Graphics card - help needed

[PostmanPot]

Oooh Oooh - just picked up my new toy I bought from gdiza - XFX Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB DDR3 XXX Edition.
I want to run home right now - but my team leader says "No."

How much you pay?

Now for the important thing.... what does that brand, Force3D, mean to anyone on that 4670 @ R740? Will it not make any difference?

The "premium" brands tend to offer better warranty/service.

 

[hj2k_x]

I would not read tomshardware... They just don't know how to test things and have to pay ASUS that they may test the boards. But that is just my opinion.

I see. I thought they were considered to be quite reputable.

 

[Shake&Bake]

How much you pay?

gdiza was kind enough to let it go for R700, a year old.
Still looks like new

 

[LancelotSA]

As regards the "real life" performance difference between the 4670 @ R790 (incl postage) and the 4650 @ R570 perhaps someone who knows their stuff can tell me how much of a difference these graphs actually show :

It looks rather small to my untrained eye for most games but a lot worse for Crysis etc. Which I realise will probably be unplayable on both cards (but really not here nor there as it will not be played).

 

[killadoob]

In some games it's as much as 20 FPS more, that is massive if you ask me for only 200 odd bucks more.

 

[LancelotSA]

In some games it's as much as 20 FPS more, that is massive if you ask me for only 200 odd bucks more.

Yes, but in one of those it is 99fps versus 79 fps. Is that really noticeable? And by this I mean surely 79fps is more than enough. Will the eye really notice those extra 20fps at those levels?

As stated before if I went for the R800, I could just as easily say why not another R200 and make it a grand. Or after that another R200 and... you see where I am going?

 

[killadoob]

Look in all honesty i am not a fan of buying smaller cards because you tend to upgrade more often than if you have just dropped 2 or 3k on a card.

No you won't really notice the difference but you will however notice the difference between say 28 and 38, massive difference.

If your cash strapped go for the cheaper version but if you can afford a 4870 rather get a better card and not have to upgrade as often.

 

[hj2k_x]

The 4650 at that price looks the most attractive to me, given what it is going to be used for.

 

[LancelotSA]

Look in all honesty i am not a fan of buying smaller cards because you tend to upgrade more often than if you have just dropped 2 or 3k on a card.

No you won't really notice the difference but you will however notice the difference between say 28 and 38, massive difference.

If your cash strapped go for the cheaper version but if you can afford a 4870 rather get a better card and not have to upgrade as often.

I here you killa, but it is one of those things where you wonder where to draw the line. I could really fork out R3,000 and get the best but it will honestly not get used to it's full potential anyway. Remember this is not for me, or a hardcore gamer, but for a 10 year old casual gamer. All I am wanting to make sure of is that it is capable of playing most of the games on the market at the moment at decent frame rates.

As stated Crysis and things like that are not in the mix. To be precise he wants to play Spore! Yes, there will be other games I am sure over time. I am just needing to know that I won't buy a card and it can't even play Spore (or NFSMW and Flatout 2) at decent detail levels.

The 4650 at that price looks the most attractive to me, given what it is going to be used for.

That last phrase is how I am starting to think.

 

[killadoob]

Well yea then go for it, but when the 10 year old comes home with some copies of games that require some power you'll be stuck .

If that will not happpen then yes go for the 4650.

 

[LancelotSA]

Well yea then go for it, but when the 10 year old comes home with some copies of games that require some power you'll be stuck .

If that will not happpen then yes go for the 4650.

Ha ha Dad tends to be the one that brings the games home, so I'll make sure of the requirements first!

But really how many games on the market will that 4650 not be able to handle?

Crysis seems to be regarded as the benchmark at the moment and although the following quote will not have hardcore gamers rushing out to buy the 4650 it fills me with a little satisfaction that if we wanted to, we'd be able to almost manage playing Crysis.

