Need help please on picking a new video card

[BuckMaster]

Long time member here but have not been on in forever. I haven’t built a nice gaming PC in years so way behind on the the video card technology. My mother-in-law bought a Dell OptiPlex 330 and needing to upgrade the Video card so she can play "World of Warcraft" again.

The stock card was a ATI 2400 Pro it looks like. PCI Express (x16)? I went to newegg and was looking at the PCI Express cards and they have like 2.0 and 2.1 x16 so I want to make sure these cards will support the motherboard. Can someone tell me if both will and if so or if not suggest a nice video card for $100.00 to install in the Dell? Id really appreciate it! Her old card was a nVidia GeForce 7900 GTX 512MB. Also not sure on most of today’s cards but must support 2 LCDS as well.




Thanks guys!

 

[Kantastic]

They're backwards compatible, and for $100 you can get a used 5750. If you want new then I'll suggest the 5670. Both consume very little power which should be a big factor in your decision seeing as you're running an old Dell with a junk PSU.

 

[BuckMaster]

You know what thats a very good point I didnt think of that, the power supply. Do you know if both those cards you have listed above should run off the stock power supply? Since these cant be upgraded like a regular tower case I dont believe.

 

[BuckMaster]

How about something like this:
EVGA 015-P3-N969-LR GeForce 9600 GSO 1.5GB 192-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

I would think it would still be 10 times better then what she had that was 3 years old.
It says requires a 350 but one guy listed he has a 300 and worked great. The PS on the Dell says 280. Only has 1 HD and 1 DVD Drive if it helps.

 

[happy medium]

Grab a 4670/5670 and call it a day. No psu worries and will run just fine with your motherboard.

 

[BuckMaster]

Sorry to ask but could you tell me which card excatly of the 4670/5670 on neweggs site? When i do a search on neweggs site for example it shows a bunch of cards for each one of those numbers or I can buy any of them? Sorry.

examples:

1 ) SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

2) GABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

3) XFX HD-567X-ZNF3 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

4) GIGABYTE GV-R567OC-1GI Rev2.0 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

5) HIS IceQ H567Q1GD Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

but again support world of warcraft and duel LCDs.

Thanks!

 

[nenforcer]

There is a big difference between a 5670 and a 4670, namely that the 5670 supports DirectX 11 and is a a more future proof solution.

I would choose the XFX 5670 if I were choosing an ATI Radeon card.

If your mother in law wants to stick to something close to her nVidia Geforce GTX 7900 then I would recommend the just released Geforce GTS 450, although it costs slightly more around $130.

 

[happy medium]

Sorry to ask but could you tell me which card excatly of the 4670/5670 on neweggs site? When i do a search on neweggs site for example it shows a bunch of cards for each one of those numbers or I can buy any of them? Sorry.

examples:

1 ) SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

2) GABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

3) XFX HD-567X-ZNF3 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

4) GIGABYTE GV-R567OC-1GI Rev2.0 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

5) HIS IceQ H567Q1GD Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

but again support world of warcraft and duel LCDs.

Thanks!

This one. The card dosen't need 1gb of memory, it's too slow to use it .

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-871-_-Product

 

[tcsenter]

I installed a GeForce 9500 GT (128-bit GDDR2) in a system for a guy who is a WOW fanatic (srsly, the guy plays like six hours per day) and he's happy with it.

 

[Will Robinson]

No,being a fanatic means you sleep 6 hours per day.

 

[yepp]

Surprised no one mentioned the GT 240 GDDR5, i'd take one of those over a HD 4670 any day, though the 5670 is probably your best bet.

 

[jaydee]

Just missed out on an ATI 5750 1GB card for $90 AR. http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2105610

If you're not pressed, you should be able to find more deals like this in the coming weeks as the 6xxx series gets closer to launch. Personally I think the 5750 hits the sweet spot for price/performance, but then again WoW isn't that resource intensive.

 

[BuckMaster]

Thanks guys I really apperciate all the responses!! Really! Ill review them and check on the prices this weekend and order one. If any one else has a suggestions or sees a good deal please let know and post a link if you dont mind.

Doing a "quick" glance looking into these 2 as of now and checking to make sure they support WOW and Duel LCD.

XFX PVT95GZAFG GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card

X HD-567X-ZNF3 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

 

[happy medium]

Thanks guys I really apperciate all the responses!! Really! Ill review them and check on the prices this weekend and order one. If any one else has a suggestions or sees a good deal please let know and post a link if you dont mind.

Doing a "quick" glance looking into these 2 as of now and checking to make sure they support WOW and Duel LCD.

XFX PVT95GZAFG GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card

X HD-567X-ZNF3 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

sucks.

