Little Help?

[Itsen]

I'm looking to upgrade my video card and have no idea what card to get. Right now I have a MSI GeForce 8600 GTS OC. The most I'm willing to spend is about $350 CAD which is about $285 USD.

I have no idea what the best option for me is going to be, based on cost, cooling, power consumption and performance. So I was hoping some of you guys might have an idea.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 (Stock Cooler)
MOBO: P5K3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP
RAM: OCZ DDR3 PC3-8500 / 1066MHz (2x1028)
HD: 250GB Hard Drive Serial ATA
Chasis: NZXT Apollo Orange ATX Mid-Tower (3x120mm Fans: Front, Side, Rear)
PSU: OCZ 550W

 

[Doomsday]

Read the latest review on the XFX GTX260 Core 216 Black Edition vs the ATi HD4870 1GB. I would recommend the Nvidia one right now though! u can check the prices in that article too.

 

[Rob Williams]

Like Doomsday said, I would refer to our article last week for help:

http://techgage.com/article/ati_hd_4870_1gb_vs_nvidia_gtx_260216_896mb/

Currently, the NVIDIA GTX 260/216 looks to be the best deal overall for that price-range (it's the $349 eVGA model in your screenshots). It also depends on the monitor you have though. If you don't have a 24" or larger, the need for that particular GPU is very minimal. If you are running 1680x1050 or lower, then either an HD 4850 or 9800 GTX is going to suit you fine.

 

[Doomsday]

hey guys, erm i am about to get a new 22" LCD:
http://www.viewsonic.com.au/products/productspecs.php?id=352

any other 22" LCD u guys recommend, range max. $250?

and i have a XFX 9600GT. With the increase in resolution to 1680x1050 the games might not run smoothly on this GPU, should i SLI my 9600 GT? i can sell my 9600GT and buy the XFX GTX 260 Core 216 Black Edition? i am a gamer so i want games at max. resolution and detail, so should i change my grafix card or stick with the single 9600GT?!?
Pls help?!?

Confused.

 

[Krazy K]

I have a 9800GT and run CoD4 at 1680x1050 around 80fps with minimal overclock. I would think that a 9600GT can't be too far behind a 9800 and 80 is quite a bit higher than the magic number of 30fps. There isn't much of a market for used gpus since the market is moving so fast. This means that creating the SLI will be cheaper than buying a new single card higher end card, but you will have less room for future improvement.

 

[Doomsday]

thnx man. erm,
any tips on the LCD?!?

 

[Krazy K]

Go look at them, at a brick and mortar store. You will be spend all of your time on the computer looking at the LCD, so don't buy one because it's cheap. Do your research for this purchase, PC World has a buying guide here that's good, I picked the 19'' since that's what in your range.
By no means is this the only review ditr, if you see one you like, search the part number and read all the reviews you can. They should be fairly accurate if they're written by a 3rd party, don't go to Acer's website and read about the Acer monitors, they won't point out downfalls. I used Acer as an example, since I have one and like it, not because it has any downfalls. LG also makes a good 19'', Flatron something, it's my backup so I don't have it out.

 

[Rob Williams]

It's very difficult to judge whether a monitor is good just by looking at the specs, because there's so much to it than that. From the specs here though, that's a very capable monitor and should treat you well. I'd recommend searching for reviews though, and seeing if anything turns up.

If you could swing it (and have the space), I'd highly recommend considering a 24" monitor though. I'm not sure what it's like to buy hardware in Pakistan though, so I have no idea what to really recommend.

Judging by specs alone, that is probably a great choice for the ~$250 range.

 

[Doomsday]

thnk u Rob.
Erm space is a problem for me. i can only fit in a 22" LCD. it has favorable reviews on newegg and buy.com. Samsung 2232BW Syncmaster 22" is also really good but more priced than the view sonic one. hmm i think i'll go with the view sonic one, have been using view sonic monitors n LCDs since i bought my first Pentium I and give better warranty here.

 

[Rob Williams]

Back in the CRT days, I used to be a huge ViewSonic fan, but with LCDs, I've shifted over to Samsung (despite not owning one). I am not sure about that particular model, but I'm sure it's great. I recently built a friend a PC, and he picked up the Samsung 2443BW, and it has stellar image quality... I believe it rivals the Dell 2408WFP I have (which happened to cost a lot more). It has less connections, but that might not matter to some people.

I really don't think you can go wrong with the ViewSonic one, though. If you like their warranty, I'd say go for it. It's highly unlikely that you're going to purchase it and be unhappy.