Help Selecting New GFX Card

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Of course is isn't. I agree with you.

I was saying in regards to the OP' needs

[Vignesh]

Hmm, ok I'm gonna get that one.

Just to confirm, the 520W PSU I currently have will be sufficient?

[marc2003]

yes, you've alread asked and been told once. that's a great psu and it would power even the top end cards like a 580 or 7970 (just the one mind, you'd want something better for sli or crossfire :p).

[philcruicks]

Ok, it says ETA: 20/02/2010. Does that mean I'll receive it on that date, or is that when OcUK get the card?

That'll be the day OcUK get it, so depending on the delivery option you choose next day to a few days later you will get it.

[Vignesh]

Lol, ok and also I previously had the 8600GTS which died, so when I install this card I won't have to reinstall Windows do I?

Cos I''m thinking the nVidia drivers will clash with the new card's drivers...

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

Lol, ok and also I previously had the 8600GTS which died, so when I install this card I won't have to reinstall Windows do I?

Cos I''m thinking the nVidia drivers will clash with the new card's drivers...

you'll absolutely want to uninstall any current drivers first. shut down the computer, pop in the new card, allow windows to boot, then finally install the latest available drivers. for the love of God please dont install the drivers that are included with the graphics card!

[Vignesh]

you'll absolutely want to uninstall any current drivers first. shut down the computer, pop in the new card, allow windows to boot, then finally install the latest available drivers. for the love of God please dont install the drivers that are included with the graphics card!

Well the problem is, cos my gfx card died and I have no spare card, there is no way to use my PC till I get the new card :( So I can't uninstall the drivers first :cry:

OK, just seen this;

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-160-EA&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1830

EVGA GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked 1024MB GDDR5 - ?107.99 excl. P&P :o

Really tempted to get it...

[Vignesh]

Ok guys will be ordering defo tomo, so need to finalise soon.

[+BeLGaRaTh Subscriber¹]

with a ?100 budget you should not consider anything less than a GTX460 or 6850. i wouldn't touch 550/67xx cards with a bargepole.

I agree, I had the money so I opted for 2xGTX460's in SLi, works wonderfully.

[edit]

For some reason I only saw one page and when I entered my comments the rest appeared (Forum bug?) glad you settled on a card in the end :)

[/edit]

[philcruicks]

Ok guys will be ordering defo tomo, so need to finalise soon.

If you can afford the GTX 460 then I'd go for it that's a good deal and its pre-OCed by EVGA, so even though the benchmarks poster earlier showed the 6850 ontop that GTX460 will be a good bit better.

[Guest]

Without a question I would go with the 6850.

Mainly because I have one at the moment and I couldn't be happier. If it died, I'd want to at least replace it with the same model, I wouldn't be happy slapping a 460 in. Well, unless it was near to free/free :)

[Muhammad Farrukh]

I thought you had confirmed 6850 :(

Either the 6850 or the 460 will do good. Don't look elsewhere. Get the one which is cheaper

[Vignesh]

Ok guys, both cards are same price now (actually 460 is cheaper :blush: )...

I'm going for the GTX 460 :)

My doubt now is the current video card drivers crashing with the new card. I can't remove the old drivers as I have no other spare card...

Could I remove the drivers in safe mode when booting with the new card for the first time?

[Sranshaft]

Ok guys, both cards are same price now (actually 460 is cheaper :blush: )...

I'm going for the GTX 460 :)

My doubt now is the current video card drivers crashing with the new card. I can't remove the old drivers as I have no other spare card...

Could I remove the drivers in safe mode when booting with the new card for the first time?

Uninstall the old drivers, take out the old card, plug your monitor into the on-board graphics port, install the new drivers and reboot. Should be pretty straightforward. The motherboard should automatically use the on-board graphics port when it doesn't see the old GPU.

[Vignesh]

Uninstall the old drivers, take out the old card, plug your monitor into the on-board graphics port, install the new drivers and reboot. Should be pretty straightforward. The motherboard should automatically use the on-board graphics port when it doesn't see the old GPU.

Ok, I've got a P5N-E mobo which doesn't have onboard graphics :o

[Sranshaft]

Ok, I've got a P5N-E mobo which doesn't have onboard graphics :o

Ha! You should be able to skip plugging into the mobo then to install the new drivers. So now you'll want to: Uninstall old drivers > Install your new GPU > Install new drivers > Reboot.

[Vignesh]

Ha! You should be able to skip plugging into the mobo then to install the new drivers. So now you'll want to: Uninstall old drivers > Install your new GPU > Install new drivers > Reboot.

I can not uninstall the old drivers because I can't access Windows as I have no working video card, my current video card has Died. I do not have a spare video card, and the next card I'll be getting is the GTX 460 which will arrive in a few days.

What I want to to know is, can I remove the old drivers whilst in Safe Mode with the new card installed.

So basically, I'll pop the new card in, boot into safe mode, and remove the old drivers, then restart and boot into normal mode and install the new drivers.

Is this possible?

[Red Mist]

If your replacing nvidia for nvidia you dont need to uninstall the old drivers, just plu the new card in, boot windows let it do its thing, voila, good to go.

[Sranshaft]

Yes that's totally possible. You could even load into Windows as you would normally do and uninstall that way. Windows will just use the generic drivers until you install the correct drivers. It may even install a driver specific to the card automatically, but you'll still want to go to Nvidia and get the drivers from there.

If your replacing nvidia for nvidia you dont need to uninstall the old drivers, just plug the new card in, boot windows let it do its thing, voila, good to go.

That's completely true, some times. I've had some problems in the past where I was replacing an older ATI with a newer one and dropped the new drivers over the old ones. Things didn't work properly until I uninstalled everything and then re-installed the new ones.

I always do it as a precaution, not that it's always entirely necessary.

[Vignesh]

Thanks a lot for your help guys.

I got the new the card, popped it in. Booted into safe mode, removed the old drivers. Booted into normal mode, visited nvidia's site and installed the latest drivers and BOOM.

Playing all my games MAXed out now :woot:

Success, thanks once again... :D

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Cool, congratulations (Y)

[Vignesh]

Just one more question. I've registered the card today and have received a 10yr limited warranty.

If the card dies say in 4/5yrs time, does that mean I can send it back for replacement?

I'm unsure how this warranty works, if someone could kindly shed some light,

[Sranshaft]

It usually depends on the terms of the warranty. Most of the time though, the warranty only covers manufacturer's defects. If a part on the board fails, you can send it back and get a replacement. If your PSU shorts and fries your GPU, you're screwed. Best thing to do is read the terms and conditions of the warranty.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Sranshaft said it better.

However, in the period of next 4 - 5 years, I think you'll have moved on.

Or will you be sitting with it, just like me?

:s