Need some advice on buying a graphic card.
By harpreet89
@harpreet89 (723)
India
December 27, 2009 12:09am CST
Hi friends, i need some help in purchasing a good graphic card.
Well i have a restricted budget(Rs. 3500 or U.S. $75) though i can raise it a bit if the card i get is good and its price is justified.
So my requirement is to play games on computer though not in high resolution.
The card should be able to run all the new games currently present in market and it should support Windows 7.
So what kind of graphic card do you advice.
I have few options in my mind.They are
MSI ATI Radeon 4650HD (might consider 4670HD too)
Nvidia 9400 GT(no hdmi)
Nvidia 9500 GT
The card must contain a VGA output and HDMI output.
Please suggest a good card which you are using or will be suitable for me.You can suggest other options too.
**The card's minimum power supply requirement should be low ~350-400W as my power supply is ~350W**
4 responses
@7shotsofwisdom (42)
• Philippines
27 Dec 09
You'll be needing a true-rated power supply. I used a 9400GT before with a generic power supply but it gets unstable especially if you're running demanding graphics tasks. Once I switched to a true-rated Corsair PSU, the instability vanished. The 9400GT does run perfectly on Win7. One more thing, if you're thinking of higher end cards, they do require 6-pin power connectors, so you really have to include in your budget a true-rated power supply unit.
@harpreet89 (723)
• India
27 Dec 09
Hi, i'm not considering a high end card. I need a mid end/low end card which can easily run all the latest games even in low details.
As you have 9400GT can you please provide me some details about that card.
Which brand is it(manufacturer of card as chip manufacturer is Nvidia), memory size, pixel shader, types of ports and memory and core clock speed and most important, the price of card when you purchased it.
If you provide me these details i'll be very thankful to you.
@rikimaru78 (33)
• Philippines
27 Dec 09
Just a question what kind of instability are you referring?because I'm also using Nvidia 9400GT with a generic power supply and so far I didn't encounter any problems but maybe I am missing something that a good PSU can give? sometimes I get laggy but its normal if your pc is on for a long time. Can you give some advantages, for me to decide whether I will get a new PSU for my PC..
@saphrina (31551)
• South Africa
27 Dec 09
firt af all your biggest problem is your power supply. No offence, but without a bigger one you will waste your money on buying a bigger and better graphic card. Remember everything gets bigger and better which means more power. I will suggest that you go to your nearest supplier and ask what they suggest.
It is not easy to buy so be carefull off what and where you buy. Not everyone will be helpfull.
Or if you have friends who have the same interest why not buy from them, when they upgrade. That is always the cheapest to go, if they have what you want.
@harpreet89 (723)
• India
27 Dec 09
I totally agree with you that power supply will make some trouble when using a high performance gfx card.But i've tested few graphic cards in my system and they run really smooth.
Also one of my friend is using ATI Radeon 4670HD on his system and we both have identical system(same model,manufacturer--branded one).
So, he is using that card for around 6-7 months and also adviced me to get that too but in the market its really hard to find that card and the one who stock it are asking too much.
So, just suggest me a good card which fits in my budget and requirement.Power supply issue will be handled by me.(I'll invest in PSU).
Thanks for responding..
@drakesuyat (1063)
• Philippines
27 Dec 09
if it works well with your friend, i would suggest you just buy the same brand as he is coz it will sure work properly on your pc as well. although technically speaking, both brands that you mentioned were good but compatibility will be a big factor. its good that your friend has a testimony using it otherwise, you'll really have to figure things out. happy new year to you saphrina!
@mdzahirulkader (15)
• Bangladesh
27 Dec 09
In general sense a lot of information is required while purchasing a parts regarding computer. You should consider some aspect as you are going to purchase a high performance graphics card.
* Graphics Memory
* Will this share memory with RAM? ( This is most important one.)
* Power supply required
* HDMI support, pixel shadder version
i will suggest you that you can go for a nVidia graphics card. This company's card support most of games requirements.
Honestly speaking, One more thing is if you want most from your investment it requires higher cost.
@harpreet89 (723)
• India
27 Dec 09
Hi mdzahirulkader, i'm considering these aspects.That's why i've mentioned some of my requirements in the discussion.
As my budget is restricted, so i have to compromise with some requirements.
I've seen some gfx cards on newegg and found that MSI ATI Radeon 4650HD/4670HD, Nvidia 9400GT,9500GT fits in my budget but these cards are not available in the retail market.
Radeon 4650HD is available but brand is Saffire and cost more than $150.
Nvidia 9400GT is available but memory is 512MB.
So i'm not able find a perfect card for my system.
My basic requirements are:
Memory: 1 GB (DDR2 or DDR3, any one will do work)
Memory clock should be high
Hdmi support is required.
VGA port is required(some new card lack this).
And i too like nvidia cards but after seeing ATI's card in comparison to it, i have to reconsider that which brand should i choose.
