OSDev.org

Hi,

Can anyone suggest which video card I should buy with my next computer? I am looking at a PCIe card. The ones I have looked at are:

• Asus Extreme EN6600GT-TD-128 PCI Express TV DVI (AU$229)
• Gecube Radeon X800GT3 GDDR3 256MB PCI Express Uni-Wise Fan Edition ($295)
• Gecube Radeon X1600XT Dual DVI DDR2 256MB CrossFire Ready PCI Express ($279)
• Leadtek WinFast PX6600 GT TDH Extreme 128MB PCI-E ($225)
• Leadtek WinFast PX6800 GT TDH 256MB PCI-E ($469)

I was hoping to buy one of the cheaper cards, but I want to be able to play half-life 2 and Doom 3 etc. at 1280x960 with anti-aliasing and high quality settings.

Please tell me what you think,

-Stephen

Too much of a gut decision. In the end, you'll have to balance your requirements for framerate, picture quality, generated heat, and price tag. If you'd take the time to write out all those parameters with the sufficient precision for us to give you educated advice, you'd be able to reach the decision yourself.

If you don't, all what you'll get will be opinions and personal experiences that might or might not be relevant for you.

Oh, and of course smartass replies like mine.

I was hoping to buy one of the cheaper cards, but I want to be able to play half-life 2 and Doom 3 etc. at 1280x960 with anti-aliasing and high quality settings

You appear to want the impossible.

Yes, well... In that case, would the 6800 be a good choice, or should I look for a more expensive card?

-Stephen

I'd bet on the $295 card, but that's without any real background reason.

A 6800GT 256MB isn't a bad choice, an Ultra would be better but also more expensive.

If you want new games on high settings then drop the 6600. I got an 6600GT by XFX for just over ?100, overclocked is good The XFX ones are quite good overclockers even with stock cooling. With or without overclocking its not too bad, it just can't quite play with the big boys.

Someone I know has dual 6800 Ultras and it is absolutely insane. He was playing Battlefield 2 with all the options right up and I literally was staring in awe for ages at the graphics.

In summary, 6600GT isn't bad unless you want new games on high settings, 6800GT is better, I dunno about the ATI cards.

Leadtek WinFast PX6600 GT TDH Extreme 128MB PCI-E ($225)

I have a 256mb version of this card, it's not that bad. It's not top of the line, either, though. With 256mb of RAM I got around 1440 on 3DMark05, with 1GB of RAM I got like 2800. So it's no gaming machine, but it can run the games just fine with reasonable settings. For instance, I can run Gish in 1280x960 and I've never had the slightest slowdown, it starts in like 2 seconds from when it displays the loading screen (not even).

If your willing to spend the $469 of that last card, I would actually recommend going up to the 7800GTX for about $100 more. That will be able to run just about anything.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814143043

Of course even the GT model would be good:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814143042

I have that 7800GTX in my computer right now.

How much better would a 7800 be than a 6800? I can buy a 7800 GT for AU$100 (US$75) more. (Leadtek WinFast PX7800GT 256MB Dual DVI-I VIVO)

Would it be worth it?

-Stephen

The 7800GT brings the total of the computer up to AU$2600. Other components include:

• AMD Athlon X2 4200+
• Asus A8N-SLI motherboard
• 2GB of RAM
• Dual Layer DVD Burner
• DVD Reader
• 120 GB SATA Hard Drive (for Windows and Applications)
• 300 GB SATA Hard Drive (Files, Video etc.)
• Logitech 2.1 THX Speaker System

Plus keyboard, mouse, CPU cooler, Case etc.

-Stephen

Much better, not only graphics wise, but it also runs cooler and uses less energy from what I read.

You have a very nice setup there. We both have the same processor and mother board. Although is your motherboard the premium, delux, or the regular? I have the premium that has the heat sink rather than the fan.

This is mine:
http://www.agigames.com/cpu/index.php?cpu=chris

I'll be getting the regular (ASUS A8N-SLI nForce 4 SLI Socket 939 Motherboard). One thing that I am concerned about is the power supply that comes with the case. It is only 400 Watts. Do you think I shuld buy a 500 or more watt power supply? You can see the case here.

Heres a picture:


-Stephen

Possibly this one: Power Supply CoolerMaster Real Power 550W SLI Ready (ATX) (AU$200) or Power Supply SkyHawk GM-520SC(true 520W) Max peak 590W (ATX) with Audio Standby ($89) or Power Supply 24pin EPS with 2xSATA 550W,12CM Fan ($99).

I think the last one is a generic brand one, but it looks good. I might just wait until after I buy the computer, and see if its a problem. Is this a bad idea?

-Stephen

I would recommend going with an Antec brand power supply, rather than go with the one the case comes with. Never go with the same power supply your case comes with. It's a very important part and you should get a good one to protect your system. Heck mine came with a 500W power supply, but I ditched it for the 500W Antec power supply. Only $100US extra. Just one word of advice don't get with the Antec Neo though, that one is reported to have problems with the Asus boards.

As for the motherboard, the reason I went premium is because the basic and delux are known to have problems with the fan dieing and causing heat problems.

The heatsink/heatpipe on the premium will give you a much longer life on the mobo since it draws the heat towards the fan/vent at the back of the case to cool it down and get the heat out.

Anyway, very nice case.

The preimum and deluxe versions of the motherboard are quite expensive, so I think I will go for the basic, and maybe get a 3rd party chipset cooler if it becomes a prolem. As for the power supply, all the antec ones that are over 300 watts are very expensive (AU$200 and above). Do you think that either of the cheaper two PSUs that I mentioned above would be sufficient?

Thanks,

-Stephen