 Which Video Card To Choose?, I'm at a crossroad |
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 Jan 12 2007, 12:54 PM
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 Senior Member  Group: Members Posts: 490 Joined: 27-October 06 From: Illinois (the land of strange laws) Member No.: 92,392  |
I'm looking to spend around $200 on a new card. But I want one that will push some demanding games without chopping up. I don't have a preference between ATI or nVidia, but I'm looking for performance. I do have a PCI Express slot on my mb. Could it be my CD Drive that is slowing things down? I have a new Sony DVR. I am at a loss; I want to play kickass games on my computer, but I don't know how to get it there. Someone please help me! -------------------- "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." -Albert Camus
"Chance favors the prepared mind." -Louis Pasteur "If a man does his best, what else is there?" -George S. Patton |
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Jan 12 2007, 01:11 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 67 Joined: 29-November 06 Member No.: 98,390 |
it could be any number of things, really. do you have a lot of background programs running? have you defragmented your hard drive recently (once a month or more is good)?
if those don't help, tom's hardware had a good guide to video cards. i just got the x1950xt based on it's recommendation. |
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Jan 12 2007, 01:20 PM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 490 Joined: 27-October 06 From: Illinois (the land of strange laws) Member No.: 92,392 |
I wouldn't say I have a lot of programs in the background. Probably 10 or so. Yes, I defragment quite often. Sometimes turning off the Virtual Memory in order to defrag the whole volume.
-------------------- "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." -Albert Camus
"Chance favors the prepared mind." -Louis Pasteur "If a man does his best, what else is there?" -George S. Patton |
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Jan 12 2007, 09:17 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 106 Joined: 3-December 06 From: Shannon, IL Member No.: 99,304 |
When I had a 64mb 9250 (It was AGP) with a 2600+ and 512 RAM (my very very first system)
I had no lag at all in games. But I did play some lower-end games. Starcraft, Warcraft 3, Unreal Tournament 2004, some Counter Strike anyway, a 200$ pci-express card.. I'd go with a 7900GS. I think that's their price now.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814150202 This post has been edited by Archer-of-Death: Jan 12 2007, 09:19 PM |
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Jan 12 2007, 09:56 PM
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 82 Joined: 18-October 06 Member No.: 90,895 |
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814130056
The EVGA 7900 GS. Powerful, cheap. More than enough to play any DX9 games that are already out or will come out soon. $155 after rebates. I prefer EVGA cards because EVGA is the only one whose warranty covers overclocking. Which is a nice plus. |
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Jan 13 2007, 11:43 AM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 490 Joined: 27-October 06 From: Illinois (the land of strange laws) Member No.: 92,392 |
how do you overclock a graphics card?
-------------------- "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." -Albert Camus
"Chance favors the prepared mind." -Louis Pasteur "If a man does his best, what else is there?" -George S. Patton |
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Jan 13 2007, 03:21 PM
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#7
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Member Group: Members Posts: 82 Joined: 18-October 06 Member No.: 90,895 |
QUOTE(blueandgold04 @ Jan 13 2007, 11:43 AM)  how do you overclock a graphics card? Pretty simple. Nvidia Cards can be overclocked with a tool Nvdia made called Coolbits. It's just a matter of typing in the clock speeds you want. |
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Jan 13 2007, 04:10 PM
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 Visually handicapped, hence the avatar :0) Group: Moderator Posts: 14,526 Joined: 2-October 05 From: Southeastern CT, USA Member No.: 35,824 |
Vid card overclocking:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/141 I also believe that AnandTech did an article on this - but can't find the link. -------------------- - John
**If you need a more detailed explanation, please ask for it. I have the Knack. ** |
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Jan 13 2007, 05:10 PM
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#9
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Member Group: Members Posts: 67 Joined: 29-November 06 Member No.: 98,390 |
QUOTE(blueandgold04 @ Jan 13 2007, 11:43 AM) how do you overclock a graphics card? ATI has a program called ATI Tool which works pretty well. it lets you set the memory and core clocks and then test them for errors while also monitoring temperature. |
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Jan 14 2007, 07:00 AM
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 43 Joined: 21-June 06 Member No.: 73,010 |
Well, if you're planning on getting Vista, and playing DirectX 10 games and stuff, I'd wait a little while to see what DX10 cards come out, and see if they go down into your price range a little better. Currently the only DX10 cards are the fast, but highly expensive GeForce 8800GTS/GTX's, but within a month or two ATI should whip out some DX10 cards, and the 8800's should drop the price a bit. If you must have one now, then yeah the eVGA 7900GS would be a nice pick.
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Jan 14 2007, 10:42 AM
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#11
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Member Group: Members Posts: 106 Joined: 3-December 06 From: Shannon, IL Member No.: 99,304 |
Your best bet would probably be with the 7900GS. But they also have 7600's with higher clock ratings than 7950's.
XFX's Fatal1ty 7600 = Higher clock 7900 = 256-bit video memory |
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