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djrinsa
19-10-06, 10:35
After hijacking another thread (sorry about that :oops: ) I thought it was worth asking the question

Whats my best options for a gfx card?

I have an ATI x700 at the moment - I guess I have a few options but im still confused as to how 'good' various cards are...

Ive seen a few cards I could be interested in - for example
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24927 (is it a x1650 or a x1600?!)
or
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24157

Im not really looking at nVidia cards because I dont really know how they compare. (for example, for someone who knows nothing about this sort of thing, I still know that an Ati x800 is better than a x700! But wouldnt know what the equivalant nVidia is) ;)

The other option I have is to buy another card and SLI it - not that I have a clue about it but I know my mobo supports it :) If I did that - would I have to buy the exact same card?

Need something to play games like Medieval 2 and Oblivion at very high settings - just upgraded CPU and RAM, so this is the next step... :)
Belso
19-10-06, 10:47
First question needs to be, what kind of budget do you have? :D
djrinsa
19-10-06, 11:06
Hmmm... I spose it depends

Probably around the £150 mark - Thats what I spent on my current card and it hasnt done too bad - lasted me about a year and a half....
Anonymous
19-10-06, 11:23
[Removed at the request of the author]
Anonymous
19-10-06, 11:44
[Removed at the request of the author]
Belso
19-10-06, 11:45
http://www.aria.co.uk/productinfocomm.asp?ID=22199&SpecialStatus=1

Albatron GeForce 7900GT 256MB PCI-E 256bit DDR3, TV-OUT, Dual DVI

£159 inc VAT.

Not bad, Not bad!!

Comment's at the bottom:


Great card, easy to install and plays Oblivion 4 on High graphics setting with no worries. Nice one Aria.

By Darren on 06/09/2006 11:37:02
nft99
19-10-06, 11:53
Not many ATI cards for around your price the x1800 are no longer manufactured i believe :?: nvidia not that bad !

Budget of £150 how about this :)

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24647

If you can push the budget to £200 then look at 7950gt

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=22685

The 7900gt series has a high fail rate :( and when DX10 comes out will need another card :shock: but anyone who has seen the trailers for crysis/alan wake will think it might be worth it ! halo 3 going to be vista only game as well :(
djrinsa
19-10-06, 12:31
Well, I want something that will be futureproof for a while so dont mind splashing out a bit more if it will be worth it....


How bout this one? 7950GT, 512mb - Is it worth paying a little extra for this than the card Belso mentioned?

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24946

Also - just as a point of interest - what would the performance comparison be between a £200 gfx card, and 2x£100 gfx cards in sli mode?
Gregoroth
19-10-06, 12:59
[quote:d4391c57a2=\"djrinsa\"]Well, I want something that will be futureproof for a while so dont mind splashing out a bit more if it will be worth it....


How bout this one? 7950GT, 512mb - Is it worth paying a little extra for this than the card Belso mentioned?

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24946

Also - just as a point of interest - what would the performance comparison be between a £200 gfx card, and 2x£100 gfx cards in sli mode?[/quote:d4391c57a2]

Don't bother with dual graphics. I think now even single graphics card can run the large LCD's now can't they?

Anyway, by the time SLI/Crossfire solutions are optimized, you can have a single slot solution for less. Also, power consumption is less/lower priced PSU needed.
Anonymous
19-10-06, 13:07
[Removed at the request of the author]
djrinsa
19-10-06, 13:13
Thats ok then - didnt much fancy messing around with 2 cards :lol:
nft99
19-10-06, 13:37
crossfire2 has done away with master/slave cards ;)

Have a look for X1950 pro :)
djrinsa
19-10-06, 15:45
[quote:774f031bde=\"nft99\"]crossfire2 has done away with master/slave cards ;)

Have a look for X1950 pro :)[/quote:774f031bde]

A tad more than I was hoping to pay! :)

Gonna consider getting this one then unless anyone else can think of a glaring reason why I shouldnt!

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24946
Anonymous
19-10-06, 15:51
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mac124
19-10-06, 19:14
[quote:68a5a8e715=\"PrivatePyle@Work\"]Do it. :D[/quote:68a5a8e715]

What him said ^^ , unless you want to hold off for a DX10 card, which should be out in the next couple of months or so. Personally if i was building a gaming rig from scratch now id buy a get you by card and go DX10 when it comes out rather than spend £200 odd on a top of the line(ish) gfx card now.
djrinsa
20-10-06, 10:30
Hmmmm yeah - dx10 cards... There is always something round the corner you have to consider when you want to upgrade :evil:

I dont know too much about the dx10 cards tbh (only heard about them when I started looking to upgrade) - Are they worth waiting for or are you of the impression that only a small handful of games will utilise them at first?

* Edit - never mind, just seen this http://www.aria.co.uk/lucy/viewtopic.php?t=919 *
Anonymous
20-10-06, 10:41
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djrinsa
20-10-06, 10:50
Well, the card I have is about 1 1/2 years old, and I dont mind upgrading at that rate. I wouldnt really consider upgrading if it wasnt for m2tw, as I dont play too many graphic intensive games, but with some good looking games coming out soon I thought this may be the time to do it!

I think waiting for dx10, when im not even sure I, or the developers, would get the most out of it for a long while would be silly - may as well bite the bullet and upgrade now, and see where things are in another year and a half...
Anonymous
20-10-06, 11:43
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