Windows 7 Recommendations for Video card?

azTom

New Member
Just finished reassembling my computer and have the 9500 video Express X16 with 1024MB DDR 2 installed. All my performance ratings were good (5.9 to 7.2) EXCEPT the Desktop Aero 4.4 and 3D Graphics 4.9. Since I can return it, any suggest reasonably priced video card?
 
Hello and Welcome to Windows7forums.. :)

It really depends on what your doing with your computer.. If gaming is the main focus than I'd say wait for the DX11 cards.. AMD is releasing their first batch sometime in September '09 supposedly.. If gaming isn't a concern for you then something along the lines of a Radeon HD 4670/4850 OR a GTX 250/260 would be more then enough for most non-gaming users.. ;)

I'd also suggest (if you are able to and haven't already) checking out some e-tailers as they often have much better prices than retail outlets. ;)
 
I'm a little surprised to see Radenight's card choices listed under "if gaming isn't a concern for you". The cards aren't top-of-the-line, but they're only a step or two below the best single GPU cards made by ATI or nVidia. I imagine that they'd be pretty good for gaming if your monitor isn't huge or you don't require too much in the antaliasing line.

In the ATI line, I've seen the HD4870 512MB version for less than $150 lately. The 4870 is like the 4850, but it uses GDDR5 RAM rather than GDDR3, for a significantly higher bandwidth. The 4890 is ATI's current best single GPU card, but I believe that it's not greatly superior to the 4870.

The nVidia GTX260 is similar to their best single GPU card (the GTX285), but it has 216 processor cores rather than 240. (There are also older versions of the GTX260 with 192 cores. I doubt they'd be enough cheaper to justify the lesser performance.) The standard for this card is 896MB of RAM.

The DX11 cards may be appearing soon, but I don't know about the release roadmap. ATI is supposed to be first out with their 58xx series, but I imagine that they'll first release a high-end model, to extract as much money as possible from those who want the latest and greatest.

My favorite spot to peruse graphics cards is www.newegg.com. Their "power search" feature is particularly useful. I recommend using them as a resource even if you're outside their business area (US and Canada). If you can do business with them, their prices are pretty good. My only annoyance with them is that they charge the same for shipping for each item whether it is purchased separately or part of an order of many items. (That's partly because they ship from multiple warehouses. I've gotten stuff from CA and NJ.)
 
I'm a little surprised to see Radenight's card choices listed under "if gaming isn't a concern for you". The cards aren't top-of-the-line, but they're only a step or two below the best single GPU cards made by ATI or nVidia. I imagine that they'd be pretty good for gaming if your monitor isn't huge or you don't require too much in the antaliasing line.

I was waiting for someone to point that out.. ;) My recommendations were impacted by the fact that the OP did not state a budget or what the primary use of the PC is.. ;) He states that he currently has an nVidia 9500 which in a retail outlet (in Canada) can be found for approx $129.99. The cards I suggested can be found on e-tailers such as Newegg for roughly the same price or less.. :)

And yes, the cards I mentioned are near top of the line at this point in time.. However, the size of the monitor also makes a difference, which was also not stated.. My recommendations were made based on the few facts that were given..
 
Confused

I have dual monitors 19" Samsung SyncMaster 930e. Looking at Newegg I find several manufacturers that make the HD 4870 and GTX 260 with a considerable price range, BUT no ATI nor nVidia manufacrurers? What manufacturer do you recommend?
 
I have dual monitors 19" Samsung SyncMaster 930e. Looking at Newegg I find several manufacturers that make the HD 4870 and GTX 260 with a considerable price range, BUT no ATI nor nVidia manufacrurers? What manufacturer do you recommend?

Both those cards are good if thats your price range. You will be able to game with no problems. As for manufactures, it usually comes down the a higher price card has a more efficient cooler or more RAM. The stock cooler is fine, but a tad noisy. Buy the card that is bundled with a game you dont have. At the end of the day they are all the same.
 
I have dual monitors 19\" Samsung SyncMaster 930e. Looking at Newegg I find several manufacturers that make the HD 4870 and GTX 260 with a considerable price range, BUT no ATI nor nVidia manufacrurers? What manufacturer do you recommend?

nVidia does not make cards for sale at retail. All nVidia based graphics cards are labelled for other manufacturers or distributors. I prefer the reference card cooling design, which uses up two slots but exhausts the heat out the back. (That said, for all I know, the nonstandard designs may be as good or better.) eVGA and BFG seem to have good warranty support, and they offer a range of overclocked cards (which means that they cater to enthusiasts).

ATI used to sell cards directly, but it looks like they may not any more. I've had an HD4870 from Gigabyte and Diamond. They are both ATI reference designs, and could be used in CrossfireX without difficulty. (I believe that they even had the same device ID.) The old Diamond Multimedia had some of the most hostile tech support in the industry, but I believe that the current company is essentially an entirely new operation doing business under the Diamond name. I haven't needed to go to either Gigabyte or Diamond for support. Sapphire and Asus also have good reputations. I think I'd have no qualms about buying the Powercolor HD4870 that they list for $127US, although I might spend the extra money ($135) for the Sapphire model:

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 279L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

which includes Crossfire and HDMI adapters.

Caution: both the GTX260 and HD4870 are large cards. They may not fit in some cases. Both also require two 6 pin PCI-E power connectors, and a fairly husky PSU (like 500W, 38A combined +12V). Some cards come with Molex-to-PCI-E power adapters, but it's preferable to have the straight PCI-E power cables. What's you case? PSU?
 
The ATI 4770 series is a good one too, and usually less than $100.

Ed

Good recommendation.

I tended to forget about that one, because it was of limited availability for a while. (40nm chip.) There seem to be lots available at Newegg now, but I don't see any retail packages for less than $100US at the moment. It consumes less power than the others (single 6 pin PCI-E power connector), so that may make it attractive in addition to its price.

The prices on the 4850 and 4870 have dropped enough that cost is less of an issue.
 
Thanks again

Thanks for all the info. and advice. :p I've been getting all my parts at Fry's, hopefully they'll have a sale on one of the mentioned cards. While I've brought many things online, just hesisitant about a video card in case it needs to be returned.:confused:
 
I see Fry's has the XFX HD4770 for $129.99, how does that look? That's $10 less than their normal price.
 
Thanks Ed for the info, but I see last Fridays Fry's ad for EVGA GTX 275 is a great buy after rebates at $148.99. While I'm not at this time into games things do change and I'd rather not regret spending the added $19.
 
Forget it guess everyone else saw the ad as area stores are sold out and not available for online orders. Must be a discontinued item! Back to the drawing board.
 
Forget it guess everyone else saw the ad as area stores are sold out and not available for online orders. Must be a discontinued item! Back to the drawing board.

I think that it's not a discontinued item. $148.99 was a fantastic price for the card, which I believe to be considerably better than a GTX260. nearly as good as the (discontinued) GTX280. I can well imagine that Frys would have sold out quickly.

Sometimes, I regret that there's no East Coast equivalent of Frys. (Not enough to make me move to CA, or AZ, or TX.)
 
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