Buying a new GFX

[coolguy4]

hi,

i am planning on buying a new GFX that can handle a 22" monitor and was wondering which one i should get! sapphire hd 4850 or a gigabyte 9800GT?

keep in mind that i want this to as future proof as it can be, like for a year and a half... i dont play much games, but there are a few coming out soon, mostly they are not shooter games that wont require a hi-end video card... and i dont mind not playing on high settings!

BTW: will either one of this cards be able to play games on high resolution while keeping the settings over medium??

i am also going to buy a 500W psu... is it enough?

thx guys

[Pupik]

4850. It's a great card and the PSU will handle it just fine.

And what games are you talking about?

[obiwong]

go with the 4850 (Y)

i'm running my 22" with it and can run pretty much everything on max settings (guess which game i can't!)

[Colin.B]

go with the 4850 (Y)

i'm running my 22" with it and can run pretty much everything on max settings (guess which game i can't!)

DOOM!

All kidding aside, does it have "cry" in the name, most likely because that's what it did to most computers when it first came out and end with a "sis"?

Anyways, I'm trying to figure the same thing out as you, except I'm using a 19 inch monitor. I'm leaning towards the 4850 myself. The 9800 GTX + also seems like a solid card but...From my understanding ATi cards can go into a crossfire setup without needing the exact same card which sounds interesting to me. (This is just what I was told, I haven't researched it...They could have been mistaken. I haven't followedthis stuff very closely in quite some time.)

[coolguy4]

the game line up (which none of them are out yet) is pretty much empire: total war, gta , starcraft 2 and diablo 3 (depending on when its coming), red alert 3... and probably a few shooters here and there... i dont play much games...

btw when i switch cards do i just need to remove the drivers? (im going from nvidia to ati)

[obiwong]

the game line up (which none of them are out yet) is pretty much empire: total war, gta , starcraft 2 and diablo 3 (depending on when its coming), red alert 3... and probably a few shooters here and there... i dont play much games...

btw when i switch cards do i just need to remove the drivers? (im going from nvidia to ati)

yup

i went from an 8800GTS to a HD4850

uninstall the nvidia drivers then install the ati drivers (Y)

might also be a good idea to run a driver cleaning app after you uninstall nvidia drivers to make sure everything is gone

[coolguy4]

is this psu good? OCZ StealthXstream 500 PSU

or is there a better one for the same price?

(btw i have a e6550 cpu, 2 gig ocz memory)

edit: or should i get Corsair VX Series 450W PSU

[NienorGT]

The nVidia answer to the ATi HD4850 is the 9800GTX+, not the 9800GT. So between both, the HD 4850 is more powerful.

[Colin.B]

is this psu good? OCZ StealthXstream 500 PSU

or is there a better one for the same price?

(btw i have a e6550 cpu, 2 gig ocz memory)

edit: or should i get Corsair VX Series 450W PSU

It seems decent enough. One review I read said it doesn't have enough SATA or PCI-E connectors. They noted that it could be a problem if you want to run more than two SATA drives.

You can spend a few extra bucks and get this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139004

It has 6x SATA connectors, 2x PCI-E and is 80+ certified for energy efficiency.

If you want something cheaper you can go with:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817371007

Still 80+ certified, has 2x PCI-E connectors, but only 4 SATA.

[coolguy4]

The nVidia answer to the ATi HD4850 is the 9800GTX+, not the 9800GT. So between both, the HD 4850 is more powerful.

is the 9800gtx+ better? is it worth spending more money on?

[nonick]

The HD4850 is still superior even to the GTX+.

Support the underdog ;) nvidia is rich enough.

[Colin.B]

Hey if nobody minds me hijacking this thread real quick...Really only for this one post - What would you recommend for gaming on a 19 inch LCD? And I mean medium gaming, not heavy, trying to save for a wedding and US residency all on one small income, but wanting a card that should be fine for a couple of years. Even if it means medium settings in a year or two. (I've had my 6800gt since it first came out and it handles CoD4 just fine.)

Hijack over, my total apologies Coolguy.

[NienorGT]

is the 9800gtx+ better? is it worth spending more money on?

Not really, I do have brought last week a 9800GTX+ because it was in special and then cheaper than the the HD4850 and also in stock locally.

Also my 9800GTX+ is Factory Overclocked witch finally make it par with ATi.

Don't forget that the 9800GTX is nothing other than a 8800GTS-512MB with faster core, and the GTX+ is a 55nm version with again faster core speeds, so it's nothing new since almost one year.

Still, take only the Geforce 9800GTX+ (Stock) if it's cheaper by at least 20$.

[coolguy4]

ok so its settled 4850! is there any reason to buy the toxic edition?

will the corsair 450w handle my machine or do i need the 550?

i dont need more than one video card.. however the 2 sata could be a problem if i ever get another hd or a blu-ray

[Colin.B]

ok so its settled 4850! is there any reason to buy the toxic edition?

will the corsair 450w handle my machine or do i need the 550?

i dont need more than one video card.. however the 2 sata could be a problem if i ever get another hd or a blu-ray

I'd go with at least 500W. I think the Antec one I linked should be fine really if you'll only be using one GPU. The 550W one I linked is pretty solid too however.

[gwai lo]

edit: nevermind i didn't see it.

sigs with system specs need to be required. -_-

Edited August 29, 2008 by gwai lo

[+PeterUK MVC]

is this psu good? OCZ StealthXstream 500 PSU

or is there a better one for the same price?

(btw i have a e6550 cpu, 2 gig ocz memory)

edit: or should i get Corsair VX Series 450W PSU

Corsair VX 450W will be fine.

[coolguy4]

@ peterUK: how is the zalman zm-f3? how quite is it?

[+PeterUK MVC]

@ peterUK: how is the zalman zm-f3? how quite is it?

They are quite if you add the included resister to run @ 900 rpm but when they run @ 1800rpm they are a bit noisy.

But not as noisy as the Intel stock fan. :)