graphics card recommendations

dansher · Mar 2011

hey all,

so i think my graphics card is dying, all my colors are a little funky and gradients are coming out really blocky instead of nice and smooth.

anyway i was wondering if anyone could recommend a decent one for me. i replaced the stock one i got about 2 years ago with a NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT.

this one has seemed OK but i figured if i'm going to be getting a new one i might as well find out what other kinds there are. the one thing is that when i was getting that one, the guy in the shop recommended a different one but once i tried to fit it in it didn't fit (i have a fairly small tower) the actual connection fitted its just that there wasn't enough room in the tower for the card, if you see what i mean.

any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

ceebee · Mar 2011

Just don't go with ATI. There's a few good applications that work good with CUDA and I regret buying a 4870. Also ATI's drivers are pieces of shit.

krisCrash · Mar 2011

Hmmm you can get them without dedicated cooling, meaning the bulky fan won't be taking up space. Then you need to make sure there's enough cooling in your case to cool it, such as a side fan directed at it.

Also the same chip (example: an ATI HD-5750 with 1GB which is what I have) can be bought from different 'brands', some will have cooling, some will not have the same ports despite both seeming the same hardware. (My first of this card had 2 DVI ports and 1 HDMI, the replacement I got when I fried it has only one DVI, one HDMI and throws in a VGA port to be useless).

So it's not very transparent! But maybe try to see if a model without fan will work for you, you are right in that the fanned ones block 2-3 sockets.

edit: oh wow, some ATI hate right there. Well I like mine, it does 3dsmax and all my vidya games and doesn't afraid of anything :poly118::poly124:

dansher · Mar 2011

thanks for the fast replies.

i should probably point out that all im really doing on here at the moment is playing around with photoshop/3d programs and occassionaly playing WoW.

the stock one i had didnt have a built in fan and that didnt last long at all so im thinking i should probably get one with that built in. pretty sure the one i have now has built in cooling.

i guess the main thing i really need to do is work out how much im willing to spend

whats the best kind of all round card atm? im not really much of a tech head so i dont really know what i need for the kinds of things i do

Tom Ellis · Mar 2011

I just bought a GTX460 and it's fantastic. Solid, stable card and I'm yet to see any issues.

It is a little on the large side though, and the 260 I had beforehand was also pretty massive. It's the length more than anything, on my case it almost extends into the HDD bays.

dansher · Mar 2011

hey all me again, iv just been looking at a few online and was wondering what people think of vapor cooling is it any good? or is it better to go with a fan cooled one

or is it the same thing and im just stupid? lol

this is one i was just looking at, i dont really know what alot of it means (its times like these i ahte being a computer noob lol)
http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/GC57701GSAVX41O/Default.aspx

XenoKratios · Mar 2011

I recommend the HD 6990.

Just kidding... for you pc, which is quite small (as you said) I suggest the hd5670. They're small cards and are quite well made. A definite update from the 9500GT (not that big of an update but it's an update). You can also go with the hd5570 is your looking for something a bit cheaper.

If you can fit a 5770 in there go ahead, that card is great! vapor cooling is quite nice but are you looking to overclock it and then run it on massive games with max settings? It's actually not that big of a difference compared to the other card, but every little bit counts.

Lots of nVIDIA fans here so you're going to get many gt450 suggestions, some say it doesn't do too well with modeling aps (3ds max), others love it.

Also keep in mind that AMD now owns ATI so the customer survive and product has impoved drastically.

What is your price range and power supply output?

dansher · Mar 2011

about to show my ingorance lol

i dont know what overlocking means lol

price range is really anything up to AUD $400 though i probably wouldnt spend that much i would preffer to spend in the 200 mark

how do i find out what my power supply output is?

XenoKratios · Mar 2011

Usually says it right on the the power supply or you can check the website of your manufacturer.

Overclocking is basically running the hardware at a higher clock rate, really just increasing the power of the hardware.

If you are willing to spend around $200 then I recommend the AMD: HD 6850, Hd 5770, HD 5750 or the nVIDIA: GTX465, GTX460 or GTS450.

Sorry those are USD rates but not that big of a difference really.

Best bang for your buck is the HD 6850, hands down.

dansher · Mar 2011

it says 230 just above my power cable is that what your talking about?

dont think i would be overclocking

Mr_Paris · Mar 2011

It'll be the number that says max. (The 581 nmuber) It would also be helpful if you read off what your +12v1 ,v2... and so on say.

17-159-079-S05?$S640W$

dansher · Mar 2011

ok it says

peak 300 rated 250

+12v1 10a(max)
+12v2 14a(max)

XenoKratios · Mar 2011

Yeah you're going to need a new power supply to run those cards dansher.

I suggest a 500W, wont be that much money but you're going to have to compensate.

Lennyagony · Mar 2011

size and power supply aside it really just comes down to your budget

Heres some very general ballpark figures in AUD$ to get you started - all of them are solid choices.

Nvidia GTX460 - $200 - ATI 6850
Nvidia GTX560 - $300 - ATI 6950
Nvidia GTX570 - $400 - ATI 6970

JustinPunio · Mar 2011

I have the Nvidia Quadro in mine. Never had problems, and think the range is still considered one of the best...

ParoXum · Mar 2011

I recently bought the HD 6850 for my HTPC and it's full of raw power if it's only for gaming.

If you look after a card to make 3D art, I suggest the GTX 460 as most people said, it's more stable to work on a Nvidia card.

Also if you look after less power consumption, the 6850 is the best.

