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Which Graphics Card?
Right now I have an 8800GT 512mb. I upgraded my power supply when I bought the computer to leave room for a graphics card upgrade.
Which would be the bigger upgrade for me? Keep in mind I'm sticking with GeForce so don't even try to push your ATI on me. The first one is actually cheaper than the 250, and I realize that the 250 is a renamed 9800. So which would be the bigger upgrade for me? I notice that the 250 has higher specs than the 260, but the 260 is a newer chip, right? I wish graphic cards weren't so damn confusing for the regular customer...
BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC 896MB GDDR3 PCI-E Video Card
Memory Specs
Effective Memory Clock Speed 590MHz
Memory Technology GDDR3
Video Memory 896MB
Chipset Specs
API Support DX10, Shader Model 4.0, PCI-E 2.0
Core Clock Speed 590MHz
Maximum Resolution 2560 x 1600
Multiple Monitor Support Yes
Processor Type NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
RAMDAC Speed Dual 400MHz
SLI Ready Yes
Interfaces and I/O
Coaxial Input No
Component Input No
Component Output No
Composite Input No
Composite Output No
DVI Output Yes
HDMI Input No
HDMI Output Yes (With Adapter, Not Included)
S-video Input No
S-video Output No
Slot Type PCI-E x16
Slots Required 2
VGA Output Yes (With Adapter)
Tuners and Encoders
ATSC Tuner No
DVD Acceleration Yes
HD-DVD/Blu-ray Capable Yes
HDTV Encoder No
NTSC Tuner No
OR
XFX GeForce GTS 250 1GB GDDR3 PCI-E Video Card
Memory Specs
Effective Memory Clock Speed 2.2 GHz
Memory Technology DDR3
Video Memory 1 GB
Chipset Specs
API Support DX 9/10, OpenGL 3.0
Core Clock Speed 738 MHz
Maximum Resolution 2500 x 1600
Multiple Monitor Support Yes
Processor Type GTS 250
RAMDAC Speed 400
SLI Ready Yes
Interfaces and I/O
Coaxial Input No
Component Input No
Component Output No
Composite Input No
Composite Output No
DVI Output Yes
HDMI Input No
HDMI Output No
S-video Input No
S-video Output No
Slot Type PCI-E x16 2.0
Slots Required 2
VGA Output No
Tuners and Encoders Turner: No, HDTV Encoder: Yes
ATSC Tuner No
DVD Acceleration No
HD-DVD/Blu-ray Capable Yes
HDTV Encoder Yes
NTSC Tuner No
-Computer specs no one cares about: check.
-MMOs played no one cares about: check.
-Xfire stats no one cares about: check.
-Signature no one cares about: check.
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-Narcissism: check.
Comments
Depending on budget, 4870/5850/5870.
Don't consider those nvidia card, they are hardly faster than your old card. I'd suggest you get a 5850.
If you're interested in a cost effective GTX, I'd go with the EVGA 260. Particularly the one with 216 signal processors compared to BFGs 194, would be faster, and is only 10 bucks more. BFG has a better warranty but that will only serve you in a limited number of scenarios where more SP will benefit your performance 100% of the time.
Stay away from the GTS 250.
The ATI cards are worth considering as well.
Oh, and the GTX 260 is PLENTY faster than an 8800GT, I had a comparable 8800 GTS before I upgraded to a 260, and the difference is huge, not to mention the fact that a GTX will always be much higher quality and better driver support than a GT or GTS, which seem to be more prone to problems in my experiences.
"Good? Bad? I'm the guy with the gun."
I have to agree with this.
the GTX260 Maxcore 55 is a good card (priced around $170US).
If you are into overclocking it even more, you can reach the speeds of the GTX285, but even with the stock OC speeds its fast enough to run pretty much any game you can throw at it currently.
And as a bonus, most online retailers are giving away a downloadable copy of Batman Arkham Asylum (which if you havent played it, its a great game)
Also if your system has more than 1 PCIe slot, you can stick that 8800GT in the second slot and have it set to run as a PhysX processor (if you have gamnes that use it, such as Batman :P )
There are 3 types of people in the world.
1.) Those who make things happen
2.) Those who watch things happen
3.) And those who wonder "What the %#*& just happened?!"
With that in mind you have to read this article.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-ram-4870,2428.html
Very good explanation of what to look for in a graphics card. Or you could go with the next link. Best card for the money comparison, another excellent link.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2404.html
The 260 should be better even though it doesn't look like it's a GTX 260 216. The only spec higher on the 250 is the core clock but the 250 is really a rebranded 9800GTX+ which is really a rebranded die-shrunk 8800GTS and has half as many transistors as the 260 so the core clock isn't directly comparable.
It's not graphics cards that are confusing for the regular customer it's nvidia and their retarded naming schemes and rebranding.