Nvidia video card - TTLG Forums

Renzatic on 22/1/2011 at 21:57

They are. I'd suggest going for a good midline Phenom II or i5 for the best price vs. performance ratio. You can slap one of those together with a Geforce 460 or Radeon 5770 for around $700-800 easily.

Raymond Luxury Yacht on 23/1/2011 at 02:42

Quote Posted by Renzatic

I was actually going to ask about that. There is one that has a Phenom II X six core with the Radeon 5770 and 4 Gb RAM for 800 bucks. The only thing is, in a few of the reviews that I read they complained about the motherboard being small, and that the 4GB RAM is 2x2GB, but that there are only two slots, so if you want to take advantage of the 8GB max, you have to get 2x4GB sticks. I don't know if that can be expensive or not. Then again it's a whole lot more than I have now, for about 60% of what I paid for this machine in 2004.
Also, what's the deal with dual/quad/six cores? An IT guy temping at my job told me games now just use the graphics card for the most part, so having a dual core processor is all you need for gaming, that you would never even access the other cores unless you were doing graphics work or video editing. So it makes me wonder why AMD makes one with six cores. Would I ever got the use of them?

Renzatic on 23/1/2011 at 04:50

He's pretty much right. For the moment, a dual core setup is about all you need if you're only using your comp to play games and do basic desktop BS. Unless you're planning on running a high end game in windowed mode while listening to MP3s, burning DVDs, and watching Netflix on a regular basis, you'll rarely ever get any real use out of a quad core processor.

But even if you're not using them all the time, having a few extra cores at your disposal won't exactly hurt you. There might be a rare moment when having a bit of extra processing power will help speed you along on whatever task you're doing. Plus you'll be future proofing your new machine. Just because most games and programs only take advantage of two cores on average nowadays doesn't mean they won't use more in a couple of years.

Considering how long you wait between upgrades, going with a quad or hexa core processor would be a better choice than saving a few bucks on an old dual core. If you can find a good one for cheap, then go ahead and grab it. You'll be happier in the long run.

edit: The RAM thing. Eh, it sucks a little bit, but won't kill you. You can get 8Gb of the stuff and be set for the next 3-4 years at least. It is a little pricy going 2x4, but not horribly so. Like $150ish or so for a good set is about the average, I think. What I suggest you do is stick with 4Gb you're getting, and grab more in a year or so when it's a little cheaper. If you ever find yourself needing more than that here in the near future (doubtful), you'll have to either consider spending a chunk on a couple of 8Gb sticks, or swap out for a new motherboard.

Raymond Luxury Yacht on 23/1/2011 at 16:52

My last two machines I have gotten the best processor available, figuring the video cards and RAM are easy to change/upgrade. I have changed all the hardware, except for processors and motherboards, so if a 6-core will do a better job than a dual core, it's a no brainer. And since games get more and more complex, I can't see why they wouldn't use more than 2 cores in a few years, as you suggest. And considering the AMD X6 and Radeon 5770 card came with an $800 setup, it seems a good buy.
Thanks for the input. I will not be getting one too soon, but by the end of the year for sure. I have to get a little saved up and convince the wife it's a good deal. Plus, DX3 and Thief 4 need to come down in price (I am too cheap to spend 50 bucks on a game). And who knows if they'll even come out when they're supposed to. It will also bring down prices on the stuff out now, and maybe there will be an 8-core soon.

Raymond Luxury Yacht on 23/1/2011 at 21:34

As I am looking up machines on Newegg, it seems that to get a Quad core machine for at or around $800 it has an AMD processor. I just wonder, why are the AMD processors cheaper, and are the Intel i7s worth the extra money or are you just paying for the name?
It was explained to me that, using TVs as an analogy, Intel/Nvidia are more like Sony and AMD/ATI is more like Dynex; the Sony will cost a little more but you know it's worth it. The Dynex is cheaper and it may last a long time, or it may take a dump in 18 months, but the C.S., if you call, is some ESL lady in Bangladesh.
I am fine with AMD systems, given the amazingly low price, as long as I know in 6 or 7 years it'll still be going.

lost_soul on 23/1/2011 at 21:57

Just make sure you get a good video card. If you look at the benchmarks, the Phenom II X4 965 is very competitive, but your motherboard will cost much less than an Intel-capable board. Have a look at (http://www.amazon.com/PNY-Overclocked-PCI-Express-Graphics-VCGGTX4601XPB-OC/dp/B003XU78OA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295819129&sr=8-1) this card

