Graphics card advice

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I'm thinking of getting a new gfx card, sometime in spring or summer most likely, so maybe this is a pointless question since the market advances so quickly. In any case, specs:

CPU: P4 3.2 ghz
Mobo: not sure how to list this... Dell, 0J3492, i925x, 82801 FB, PCI-Express x16 graphic interface
RAM: 2gb DDR2 (2 sticks of 512 PC3200, one stick of 1gb PC4300 [i know it only runs as fast as the lowest])
card: radeon X800SE (well, my computer calls it "GT" but the site called it SE), 128mb
PSU: ??? probably nothing special. Is there a way for me to find out besides opening it up?

Recommendations? Budget is about $450
 
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your PSU should be okay to run a GTX, since it runs an X800SE but just to be sure, crack open your case, you want atleast a 400-450 watt psu, Id go get a 550 watt if you can, but you will be fine.
 
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Advice: Don't be a moron and buy a $600 card lol

It's much cheaper to get a card from the last "generation" for like half its original retail price, and it still kicks ass
 
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Walmart Security said:
your PSU should be okay to run a GTX, since it runs an X800SE but just to be sure, crack open your case, you want atleast a 400-450 watt psu, Id go get a 550 watt if you can, but you will be fine.
No, he needs to look if the 12volt line can deliver the Ampere he needs.

In the case of a 7800gtx, your PSU need to atleast provide 20-22 ampere over the 12 volt line for maximum performance.
 
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Devion said:
No, he needs to look if the 12volt line can deliver the Ampere he needs.

In the case of a 7800gtx, your PSU need to atleast provide 20-22 ampere over the 12 volt line for maximum performance.
I'd recommend more than that if you wish to have more than the 7800GTX and a processor being powered by the PSU ;).
 
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Don't bother with a 7800gtx, nvidia is releasing a product refesh that will supposedly be cheaper then the 512GTX is to manafacturer & it's gonna get it's die size shrunk to 90nm. ATI are also due to release the x1900 cards this month aswell.

If anything though, I would get a eVGA 7800GT.
 
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Saiyan_Overlord said:
Don't bother with a 7800gtx, nvidia is releasing a product refesh that will supposedly be cheaper then the 512GTX is to manafacturer & it's gonna get it's die size shrunk to 90nm. ATI are also due to release the x1900 cards this month aswell.

If anything though, I would get a eVGA 7800GT.
In that case, never upgrade, because a newer product will eventually be released that is better. And does it matter if nVidia or ATi are releasing the highest of the highest end? He can't afford those, so nothing is lost.

Tip of the day: Bad advice is no advice.
 
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x1900? You mean ATI has been holding out on us? Hopefully these new cards will drive down the price on that 7800 GT Ive got my eye on.
 
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X900's have already been released, but they can't get shipped until the 24th.
 
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Ther'e cheaper to produce then current cards accordingly, and retail pricing is apparently ment to be cheaper then that of the GTX512. I don't see the point in getting a gtx, when in some benchmarks (with the 256mb models atleast of the gtx) there's only a hair between the two in some benchies, and it's worth saving the $136 between the two cards (eVGA 7800gt goes for $314 on newegg), witch would leave him with money in the event that he may need to upgrade his psu.
 
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Saiyan_Overlord said:
Ther'e cheaper to produce then current cards accordingly, and retail pricing is apparently ment to be cheaper then that of the GTX512. I don't see the point in getting a gtx, when in some benchmarks (with the 256mb models atleast of the gtx) there's only a hair between the two in some benchies, and it's worth saving the $136 between the two cards (eVGA 7800gt goes for $314 on newegg), witch would leave him with money in the event that he may need to upgrade his psu.
The 7800GT is a good deal, yes, but as you said 'in some benchmarks'. In some benchmarks, the 6800 comes close to a 6800GT, but it is still worth it to get a 6800GT over a 6800, well it used to be when they were the high end. Let's leave the decision to him.
 
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Smith| said:
The 7800GT is a good deal, yes, but as you said 'in some benchmarks'. In some benchmarks, the 6800 comes close to a 6800GT, but it is still worth it to get a 6800GT over a 6800, well it used to be when they were the high end. Let's leave the decision to him.
I debate with other tech heads to much ;P :|. But saving money for something else is always good (whatever it might be).
 
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Saiyan_Overlord said:
I debate with other tech heads to much ;P :|. But saving money for something else is always good (whatever it might be).
To debate with a tech head, you must be one. As I said, let him decide what to do.
 
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That GTX looks pretty sweet. Thanks for the advice guys... now I just need to open this thing up and check the PSU.

How do I find out that info about the wire though? (max amperes it can take or w/e)
 
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It'll be on the side of the PSU. It's basically a big chart displaying all sorts of information on the PSU.
 
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I've heard geforce offers good graphics but bad performance, and ATI is better? Or something like ATI always has better performance

Also, Source engine games are optimized for ATI cards? Is this true?

I don't know a lot about graphics cards. But I've heard that the chip speed or w/e is more important in terms of getting a smoother ride (better fps) than memory, which is more important for textures. How does this card rank in terms of that?

Versus the X800 series for example?

And what about the ATI r520?
 
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Hitokiri said:
I've heard geforce offers good graphics but bad performance, and ATI is better? Or something like ATI always has better performance

Also, Source engine games are optimized for ATI cards? Is this true?

I don't know a lot about graphics cards. But I've heard that the chip speed or w/e is more important in terms of getting a smoother ride (better fps) than memory, which is more important for textures. How does this card rank in terms of that?

Versus the X800 series for example?

And what about the ATI r520?
Honestly, in this day and age, when you compare same generation cards, you won't notice the difference. The 7800GTX is pretty much ontop of the X800 series all of the time, which were ment to compete against the 6800 cards. 7800GTX vs X1800 series of cards, the 7800GTX will still win a lot of the times, with the X1800 taking some advantages every now and again.

It's very dependant on the resolution and detail of the graphics you compare them in. In one environment, one of the cards will do extremely well compared to the other, and vise versa.
 
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Hmm. I guess what I really want to achieve is this: I'm probably not going to buy a next gen console, so I'd like my computer to be capable of reproducing the graphics on next-gen consoles (or damn close to it), if that's even possible now or anytime close to now. Do you think it would be wiser to wait, or wiser to snag that 7800GTX?
 
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The x1900 cards just came out. ATI supposedly are better with image quality & settings and aa/af effects (ATI cards can currently run hdr & aa/af at the same time where as nvidia cards can't if I remeber correctly, plus the x1900 cards have 3 shader units assigned to each pipeline. 16 pipes with 3 shader units assigned to each pipe = 48). Benchmarks also show that when you turn aa/af on at higher resolutions that you'll see the x1900 pulls ahead.

I don't know what the pricing would be like on the cards currently, but you cal also get 256mb versions of the card.

EDIT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...Ntk=all&N=0&minPrice=&maxPrice=&Go.x=0&Go.y=0 Price on some X1900XT cards starting from $519.
 

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