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A New Graphics Card


jrrtoken

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I've been considering replacing my aging ATi Radeon HD 2400 Pro with something all around better. I've been eying a nice 9800 GT with 1 GB of dedicated memory on Newegg, but I'm still browsing for better deals. Just to let you know, I've got XP, and a PCI Express slot, plus I'd like something at least within the $200 USD range. Anyone have any suggestions?

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jmac pretty much sums it up with that 4870. It's definitely worth ~$20 more than that 9800GTX+. It looks like the best deal in that performance range. You shouldn't run into any problems with that 512MB frame buffer unless you're gaming at >1680x1050.

 

A couple of questions:

What's your monitor's resolution?

Do you prefer ATI or Nvidia?

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So you're looking for a single-slot card. Gotcha. ;)

 

You still have a CRT, don't you? Are you planning on upgrading soon or are you a CRT purist?

 

Anywho, I found this 9600GSO 768MB that would fit the bill nicely. These are great F@H cards using the Nvidia GPU client. When overclocked, they are nearly comparable to a 9800GT. At your resolution, this card would be great, and it's single-slot.

 

Here is the link to the $70 rebate, which would make this card ~$42 after rebate. Getting this rebate is kind of a sticky process, though, because Amazon isn't going to receive these cards for shipping until the rebate purchase date expires, and they usually won't bill you until it ships. To quote a guy over at AnandTech, this is what you'd have to do:

Call Amazon, explain all this to them (being really nice...it gets you farther with the reps), saying that the reason you placed the order was that incredible rebate. They should do for you like me and if it ships out of the rebate expiration date, Amazon will credit you with an INSTANT REBATE for the 70.00!!!! (putting that all as notes on your order).

 

It's a gamble, yes, but Amazon hooked that guy up and if it pays off, you get a killer card for $42!. It's up to you, but I'd check it out right now, as they're claiming that they only have one left. I'd go for it.

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You still have a CRT, don't you? Are you planning on upgrading soon or are you a CRT purist?
I actually have a very schlocky LCD from Dell. It only has a VGA port, no DVI, and I have to say, I preferred my old CRT than my current LCD, as the contrast is much lower on the LCD. I've heard that newer LCDs, especially ones with TFTs have a much better contrast ratio than older ones, though.

Anywho, I found this 9600GSO 768MB that would fit the bill nicely. These are great F@H cards using the Nvidia GPU client. When overclocked, they are nearly comparable to a 9800GT. At your resolution, this card would be great, and it's single-slot.
Wow, that's really a tremendous deal. I'd imagine that it requires a separate power connector for the fan, which means that I'd probably have to upgrade my 305W power supply to something a bit heftier. Any info on power consumption?
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It requires a 6-pin PCIe power connecter and 26 amps on the +12V rail, so yeah, you're going to need a new PSU. I can find that, too, because it sounds like you really need one anyway. ;)

 

It'll be cheap, but how cheap depends on where you live. You wouldn't happen to live anywhere close to a Fry's Electronics, would you? If you do, then we might be talking about a decent Antec Truepower Trio or Earthwatts (or an equivalent brand) with the power you need for ~$20-$30.

 

Go ahead and order the card before it's too late, and I'll find you a cheap but good power supply. Like I said, you really need a new PSU anyway if you're going to get any kind of graphics card that's worth buying.

 

Our goal here would be to get that card and a decent PSU for <$75 total.

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  • 2 months later...

If you're still looking:

 

It's back. It's not as good of a deal as last time, but it's way, way more definite. This is the older, better model with 96 stream processors. The new one's been cut down to 48 and is totally gimped. I've got one myself, and it's pretty darn good for the money, and I game at 1680x1050. When overclocked, it trades shots with an overclocked 9600GT, and it's probably the most powerful card that is truly single-slot. It will not crowd the adjacent PCI slot.

 

Here's a quality PSU to go with it. Sign up for Live.com's cashback program and order it through that for 2.75% off and use the promo code in the Newegg ad for 20% off.

 

Both PNY and Corsair are reliable with their rebates. Final cost for both: ~$85.00.

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