Contrails · Mar 2011

I hope I'm not derailing with this question... still a bit relevant I think

when I was looking at the GTX 460, I came across reports of OpenGL problems causing performance issues in max, maya, blender, etc Apparently its a unexpected consequence of the card design and can't be fixed through drivers (more on that here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_400_Series#OpenGL_Problems)

do those of you who have 400 line cards have this issue? if so, how bad is it?

Joshua Stubbles · Mar 2011

For graphics work you don't need a powerful card. Memory and CPU are more important. I have 2x GTS250 ($90-120 each), I bought them near-new from a guy at work, $150 for both

They work amazingly well for artwork and games alike.

For sheer compatibility reasons I would also suggest avoiding ATi cards.

Blaizer · Mar 2011

I would recommed a nice GTX 560, there is msi that is quite cold.

I have a 5770, and i don't recommed it for work. For work always nvidia.

krisCrash · Mar 2011

WELL I HAVE a 5750 and I would recommend it to anyone

!!

dansher wrote: »

it says 230 just above my power cable is that what your talking about?

dont think i would be overclocking

230 is the voltage from the socket

Kwramm · Mar 2011

got a ati 6950 and flashed it to a 6970. lovely card. very stable and less DX issues with 3ds max than with the nvidia 260. but I do miss CUDA

runs nice with a 600 watt PSU.

According to Tom's hardware ATI cards have lower power requirements than equivalent nvidia cards. That was a major purchasing point for me. The case of my PC is kinda small and I didn't want to go PSU hunting again...

rolfness · Mar 2011

Asus GeForce GTX 580 DirectCU II 1536MB GDDR5

running on Zalman ZM850-HP Plus Heatpipe Cooled 850W Modular Power Supply

on a C2D rig very shiny.. was gonna go for a full upgrade but sandy bridge monkey business put a stop to that about 3 weeks ago.. arse..

dansher · Mar 2011

so much choice lol

if i was going to upgrade my power supply is that hard to do?

i use 3ds max, zbrush and Photoshop a little bit but its really just something i do for fun every now and then

i do play a few games as well

also you know when your in zbrush or 3ds max and you're working with high subdivisions and it starts running slow is that a graphics card issue or more over a ram/cpu thing?

sorry for all the questions lol im a bit of a noob.
hopefully going to get a card in the next few days (almost pay day!

)

PolyHertz · Mar 2011

dansher wrote: »

also you know when your in zbrush or 3ds max and you're working with high subdivisions and it starts running slow is that a graphics card issue or more over a ram/cpu thing?

3DSMax is all about the gpu as far as viewport performance is concerned. ZBrush uses software rendering so its CPU bound. A fast HDD is also important for ZBrush sense it uses virtual memory (its own, not what windows provides) extensively.

sltrOlsson · Mar 2011

I'm just sending my GTX460 768Mb back. Apparently both the 400 and 500 series have a bug or something making them to stop showing the picture after a certain time.

BUT i can still recommend it, if it works

Otherwise it's just the hassle of switching it.

dansher · Mar 2011

hey all, so i just got a nvidia gtx 550 installed, but it hasnt fixed the probs with it gradients and stuff being blocky instead of smooth, guess that means its my monitor yeah?

rolfness · Mar 2011

ehhh Im confused..

normally when a monitor packs up you either get bands or one colour from RGB spectrum stops working or you get dead spots.

What kind of blockiness is it ?

dansher · Mar 2011

its kinda hard to explain, instead of it being smooth they are like strips that get slowly darker/lighter in the gradient instead of it being a smooth transition like it should be.

and on some things like a 3d scene if its a picture the color from the light sauce is blocky as well, it will be one color spreading out and then another one, kind of like what it would look like if it is a low resolution i suppose

sorry im really bad at explaining stuff

StefanH · Mar 2011

does it happen in very dark shades? If yes this is a known problem known as posterization i think.
did you check if the same picture looks fine on another monitor?

dansher · Mar 2011

yeah it happens when im watching videos and it fades to black, that said it does it a lot even if its only slightly dark

i sent a screen cap of the img it was doing it on to another pc and had a look and it was still there

also something else it has been doing you can see in this pic below(i hope)

the search bar at the top notice how the text is all blue and weird? it does it alot on videos and galleries on some sites.

the fact i can take a screen cap of it means its not my monitor doesnt it? thats if you can see it lol

rolfness · Mar 2011

o.O

oh dear.. sorry never seen this before.. with the problems Ive had in the past its alway pretty obvious whats at fault

what monitor is it ?

Snader · Mar 2011

Have you tried using different software? First try a different browser (unlikely anything changes) then pop in a Ubuntu disk or something.

Edit: though a 9500 is aging so you might want to upgrade anyway.

Edit edit: I personally would go for a cheapish card btw, and then upgrade in a year and a half or so. By then you'll have a better card for 200 than right now for 400, plus you'll have your this-year card as a backup.

Lennyagony · Mar 2011

Make sure your running the latest drivers for your video card and monitor. Check your video settings in Control Panel-> Display-> Settings In particular check Color Quality it should be 32 or 64 bit.

Thats for XP, the path might be different for win7.

dansher · Mar 2011

@roflness, its a benq, thats all i know sorry

yay i found the display setting and it was set to 16 and not 32 so i changed that and it seems to have fixed the problem i had where it was making stuff blue(like in the screen cap) so thats fixed thanks heaps coz that was realling annoying

its still doing what it does in the lower right part of that screen cap but its not as bad now

*edit* ok its not doing that any more that was me having the page zoomed in lol <idiot

how do i find out what model monitor i have? it doesnt say anything on it except for benq

thank you all so much for helping me out i owe you all big time

*edit edit* did i mention thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you?

graphics card recommendations

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