Here are some prices for you

overclocked GTX460: $169 after rebate
Phenom II 965: $153

(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148347&cm_re=crutial_4_gb-_-20-148-347-_-Product) 8 gigs of DDR3-1333 memory (2 modules) $85

(http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EarthWatts-EA650-Power-Supply/dp/B000HEZFZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1295819732&sr=1-1) Antec 650 W 80+ power supply $70

(http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-RC-310-BWN1-GP-Elite-Window/dp/B0028ACYMC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1295819814&sr=1-1) Cooler Master Elite 310 $35

(http://www.amazon.com/MSI-125W-CPU-Support-870-G45-Motherboard/dp/B003UT0S1E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295820293&sr=8-1) MSI 870-g45 $70

so that is about $573. You just need a hard drive and some DVD drives, which you could take from the P4 depending on how cheap the system has to be.

Just get yourself a decent hard drive and you'll have a great system. Note that this doesn't include a copy of Windows. I use Linux and an old copy of XP for some legacy apps. I refuse to pay the monopoly, so in the event that some DX11-only games come out that I want, I'll just pick up a used copy of Vista retail from Ebay for $50. muhahahaha

Renzatic on 23/1/2011 at 22:18

Nah. I'd say comparing Intel to AMD is like comparing a tweaked up supercharged BMW to a stock Audi. You're gonna get a car that drives great no matter which one you choose, but if you need that extra boost of speed and performance, you go with the BMW.

ATI vs Nvidia? Depends on what year it is. They leapfrog each other every other generation. Like right now, I think the Geforces are the performance leaders. But if things go as usual, the next major Radeon line will beat the next Geforces on the high end. Though generally, Radeons almost always have the best midgrade line of cards. I don't think Nvidia has anything that quite matches the 5770 on price vs. performance at the moment.

The i7s. Yeah, they're worth the price...if you're doing alot of HD video editing, CAD work, heavy render work with high poly 3D, or just want the best of the best. If you're using the comp mostly to play games, you'll see the performance difference in benchmarks, but not to the point it justifies the extra cost. Your best bet is to go with an i5, or a Phenom II, which are roughly equivalent to each other in performance. The midline chips are really more than enough for what you need.

Think of it like this, the i7 might give you a 125FPS count in some recent game at 1920x1080, while a current i5 or Phenom II give you about 90 at the same res. Is there a difference? Yeah. Is it worth the extra cost? That's ultimately up to you, but I don't think it is. Not if you're using your comp exclusively for entertainment purposes.

Brian The Dog on 23/1/2011 at 22:38

I'm with Renz, when we had a spare stash of money to spend at work at the end of a project, we bought a super Intel thing as they're the best and we needed to spend the money. But when I last purchased a PC with my own money, I bought a few models down as they're a few percent slower in the benchmarks, but several hundred lower in the price-range. The only thing to add for the graphics card debate is that ATI's Linux drivers are terrible, so I only ever buy nVidia cards since I dual-boot. But I appreciate this is not an issue for the majority of PC users.

Raymond Luxury Yacht on 24/1/2011 at 14:28

Okay, one last question/issue
What about a monitor? I see that these systems are monitor-less. I am wondering if I can use my old Dell monitor, or will the newer cars not have a connector. I am debating a new monitor, as I have now gotten the CANNOT DISPLAY THIS VIDEO MODE on the third game I have tried to re-install, after successfully installing, playing, and uninstalling at an earlier date. I posted a thread here before asking what I can do, and was given Refresh Force. It worked at that time (Total Overdose runs fine) but it just happened to Thief 3. So I want to avoid any frame rate issues if I buy a system with a kick-ass video card. Plus I will most likely try to sell my old system, to get back at least some of the money, and an included monitor seems like it would help the sale.
And is there a good place to go for speakers? I would happily reuse my Dell speaker system, if I can get the sound card to take the connectors.

lost_soul on 24/1/2011 at 15:02

Sure, you could re-use a monitor. I use an old VGA 19 inch LCD. In the worst case, you need a DVI-to-VGA adapter, which comes with lots of video cards. One came with the one I mentioned above.

I've also been using a pair of speakers from 2002 with a sub.