At 1680x1050 with the game's detail level set to "Medium," Hardware-Infos' chart shows the 4670 hitting 39 frames per second and the 4650 achieving 21 FPS. At 1440x900/Medium, the same two cards reach 49 and 28 FPS, respectively—both playable by Crysis standards. Compared to the existing Radeon HD 3850, the 4670 looks to be only 1-2FPS slower.

 

[killadoob]

Yea the difference between the 2 cards in crysis is massive hey. Yea i see your point i just think for 200 bucks more your getting a much better card and it is only 200 bucks more.

I could understand your point if the crysis benchmark had been closer but the gap is huge.

 

[LancelotSA]

OK let's talk power then.....

Are the 4650 and 4670 the same type of card in this respect? Will they both just plug into the PCI express slot and load the drivers with no further need for other fiddling and power supplies etc? The fact that they are both 46** makes me assume so.

Now call me old fashion, but the fact that I can walk into a shop and fetch the 4650 and take it home also makes it more appealing! The 4670 will require an online order! Damn technology! ha ha

 

[Shake&Bake]

If you're wanting that 4670 from PH then go for it.
From what I've heard it's a rather quick and painless transaction and you should have your card in few days.

 

[Chevron]

I've ordered from prophecy quite a few times. Takes about a week.

 

[auriga1000]

Oh dear, that just confused me, and matters, more!

So how do I ensure the card I buy can be used on the system I have. Preferably just plugged into the PCI Express and away I go!

looking at the supplied contents of the gfx card box, you should see an adaptor cable for power (if needed). tbe rest should be easy ie if you are okay with installing a gfx card, then attaching a power cable should be nothing special.

go for it!!

 

[rsifan]

I stand to be corrected, but most cards that need the 6 pin power connector to the graphics card will come with at least 1 molex to 6 pin adapter. The molex connector is the 4 pin connector used to connect your IDE hard drives and IDE optical drives. Lancelot, I've sent you a PM, will be glad to check out and help you with the graphics card and power supply to make sure it's compatible. I'm in Durban as well.

 

[The_Techie]

I stand to be corrected, but most cards that need the 6 pin power connector to the graphics card will come with at least 1 molex to 6 pin adapter. The molex connector is the 4 pin connector used to connect your IDE hard drives and IDE optical drives. Lancelot, I've sent you a PM, will be glad to check out and help you with the graphics card and power supply to make sure it's compatible. I'm in Durban as well.

I've only seen 2 x Molex -> 6-pin PCI-e converters shipped with the cards, even got one with an 8400GT which didn't require external power.

 

[LancelotSA]

I stand to be corrected, but most cards that need the 6 pin power connector to the graphics card will come with at least 1 molex to 6 pin adapter. The molex connector is the 4 pin connector used to connect your IDE hard drives and IDE optical drives. Lancelot, I've sent you a PM, will be glad to check out and help you with the graphics card and power supply to make sure it's compatible. I'm in Durban as well.

Thanks rsifan. I am leaning towards the HD4670 or HD 4650 cards now, which I am led to believe will draw their power from the PCI express rail itself. Is this true?

The only slight concern is that ATi recommends at least a 400W power supply whereas the one I have fitted is a 300W. I am thinking it might be OK though as the rest of the system is pretty basic. Just a DVD optical drive, some basic speakers and that is about it. No fancy frills. An LCD monitor too but am I correct in assuming this does not actually draw power from the PSU?

 

[The_Techie]

Thanks rsifan. I am leaning towards the HD4670 or HD 4650 cards now, which I am led to believe will draw their power from the PCI express rail itself. Is this true?

The only slight concern is that ATi recommends at least a 400W power supply whereas the one I have fitted is a 300W. I am thinking it might be OK though as the rest of the system is pretty basic. Just a DVD optical drive, some basic speakers and that is about it. No fancy frills. An LCD monitor too but am I correct in assuming this does not actually draw power from the PSU?

The HD4650 and HD4670 do indeed draw power from the PCI-e bus. You might be able to get away with a 300W PSU, but I'm a firm believer in buying a good, quality, high-capacity PSU.