Buying a decent (hopefully) Graphics Card, Advise Needed

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flame001

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

Topic # 31867 2-Apr-2009 12:09

Hi All,

Basically I have a system that I built.

Fusion Case - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/antec-fusion-430-htpc-case,1760.html

CPU - AMD Phenom 9750

MB - K9A2VM

4g DDR2 Ram

TV Tuner -Hauppauge WinTV-HVR4000

Vista 32 bit ultimate

what i want to do, is add a graphics card, and i was just wondering if it will give me much better resolution

I currently run a basic 17inch acer lcd, and im looking at upgrading this also.

The Monitor i am looking at is ViewSonic VX2233WM 22"W - http://www.arche.co.nz/vx2233wm.html - $300

and i am looking at the MSI HD4870 1GB Graphics card at $500

or MSI GTX 280 OC 1GB at $800

I am usually an amd and ati fan myself, especailly at the price difference, i dont know much about graphics cards so i may be missing some vital information.

My Questions, is it worth while upgrading the graphics card when i am technically at my maximum ram allocation, in thory if i add a 1gb graphics card then my physical ram would efectifly drop to 2.5 gb (i may be wrong on this)

Secondly, my system has hdmi on board, so would a dedicated graphics card really improve preformance.

Any opinions appreceated.

Any questions please just ask, would like to try and place an order today.

-- Edited, Topic Looked A Mess

stevenz

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Reply # 204890 2-Apr-2009 12:53

The ONLY (practical) reasons to get an extra videocard is for gaming performance (in which case, look at benchmarks on review sites and make sure your CPU is of comparable spec to what they're using) and to claim back the shared RAM that the onboard card is using, as visually you'll likely get no benefit on a 22" screen, as an onboard card will output anything the screen will take quite happily.

If it's not for gaming, then a $150 nVidia GeForce 8500GT will give you the same connectivity, but more performance (not significantly so, but enough for any non-gaming applications), and you'll gain the use of the shared RAM back once you disabled the onboard video in the BIOS.

Note that 32-bit Vista (and XP) cannot access more than about 3.1GB of RAM, they recognise it but take no benefit from it other than the slight advantage that running matched-pairs of DDR RAM gives.

garvani

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Reply # 204892 2-Apr-2009 12:58

What are you going to be doing with the system is the question!

I use that exact monitor and similar 4870 graphics card. You havnt said what processor you have, i have a Phenom2 940 (latest and greatest quadcore from AMD) I can play left4dead, burnout paradise at 1920x1080, with everything on high without a problem and it looks awesome!! General web browsing with that monitor is glorious too.
If your using it purely for a htpc then the graphics card is going to be complete overkill. But for gaming its all thats needed.
Really need more info to answer your questions

Edit: In my haste i thought i had that monitor but in fact have the vx2260wm that has native res of 1920x1080

Ragnor

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Reply # 204895 2-Apr-2009 13:16

With that LCD you're planning to get (22" viewsonic), the native resolution will be 1680 x 1050.

At 1680 x 1050 there is not much benefit of 1GB vs 512mb of video ram, it's really larger resolutions that need more ram. So for good performance (at 1680 x 1050) I would look at:

Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 869mb ~$450
ATI Radeon 4850 512mb ~$300

I think the ATI is the better value for money right now, performs around the same as the GTX260 is most games (some games favour nvidia slightly, some favour ati).

flame001

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 204915 2-Apr-2009 15:24

As soon as i get home i will update with more specs. being at work, i was just going from memory.

the pc is used for mainly gaming, COD5 and AOM type games.

the pc was originaly designed as a mediacenter, so still requires that functionality.

But again, will update when home with correct system specs.

Thankyou for you input so far

flame001

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 204938 2-Apr-2009 17:00

Have added Cpu - Phenom 9750

Main use is gaming and internet.

The viewsonic site says the monitor is 1920 x 1080 WUXGA

is this not the native res?

Ragnor

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Reply # 204959 2-Apr-2009 18:16

Most 22" are 1680 x 1050 but you are right that particular model is 1920 x 1080. The dot pitch is going to be very fine at 1920 on a 22", by that I mean the size of a pixel is going to be smaller than on a 24". At default windows settings icons and fonts will seem very small. You might want to go for a 24".

Actually I would recommend you go and check out the monitor in person in a retail store and see if you like the size of fonts and text on a 22" at 1920.

Note: In windows you can scale the size of fonts and icons but it's a bit of a pain.

A Radeon 4850 512mb should still easily handle most games at 1920 x 1080 with your specs I think.

flame001

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 204986 2-Apr-2009 20:00

Thanks for your advice guys, much appreciated.

ill have a look around at some shops tommorw and find one that looks good, think ill go with the over kill card.

garvani

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Reply # 204988 2-Apr-2009 20:05

I Have a very similar system to the one you want to get, very similar monitor, graphics, ram and cpu.. i say go for it if you can afford it! 1920x1080 on a 22" is fine, the fonts arnt to small they are great, everything is sharp and crisp, you can play most if not all games at 1920x1080 (crysis being the exception)..

Adamal

544 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 205073 3-Apr-2009 09:30

I recommend this for a 4870:

http://www.xpcomputers.co.nz/views.asp?hw_id=4265

1gb, overclocked, excellent non reference cooler which is quieter and offers better cooling over the reference cooler.
These can get to 800mhz/1000mhz no problem.

DVI port, HDMI port (with converter to DVI), Display Port and a DSub.