First build, need graphics help

[compbuilder09]

Well, first post here. I am just starting out with my first computer build and have gotten a lot of parts and researched each one very heavily. But what I am getting stuck on is what my graphics card should be.

I would like to play some games on it etc, etc. But the main purpose of the computer is for photography, 2D design, etc. I have been looking at a more gaming graphics card, but wonder if a workstation card is more for my needs. I would rather get a gaming card for the speed in games, but if I need workstation for my line of work, I guess I will go for that.

I am currently running 2 19" monitors on my current computer and have a spare 15" I would like to make use of (I do some video editing too). So that would mean that I would like 2 cards or a x2 card.

Please help me in my decision between "workstation" or "gaming"

Thank you ahead of time for any help!

 

[klepto12]

well i dont think you really need a workstation card for 2d design maybe if you were doing heavy 3d rendering but not 2d. we need to know a budget and what kinda MB you are looking at man i mean we could say oh two 9800gtx +s or two ati 4850 's but its really up to you. I would say that the 4850's would be great for 19' monitors will get good FPS in games and its a nice card.

 

[LinkedKube]

Buy either a 4850 or a 4870 1gb version. There's no way you need a workstation card for photographs and 2d projects.

 

[klepto12]

could get the 4850 x2 its like $299 on newegg.

 

[LinkedKube]

Unless he's gettin the 4870x2 i wouldnt go for it, He can get the 4870 1gb version which basically makes up that whole 4850x2.

 

[klepto12]

he wants to use 3 monitors cant do that with just 1 4870 man.

 

[compbuilder09]

could get the 4850 x2 its like $299 on newegg.

That is the card I was looking at. Love the specs, really love the quad monitor support, and on the nerd side, I LOVE the look of the thing.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

I am currently running 2 19" monitors on my current computer and have a spare 15" I would like to make use of (I do some video editing too). So that would mean that I would like 2 cards or a x2 card.

So you need to power three monitors? Then i suppose you would need two cards.

There is absolutely NO point in workstation cards, they are generally less powerful older models, so unless you need unparalleled driver support for something like a company, you should stick with a mainstream card.

A more powerful graphics card would hardly speed up photo viewing and 2D.

The cards you use should depend on you tastes in gaming and budget, you would hardly need a 4850x2 to view photo's or videos.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Two dual-DVI HD 4670s in Crossfire is what I'd recommend. They're cheap and a Crossfire-supporting motherboard like the GA-EP45-UD3P or the P5Q-E costs around $110 or so. Pair them with an E8400 or a Q9550 (get whichever you can afford, the quad is obviously the more expensive of the two) and you'd have enough power for your games and anything else, besides allowing you to use upto 4 monitors.

 

[klepto12]

rage i dont think the 4600s are what hes looking for he wants gaming cards i think the 4600s are a little weak for gaming even in crossfire. Maybe 4830's but not the 4670's. also the q8300 is like the same price as the q6600 so might want to get that for only $189.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Two 4830s will need an extra power adapter each. The 4670s will not, and for a 19" monitor, the typical max resolution is 1440x900, which two 4670s are more than sufficient for, being roughly equal in performance to a single HD 4850.

As for the Q8xxx series, they are very cache-starved so I do not recommend any of them. The Q9450 and Q9550 are the only 45nm quad-core CPUs to go for due to them having 3MB of cache per core, far more than the measly 1MB per core on the Q8xxx CPUs.

 

[klepto12]

if he is going to game i think he will be very unhappy with the 4670s i still think he would be better off with 4830s and a good quad small cache or not its still a quad and everyone can not afford a q9550 which is an awesome cpu btw but either way its his choice.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The E8400 is a far better choice compared to any Q8xxx CPU. Just because it's a quad doesn't automatically make it better. Games are extremely sensitive to cache size, and a larger cache always translates into higher gaming performance.

You seem to not have seen a 4670 in action methinks. One card is able to easily match the performance of a 9600GSO, and getting two HD 4830s is overkill for such a small monitor, since you'd essentially be getting two 9800GTs.