 

[Qbah]

Thanks guys I really apperciate all the responses!! Really! Ill review them and check on the prices this weekend and order one. If any one else has a suggestions or sees a good deal please let know and post a link if you dont mind.

Doing a "quick" glance looking into these 2 as of now and checking to make sure they support WOW and Duel LCD.

XFX PVT95GZAFG GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card

X HD-567X-ZNF3 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

The 9500GT is a very slow card compared to the HD5670. Especially this one, with GDDR2 (ouch!). Do not buy it. Grab either a Radeon HD5670 or a GeForce GT240, as mentioned earlier in the thread. Make sure the GT240 has GDDR5 though (and not GDDR3). 512MB is plenty on either of the cards.

 

[tweakboy]

You should get 9800GT for 100 dollars or less 85 dollars even. but buy brand new.. good luck,, gg and gb,

 

[Madcatatlas]

Id pitch in the extra bucks and get either a HD5770 or a GTS450. Graphics is an area where you shouldnt look at pocket change, spend the extra 10-20 bucks and youll be happy about it a year, two or even three later.

 

[happy medium]

Id pitch in the extra bucks and get either a HD5770 or a GTS450. Graphics is an area where you shouldnt look at pocket change, spend the extra 10-20 bucks and youll be happy about it a year, two or even three later.

Thats not an option, his psu is very weak.

 

[flexcore]

That XFX 5670 you picked would be my choice. Nice low power solution.

You guys have to remember it's a Dell with a 280w ps.

 

[crislevin]

Id pitch in the extra bucks and get either a HD5770 or a GTS450. Graphics is an area where you shouldnt look at pocket change, spend the extra 10-20 bucks and youll be happy about it a year, two or even three later.

The $$$ might add up since these cards will probably need a different PSU.

5670 is a good choice.

 

[RussianSensation]

3870 (similar to 5670) is almost 2x slower than 9800GT for Wow. 9500GT is not a gaming card by any stretch of imagination.

These are the cards I'd recommend depending on how much you want to spend.

$105 MSI Cyclone GTS450 (192 Stream Processors)
$80 passively cooled 9800GT (112 SP)

Best budget pick is GT240 (96 SP) for $55 + $7 HDMI-to-DVI adapter if both of those LCDs need digital connection.

In comparison 9500GT only 32 Stream processors.

The power supply in the dell should pretty much handle any of these cards. Power consumption numbers.

If the power supply is a concern, pick up the Antec Neo 520 Watts for $35 w/ promo code EMCYXZT25. With 40A on the power supply, this guy will power up to GTX470 and Core i7.

 

[crislevin]

3870 (similar to 5670) is almost 2x slower than 9800GT for Wow. 9500GT is not a gaming card by any stretch of imagination.

These are the cards I'd recommend depending on how much you want to spend.

$105 MSI Cyclone GTS450 (192 Stream Processors)
$80 passively cooled 9800GT (112 SP)

Best budget pick is GT240 (96 SP) for $55 + $7 HDMI-to-DVI adapter if both of those LCDs need digital connection.

In comparison 9500GT only 32 Stream processors.

The power supply in the dell should pretty much handle any of these cards. Power consumption numbers.

3870 is NOT similar to 5670, don't mislead people. performance wise, DX support wise, and feature wise.

and GT240 sure is not better than 5670.

also he can't use 450 because it consumes too much power.

 

[RussianSensation]

3870 is NOT similar to 5670, don't mislead people. performance wise, DX support wise, and feature wise. and GT240 sure is not better than 5670.

I am talking about WOW performance. 5670 still only has 400SPs just like the 3870. 5670 is not much faster than the 4670, which itself was barely faster than 3870 was. I never said anything about its feature set. You clearly didn't look up the link I posted where 9800GT is nearly as fast as the 4870 1GB in WOW. Considering 5670 can't beat a 4770, it has no chance in WOW against a 9800GT.

Besides 5670s generally hover in the $75-80 range, the exact price range in which you can find a passively cooled 9800GT, a far superior card.

also he can't use 450 because it consumes too much power.

I linked a $35 PSU.

 

[BuckMaster]

So its looking like the That XFX 5670 card then.

Yes please remember its a stock Dell OptiPlex 330 with only a 280Watt PS.

RussianSensation the Dell Desktop doesnt use a standard PS. If it were only that easy I would probably upgrade it.

Will the 9800GT run off the stock PS of 280? She doesnt play any other games but WOW so just need a nice card for that game but of course would like to get the best bang for the buck.

 

[BuckMaster]

Something I forgot about before ordering. This dell has the low-profile cards only. There not full length if that makes since. Ive seen some full heigh card were you can change that metal bracket for the low-profile cards on card. However I dont see any of these cards coming with one I can switch out to make it fit. So now guessing shes screwed. crap!