also the wires and stuff - had to take out my motherboard as my HSF was not coming off my CPU.

Kyle Evers · Apr 1, 2009

All worth the effort, rFactor runs at MAX settings (AA level 3, 32-bit, everything full/max, Ax16). Like completely maxed. And it still runs at anywhere from 2 to 6 times the FPS of my 8500GT.

bmwracer · Nov 20, 2010

Wow, no one's posted here in over a year... Anyone have any suggestions on a good bag-for-the buck video card for games like Race 07 and GTR?

Right now I'm eyeballing the Sapphire Radeon HD 4650 512MB card... About $50.