Getting a new computer - advice needed!
GnatGoSplat:
Quote from: Rayea on 2009 December 16, 00:53:38
If you are going to spend some decent money on a PC, PLEASE remember to buy a decent, heavy duty PowerSuply Unit (PSU)
Some of the good VidCards need a 1000watt psu or higher (I am told its the GTX ones that need that much. a GT can survive on lower)
1000W!!! That's probably quite a bit more than necessary for the average person. I don't think you need >500W unless you're running two high-powered cards in SLI. Most GTX and GT cards will be fine with a decent, name-brand 400W PSU. I've been using a 400W PSU in one machine for years with no problems and a 500W in the other. There's a newer 9800GT EE (Energy Efficient) that doesn't even have the ATX12V plug, there are people successfully using it with a 300W PSU. Those in the US may be able to get the 9800GT EE with 1GB for as low as $70 from Best Buy (info link).
Most good video cards these days have at least 512MB, but not all cards are good for gaming. You also have to look at the GPU, just because a card has 512MB doesn't mean it's good enough. Some are designed primarily for HD/BD video playback. That's why I'd recommend at LEAST something as fast as a Geforce 9800GT or ATI HD4850 for 24" and larger monitors and 9600GSO or ATI HD3850 for 22" and smaller. Playing the game at any less than your LCD monitor's native (maximum) resolution will look blurry and badly aliased.
There are some video card rankings here: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-cards-charts-2009-high-quality/benchmarks,64.html
sewinglady:
well, I'd rather have too much power supply (and way too many fans to keep everything cool) than an inadequate power supply...and so many times pre-builts come with inadequate power supplies...probably why hubby prefers to build 'em himself.
Rayea:
Well yes, alot of cards will work fine with lower PSUs.
I do not know what the situation is in the US with availability of cards, but here in the UK, it tends to be bottom end and top end only.
You ether buy a basic card and run it into the ground, or you spend on a decent top-of-the-range version and make your friends green with envy.
(In the store I work in, we sell many many more of what you would call..crap items..Than the decent quality ones. People here would rather spend £30 on a cheap VGA card than upgrade to a newer board or buy a decent PCI-E card. But I guess that is waht you get when you have customers that are, for want of a better phrase....TightArses)
Also, a good heavy duty PSU will usualy see you through many years, if you do not have a surge and loose it. My now offline machine has a 6 or 7 year old 410 watt Thermaltake in it and has survived multiple death of Mainboard by SecuROM shenanigans.
Still. it depends upon which card you are buying. GTX cards need more than GT, and so on.
Sivany:
I find myself running up against that very problem Rayea. I live in the UK and I just don't seem to be able to find a graphics card that isn't hideously expensive or just plain crap. I guess it would help if I knew anything about graphics cards but I find searching for advice on the internet rather worrying. I'm sure people develop a bit of a "I spent my money on this graphics card and it must be the best EVAR because reality will fold in on itself before I admit that I might have GOT IT WRONG" mentality. I'm sure there's places out there when people do know what they're talking about and give good advice, but it becomes difficult to know which places to trust, especially when you read so much conflicting advice using jargon you don't know the meaning of.
Then of course there is the added problem that I finally think that a graphics card seems to be in budget and decent but it turns out you can't get it in the UK except from select places which want to charge you a fortune for it. Assuming I had plenty of RAM and wanted to run Sims 3 on high settings is there a graphics card I should be considering that I'm actually going to be able to find in the UK which isn't going to bankrupt me?
nanacake:
Quote from: Sivany on 2009 December 26, 19:33:35
I guess it would help if I knew anything about graphics cards but I find searching for advice on the internet rather worrying
The internet is a great source of information. Of course you have to use judgment of which sites to use to be sure you're getting proper information and not advertisements. I think if you truly want the satisfaction of knowing you are not being ripped off, learn the jargon at least. It might seem daunting, but it's the only way you'll learn what it means. I would have never learned English if I just kept crying, "It's too hard, I'll just let someone else speak for me!" every time I read something I didn't understand. Computer terminology is just as important to learn as any other subject in today's modern world. It really stops being complicated once you give yourself a chance. In fact start here, it's a computer dictionary: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/glossary/
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