Video cards?

[omgitswes]

I'm just messing around on newegg pretending that I'm going to actually build a rig anytime soon.
Comes down to picking a video card and I don't even know what the best ones that are out now.
What should I add to my make believe gaming computer? When I was actually about to build one I was hearing ATI cards were the best

 

[omgitswes]

I'm just messing around on newegg pretending that I'm going to actually build a rig anytime soon.
Comes down to picking a video card and I don't even know what the best ones that are out now.
What should I add to my make believe gaming computer? When I was actually about to build one I was hearing ATI cards were the best

 

[mangudai954]

This generation most enthusiasts have been going with ATI lol..

 

[mangudai954]

This generation most enthusiasts have been going with ATI lol..

 

[omgitswes]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150490
I was looking at this one. I think when I ever do upgrade I'm just going to get one already built and then change a few thing here and there as time goes on

 

[omgitswes]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150490
I was looking at this one. I think when I ever do upgrade I'm just going to get one already built and then change a few thing here and there as time goes on

 

[mangudai954]

I encourage you to build it yourself, its fun and it teaches you about computers.

 

[mangudai954]

I encourage you to build it yourself, its fun and it teaches you about computers.

 

[omgitswes]

it's so much that you have to have in mind though. because not everything works with everything.
and idk about a lot of hardware like video cards and sound cards and junk

 

[omgitswes]

it's so much that you have to have in mind though. because not everything works with everything.
and idk about a lot of hardware like video cards and sound cards and junk

 

[thebachellor]

Originally Posted by omgitswes

it's so much that you have to have in mind though. because not everything works with everything.

Correct. Not only do you have to worry about the size of the chassis that you'd get from an OEM (Dell, HP, etc).... the actual card might be a chip on the motherboard and not a full blown card.

Generally, OEMs use chips instead of full blown cards to produce smaller form factor PCs. They usually don't even have extra PCI Express slots to add an additional card.

All in all, its definitely better to build your own PC. Better value, you know exactly what you're getting (hell, if you even want something aesthetic you can look in to small form factor cases (for which you'll need special length video cards).

To answer OPs, question... there are several video card benchmark websites that show the current rankings of all video cards. However, this won't mean much to you unless you know what the rankings are relative to. So, to save you time, i'd suggest getting at least a GeForce 9800 or equivalent. This should keep you future proof for quite some time, and the price is should be at most $150. The lower end GeForce 200 series cards are just rebranded 9800's anyway (using a different manufacturing process).

 

[thebachellor]

Originally Posted by omgitswes

it's so much that you have to have in mind though. because not everything works with everything.

Correct. Not only do you have to worry about the size of the chassis that you'd get from an OEM (Dell, HP, etc).... the actual card might be a chip on the motherboard and not a full blown card.

Generally, OEMs use chips instead of full blown cards to produce smaller form factor PCs. They usually don't even have extra PCI Express slots to add an additional card.

All in all, its definitely better to build your own PC. Better value, you know exactly what you're getting (hell, if you even want something aesthetic you can look in to small form factor cases (for which you'll need special length video cards).

To answer OPs, question... there are several video card benchmark websites that show the current rankings of all video cards. However, this won't mean much to you unless you know what the rankings are relative to. So, to save you time, i'd suggest getting at least a GeForce 9800 or equivalent. This should keep you future proof for quite some time, and the price is should be at most $150. The lower end GeForce 200 series cards are just rebranded 9800's anyway (using a different manufacturing process).

 

[omgitswes]

*noted*
I've been wanting to build one ever since Crysis came out, the money is there. Other priorities keep coming up.....some day

 

[omgitswes]

*noted*
I've been wanting to build one ever since Crysis came out, the money is there. Other priorities keep coming up.....some day

 

[mangudai954]

One thing that is important is not going overboard for your needs.

 

[mangudai954]

One thing that is important is not going overboard for your needs.

 

[atlien seeko]

Originally Posted by Mangudai954

One thing that is important is not going overboard for your needs.

Yeah, but the thing about that is.. Going overboard will usually result in you just future proofing your machine. The more overboard you go, the longer it will last, so it's not necessarily wasting money.

 

[atlien seeko]

Originally Posted by Mangudai954

One thing that is important is not going overboard for your needs.

Yeah, but the thing about that is.. Going overboard will usually result in you just future proofing your machine. The more overboard you go, the longer it will last, so it's not necessarily wasting money.

 

[stopit5]

Co sign TheBachellor

I say ATI is the best bang for your buck. I prefer Nvidia myself, I find the drivers to be better.

If your looking for the best Nvidia than I'd say the GTX 480 but that will cost you a bundle.

When I build rigs I like to buy the parts I'd need to get it to run, usually when I'm near the end of my budget I buy a budget graphic card for the mean time. So if you eventually want "the best" than do overspend on a temporary card. Can get a decent card that runs Vista / Windows 7 fine for 30 -40 bucks and then splurge on your card later.

 

[stopit5]

Co sign TheBachellor

I say ATI is the best bang for your buck. I prefer Nvidia myself, I find the drivers to be better.

If your looking for the best Nvidia than I'd say the GTX 480 but that will cost you a bundle.

When I build rigs I like to buy the parts I'd need to get it to run, usually when I'm near the end of my budget I buy a budget graphic card for the mean time. So if you eventually want "the best" than do overspend on a temporary card. Can get a decent card that runs Vista / Windows 7 fine for 30 -40 bucks and then splurge on your card later.

 

[stopit5]

If you want PM me the links to the parts you want and I will let you know if they will work together, I've built many machines.

 

[stopit5]

If you want PM me the links to the parts you want and I will let you know if they will work together, I've built many machines.

 

[sole vintage]

even though the XFX card has a lifetime warranty a lot of people complain about it dying or malfunctioning

you cant go wrong with a 5770 or 5870 i cant wait to get one

 

[sole vintage]

even though the XFX card has a lifetime warranty a lot of people complain about it dying or malfunctioning

you cant go wrong with a 5770 or 5870 i cant wait to get one

 

[mangudai954]

Originally Posted by ATLien Seeko

Originally Posted by Mangudai954

One thing that is important is not going overboard for your needs.

Yeah, but the thing about that is.. Going overboard will usually result in you just future proofing your machine. The more overboard you go, the longer it will last, so it's not necessarily wasting money.

It depends, if you're not a power user I dont really see needing anything outside the basic. Hell if you dont do anything intensive (Photoshop/Gaming/Encoding) a computer with 2005 specs will serve you well. Only concern I could see is if you want to watch 1080p movies but that's easy/cheap to do nowadays.