Video Card Advice Mine Died.

Well, my GTX 260 has bit the dust. Got a replacement fan from EVGA, overheats and locks up the computer. Tried an aftermarket kit, it is not compatible with this card. So, I am out around $80, and no luck. So, I give up. Am planning on a total computer upgrade after the first of the year, but now I need a video card, and am short on cash.

I have been a bit out of the loop on hardware. I found this one on the Egg, for right around $100. Decent card? I am up and running on an old NVidia 9800 and it plays the games I play just fine. This one seems like a bit of an upgrade, at a fair price.

Any suggestions before I order it? Oh, will be folding on it as well, when the A/C is on.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134119

Just posting to see if I am overlooking any details.

This is pretty much the card that died, just different brand.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125391

I am liking the DDR5 ram and the additional ram on the first one.

Oh, and thanks for the input.

 

Are you gonna upgrade the GPU in the new year? if so grin and bare the 9800 for a few months and put the $100 towards what you would get in the NY. an extra hundred bucks could make a lot of difference. Im running a radeon X1950 which is poor but does what I want.

If you are not going to upgrade then you really need to go higher spec now. spending $100 now seems like a bit of a waste?

 

I wouldn't bother folding on a GPU anymore due to power use, or unless you're me and heats with electricity and already has card aplenty to use until they're gone. Then it's winning!:-D Can you live with that 9800 until your new build? I would personally get a GTX 560 Ti as that one has the best bang for the buck and since you game. The best points producers are the Sandy Bridge like I have or the soon to be released SB-E hexacore. Or you can go on the cheap and build a 2600K machine for around $500.

What's your upgrade plan like?

 

The 9800 is borrowed, and must go home next week. That leaves me with my laptop, which is great for forums, but not gaming beyond solitaire.

My upgrade plan is a 64 bit OS, tons of RAM and maybe one of those I7 CPU's... I thought about going big for the video card, but have almost cobbled together a spare machine. So, when I do upgrade, I could use the new GPU in it until I can afford better, and then toss it into the spare computer.

Got caught with no spare computer this time... Not a good thing.

Keep the good info coming, I am going to order Monday. :cool

 

Well, you're between two rocks then, no choice but the 550 since you want to fold, there's no decent ATI support from FAH yet but it is supposed to come 'soon'. Since you'll be waiting into the new year you'll hopefully have a price drop on current chips. Easy on the RAM man, don't get more than 8GB and with folding in mind get 2133's and keep it to 4GB so you don't break the bank.

Ignore the AMD octo-core Bulldozers as I doubt they can even keep up with an OC'd Sandy Bridge 2600K. They'll be out in a few weeks so reviews will be out soon after that. Cooling, Corsair H-60 or Hyper 212+ if you go the 2600K route.

 

So the little 400 is not an upgrade from the GTX260? :confused

 

Wise words on the RAM front. I get nervous when people say loads of RAM. If your not careful you can spunk money up the wall for no real gain. After all its not the size that counts!:-o

Im not sure I would say ignore Bulldozer. A lot of the early info and leaked Benchmarks of the Buldozer chips hammer Sandy Bridge, although I wouldn't trust a leaded benchmark. I also have no idea what the price point is at the minute because traditionally AMD chips are a bit cheaper than an Intel equivelent. I think the key is wait until they are out then look at some of the tests and see the price point and make a decision then. Post your proposed spec before you buy and we can all give some opinions.

edit:

if bulldozer is :crap then Sandy Bridge 2600K ftw

 

You could have a go on one of these for three months

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133316

It is nowhere near what you are currently running but it is cheap and may tie you over til New Year.

 

Sorry man, typoitis. I did mean the 450.:-o

 

Ya, bad choice of words on my part. According to probable pricing, if true, will put the BD right up against the SB. I'm going to pass on that if it doesn't fit my %30 performance increase rule before I upgrade which the SB-E qualifies for but $600 is a tough pill to swallow.:eek

http://en.expreview.com/2011/07/27/...r-processor-retail-pricings-leaked/18484.html

 

Have you seen how cheap RAM is these days, I say the more the merrier. :-D

4GB DDR 3, $29... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231425


So Augie, you are much more up on the GPU's, do you think the video card in my first post would be a decent choice for a few months, then put in a spare PC?

 

The 450 will be fine but know that I'm not a gamer. Same amount of procs too so it should be a bit better than your 260.

Ya, 1333 RAM is cheap these days but I mentioned 2133 since you're going to spring for a near top end rig, no point in having a fast CPU without fast RAM to match, especially when folding.

Put on your hafaphoto persona and check out what their discussing instead of me giving it to you 3rd hand.

 

LoL, have not been to that site in a while. I am going to have to do a lot of research before updating the box. Just want to keep this one going, and a minor GPU upgrade will be a plus. Worse comes to worse (assuming PCI 2) is still the standard, I can use the new card in the upgraded box for a month or two.

I am still on DDR2 on this machine. :-D

 

Your card that died is the one I have now, but the red EVGA one. It's a good little card.

If you have to order a new card now, I'd get the 450. It's an upgrade from the 260, and should be able to run anything you care to throw at it without too much effort. My 260 can max out most of this summer's major games, including Witcher 2 and Deus Ex, so a 450 should last you at least until your next build next year.

 

Indeed,like I say its not about the size of the package but the speed it shifts! lol

Holy Cow! That is steep! I would be tempted to stick with the 2600K

 

Well, considering that I won't be getting a high end video card with this, it is a more reasonable price.(Hey, I'm trying to justify this purchase.):-D Yes it is steep but folks are still buying the i7 990X unlocked hexa-core at $1K ATM which I assume will go down quickly in price if the SB-E does sell at $600, and performs better as they're going to have a lot of unsold stock.

Interesting times for us but torture for Intel. I'm just going to wait and see, I've got enough power to keep me going for quite a while.

 

Thanks for the help, GPU is ordered. Got the 450. :cool