What graphics card do I have to buy?

[cstriker]

Hi

I have an Intel motherboard of model DG31PR,

PSU with power 450 watt,

2.98 GB of RAM,

and Windows XP pro service pack 3.

which video card should i get for this kind of PC?

it is better if it can be a 1gb card.

Note: my budget is good but it doesn't have to be more than $100.

 

[dmill89]

What are you using it for? We need to know what your requirements are before we can suggest a card.

e.g. Gaming, Photo Editing, Video Editing, Graphical Design, CAD, etc. or any combination of these.

Also what is the brand of your PSU and how many amps are on the 12v rail(s). This info should be on the PSU's label.

 

[Aphelion]

For gaming I would suggest the HD 6850. Its the best bang for the buck at $139.99, according to videocardbenchmark.net.

 

[LinkedKube]

First, what resolution is your monitor. I wouldn't suggest anything near a 6850 with a psu that came with a pre built system, especially an older one.

If you want something like a 6850 you may want to look into a psu upgrade first.

I would suggest something like a 6770, but only if your psu has a 6 pin connector.

 

[cstriker]

I mainly want it for gaming and for programs like 3ds max, unity3d and after effects.

Monitor resolution:1024 x 768

The brand of the PSU is something like Linxuatech (there is a star symbol in the place of x) I searched in the internet and couldn't find this brand.

And for 12V rails, it is written:
12V1 -----> 15A
12V2 ----> 17A

By the way I have a PCI express slot for the card.

Any suggestions?

 

[dividebyzero]

If you're looking at enabling GPU acceleration for the Adobe software (Mercury Playback Engine- After Effects/Premiere Pro/CS4/5 suite) then your best bet would be an Nvidia GT240/GT440 with no less than 1GB of video memory and using GDDR5 memory (and not the slower DDR3). Both of these cards have a peak wattage of 65-69 watts (normal fully loaded wattage ~ 50 watts) and neither will require any direct connection to the power supply - both draw their power through the PCI-E slot. The GT 240 is older and generally isn't cheaper, so I'd personally go with the 440 (Review >>here<< although it is from the gamer perspective)

GT 440 1GB GDDR5 selection

Adobe software as a GPUsniffer.exe which will automatically check the system for a video card with GPU acceleration compatibility. In the case of Nvidia cards this mean that the card should have at least 96 shaders (also known as stream processors or CUDA cores) to be CUDA capable.

An example of the kind of Adobe/GPU acceleration thread you may want to check out >>here<<

 

[tweakboy]

If your going to use that resolution then get a 8800 GT or a 9800 GT for 60 bucks. It will give you top notch 2D and a pretty darn still fast 3D experience. It can run all of todays games flawless and 60fps at your 1024res Battlefield 3 would fly with it... gl

 

[dividebyzero]

fwiw: A 9800GT/8800GT would likely require a power budget outside the OP's present PSU's capability- as I assume that the power supply is of the same vintage as the system. The 9800GT also can be more problematic ( high Pb solder), run hotter, less effective in GPU acceleration, and are more often than not found with only a 512MB frame buffer which is insufficient for the software the OP is using.

 

[cstriker]

@tweakboy
I suggest you re-read the OP's posts.
OP wants a video card compatible with 3D render/modelling and digital compositing NOT playing BF3.

fwiw: A 9800GT/8800GT would likely require a power budget outside the OP's present PSU's capability- as I assume that the power supply is of the same vintage as the system. The 9800GT also can be more problematic ( high Pb solder), run hotter, less effective in GPU acceleration, and are more often than not found with only a 512MB frame buffer which is insufficient for the software the OP is using.

Actually I want it primarily for games(especially the new ones like COD mw3, BF3..) and secondarily for 3D modeling softwares.

 

[dividebyzero]

I stand corrected (apologies 2 tweakboy)

In which case you might have a look at the GTS 450 1GB. It is both capable of GPU acceleration and moderate gaming. It also fits more or less with your stated budget and has a moderate power draw (~ 100w max load).
If the 3D/compositing programs you listed were just an afterthought then go for a HD 6770. It is also a capable gaming card and sits in the same power usage/performance parameters as the Nvidia card. I cant vouch for the AMD cards GPU acceleration ability.

Be aware that a if you're running a Core 2 Duo/Pentium that you are going to severely limited in gameplay options in respect of BF3 and upcoming games, since many will now be optimised for four cores or more.

 

[cliffordcooley]

I think you will be happy with the GTS 450 or HD 6770.

If you decide you need more graphical power then you would also need a CPU and PSU upgrade as everyone here has already mentioned.

 

[cstriker]

I found these video cards:

HD 5750 -- HD 5550 -- 9400GT 1GB DDR2

Are they worth?(They cost $70)

 

[dmill89]

The HD5750 is definately worth $70 the HD5550 is a decent enrty-leval card but I wouldn't pay more that $50 for it, the 9400GT is a four generations old entry-leval card that probably isn't worth more than $20 and has performance comperable to most current integrated graphics.

 

[tweakboy]

I would think his 450w PSU might just handle the 8800GT or 9800 GT.

What CPU do you have and other devices ?

Ive seen people with 350w PSUs with 8800 GT cards. You might want to calculate it. gl

 

[dividebyzero]

Would probably pay to research the PSU in any case. The brand sounds iffy at best, so if it's one of the super-special-grey-box-from-China type affairs then it would almost certainly be running at ~ 70% efficiency. Assuming the 17A+15A for the +12v is legit then 32A x 12v = 384w. After that the OP would need to factor in power loss through PSU (capacitor) aging -cheap brands age much faster than premium ones, especially one the PSU gets 3 or more years under its belt. G31 chipset is ~3 years old so might be worthwhile running a cursory check now rather than have to troubleshoot stability problems a little later.

Couldn't find the brand, so the best hope would be to use the online certifications directory just add the UL number into the search field.
The UL number should begin with "E". Example: