# Recommended Graphics Card for My Sons Computer Please



## TremulousTetra (Nov 13, 2011)

my son has this computer, if you scroll down the page you will get the specs.. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayIS...&ssPageName=ADME:L:PMR:GB:1123#ht_3029wt_1185

Obviously it is not a top spec machine, so he will not be able to play the highest level games I suspect. He just wants to be able to play some games, such as oblivion.

He was looking at this. http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...aphicscards/atihd6800series/hd-685x-zndc.html

I didn't want to pay that much. As the machine was only 318. Am I being tight?

To run the graphics card he is telling me that he will also require a new PSU, which is 410 watt. He's telling me it doesn't have enough power supply cables, but he could split one of them in two, however he is also saying this is not enough watt's.so we are probably going to be looking at 150 in total to upgrade the machine.. Would people consider it worth it? Is there not a more cost-effective alternative? He doesn't really need the 3-D potential of this graphics card he has found.


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## Blackandyellow (Nov 13, 2011)

The AMD Radeon HD 6850 is such a high graphics card to play a game like oblivion. Want you need is something in the middle like what I have. I am still able to play the latest games with all graphics settings set to high. Judging from the specs of your sons computer, a middle class graphics will be more than enough to do the job. I suggest getting the Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT. Great card, great price and has the capacity to play all the games with the highest graphics settings. Now you might be asking yourself why make higher and more expensive graphics cards if middle class cards can do the trick. Well, for gamers such as myself, middle class cards will do as we only use one monitor to play. What most gamers don't realize is that high end video cards don't outperform middle class cards by much. It's just that they have more features. If you need your computer to be connected to multiple monitors, if you need 3D features or if you're a 3D artist using high end animation tools, thats when high end cards are needed. The card your son is looking at is a high end card. Doesn't make sense to me if you buy that just to play oblivion. GeForce 9800 GT or its Ati Radeon counterpart will do. Hope this helps you decide.


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## TremulousTetra (Nov 13, 2011)

thanks for that. Let him read it, but still having to convince him, has to have the top-notch of everything. lol


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## Picadilly Commando (Nov 17, 2011)

nVidia 460 is very good value and a very capable card.


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## Garek (Nov 17, 2011)

Blackandyellow said:


> The AMD Radeon HD 6850 is such a high graphics card to play a game like oblivion. Want you need is something in the middle like what I have. I am still able to play the latest games with all graphics settings set to high. Judging from the specs of your sons computer, a middle class graphics will be more than enough to do the job. I suggest getting the Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT. Great card, great price and has the capacity to play all the games with the highest graphics settings. Now you might be asking yourself why make higher and more expensive graphics cards if middle class cards can do the trick. Well, for gamers such as myself, middle class cards will do as we only use one monitor to play. What most gamers don't realize is that high end video cards don't outperform middle class cards by much. It's just that they have more features. If you need your computer to be connected to multiple monitors, if you need 3D features or if you're a 3D artist using high end animation tools, thats when high end cards are needed. The card your son is looking at is a high end card. Doesn't make sense to me if you buy that just to play oblivion. GeForce 9800 GT or its Ati Radeon counterpart will do. Hope this helps you decide.



Or if you have a screen with a high native resolution...


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## Picadilly Commando (Nov 17, 2011)

Don't wish to be rude but Blackandyellow is not giving the best advice. In fact it's a load of shite, the 6850 is most definitely not a high range end card. The GT 9800 is most definitely not a middle of the range card, it's fairly near the bottom. So near the bottom it is probably discontinued and only old stock sitting about.

"Gamers use only one monitor" Since when? I use two for gaming and couldn't game with out one, as do many others. Game in one TS and admin panel in the other.

Granted not everyone uses two monitors, so I'll ignore that bit. But he neglects to mention what garek points out, many people these days run at a fairly high screen resolution and with a near bottom of the range card you're really to notice the frame rates dropping. There is a massive difference between what he calls middle range and what ever he calls high end. Instead of spending £80 on a GT 9800 spend about £50 more and get a card that is going to give you the performance at higher resolutions, and also going to give you far more longevity. You'll only be looking to replace that GT 9800 again shortly, as soon as your son wants to play some of the latest titles. In fact I am not sure they still make the 9800 so if you do find one they'll stop writing drivers with that card in mind. You'd be wasting your money.

Also I'd go for one that is at least 1GB, 512GB is really quite low for a video card these days.

I am 100% Gaming geek of nearly 20 years and admin a Gaming Service Provider. Not wanting to blow my own trumpet but I do this kind of thing day in day out, day in day out. 

He is right in one thing though: you don't need a great card to play oblivion but will he always want to play that?


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## Picadilly Commando (Nov 17, 2011)

Have a look at this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-Nv...FFC4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321517962&sr=8-1

But before you buy, make sure you have enough room in your case, on your motherboard and just as importantly enough power. Nothing more frustrating than buying a card just to find it won't fit or your PSU hasn't got enough juice to power up the damn thing


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## ohmyliver (Nov 17, 2011)

I'd recommend something like the hd5770 as it's cheap (about 70 quid) can handle the vast majority of games at high/ultra at 1080p, and is low power, so you won't need to upgrade yer power supply.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/best-graphics-card-gaming-performance,review-32301-3.html


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## The39thStep (Nov 17, 2011)

Similar question I have an old Scaleo P
http://uk.ts.fujitsu.com/rl/servicesupport/techsupport/consumer/Scaleo/Scaleo_P/SCALEO P.pdf
with a ATI Radeon X300/X550/X1050 Series ~256MB [1152x864]

It plays the first Crysis , STALKER etc but what card should I upgrade to?


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## Picadilly Commando (Nov 17, 2011)

Just thought, I have a 5750 sitting doing nothing:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/11/06/sapphire-ati-radeon-hd-5750-1gb-review/1

£50 it is yours. If you want it PM me 

It is only DX10 though, that's why it is in the cupboard!


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## Aelthal (Nov 17, 2011)

Hello, this is the son who is interested in the graphics card; the son of ResistanceMP3. 

Oblivion is a game I have recently took interest to and have mentioned to my dad so he seems to have become fixated on the idea that I am buying this card to play oblivion. I however have been playing video games for many years, mostly on console until recently I turned to PC and wish to carry on playing a range of games. The problem that I have come across is that with a Chipset my current rig can run next to no games, old or recent. For example: Oblivion, released in 2006, causes my frames per second to drop to around five FPS during simple combat on the lowest settings (Which I have modded further to increase FPS through Steam) without any high density particle effects. 

My dad has said that I always want the best products on the market which is true, but the 6850 is far from the best card on the market. To me it seems a reasonably priced card when you compare it to some of the current ones that are priced around 600+ - It is an AMD card (it is overclocked correctly, which is why I say no to sapphire cards, I do not beleive they are any good) it has good specifications that will play a large number of games old and new and it is compatible with my motherboard. The only issue with it is that I will have to upgrade my PSU which is not a big problem.

I will not settle for a card as low as the Geforce 9800 or any of the 'mid-range' (the 6850 is more like a mid range to anyone who plays games frequently) for the simple fact that it will have to be replaced in the space of maximum 2 months because it will be useless junk. The AMD card I am interested in will have a much longer life span in my rig and will play the games I enjoy playing now in Medium-Ultra settings and will play most of the games released in the near future on medium-ultra. 

I'm not being spoilt here, I will happily pay for the 6850 myself if my dad does not wish to but I do not want anybody in this thread to give him the idea that a 9800 is of any use, i may aswell stick with my chipset.


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## revol68 (Nov 17, 2011)

LOL

fair fucks to you.

You got to get him the card now, you tight trot.

Anyway Sapphire cards are grand, I've had three of them over the past 8 years without any issue.


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## Jackobi (Nov 18, 2011)

It's an average price for a mid-range card. Have you considered a 6770, £40 cheaper and perhaps you could still use the same PSU?
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...aphicscards/atihd6700series/hd-677x-zhlc.html

Anything scoring above 1500 is still powerful enough to run most modern games at decent settings.






* (longchart)*​


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## Bob_the_lost (Nov 18, 2011)

Thanks for that Jackobi, i was living in blissful ignorance that my card only gets 800 

Which does say something: I've been playing Deus Ex Human Revolution without any problems, you don't need as powerful a card as you think. It makes the game look prettier but is it worth the extra cash? Since i haven't bothered upgrading in years my position on that should be pretty clear.


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## Picadilly Commando (Nov 18, 2011)

Aelthal said:


> Hello, this is the son who is interested in the graphics card; the son of ResistanceMP3.



Haha, I agree with pretty much everything you said.  Why anyone would recommend a DX10 9800 pile of shite is beyond me, that person is a moron. I get the impression they're consoling their own graphics card.  

I stick to what I said earlier, GTX 460 ti.  You'll be able to play BF3 at high with that card to give you some idea of it's performance. It is a fair price, it has DX11, 1GB of DD5, runs nice and cool and can be OCed to buggery. Or if you're feeling flush take a look at the GTX 560 ti, I used to be an ATI fan until I bought a GTX 560 ti and now I am converted. That's not to say ATI cards are poor, they're very good. I found the drivers better for nVidia and I also prefer the appearance on screen: colours are more vivid and it seems to render some things more realistically. But at the end of the day it is like Canon and Nikon, they both make the best dSLR cameras and each has it's strengths over the other; in the end it comes down to personal preference.


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## Jackobi (Nov 18, 2011)

Picadilly Commando said:


> I stick to what I said earlier, GTX 460 ti.



From where would this GTX 460 Ti be purchased?


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## Jackobi (Nov 18, 2011)

Bob_the_lost said:


> Thanks for that Jackobi, i was living in blissful ignorance that my card only gets 800
> 
> Which does say something: I've been playing Deus Ex Human Revolution without any problems, you don't need as powerful a card as you think. It makes the game look prettier but is it worth the extra cash? Since i haven't bothered upgrading in years my position on that should be pretty clear.



I think it comes down to budget and personal preference. Buy the best hardware that suits the budget and won't drive you nuts with low quality/FPS. I've had an HD 4890 for a few years and only very recently has new software started to push it to its limits, even then it still produces very good results. The fan started failing recently, it was reaching temperatures of 115C! I invested in an Accelero Twin Turbo Pro for £20, which I fitted this morning, to give it a new lease of life for another year.

It is easy to unnecessarily pour money into a gaming PC, an extra few hundred quid or more at the top-range makes very little discernible difference to a less powerful, cheaper model.


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## A Dashing Blade (Nov 18, 2011)

Jackobi said:


> I've had an HD 4890 for a few years and only very recently has new software started to push it to its limits, even then it still produces very good results.  . . .



+1 'cept I think mine's a 1gb 4850 (or 60, or 70)


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## Picadilly Commando (Nov 18, 2011)

Jackobi said:


> From where would this GTX 460 Ti be purchased?



The Ti? Well from imagination land 

However you can purchase a GTX 460 from just about anywhere, I'd recommend ebuyer. Always found them excellent.

http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=01G-P3-1372-TR&family=GeForce 400 Series Family&sw

Excellent card and very good value for money I'd probably recommend it over my own 560 because the performance for the price outweighs the cost of the 560. But you only find these things out once you've bought them.

When you get into the really high top end cards I have found there is a noticeable difference in *some* games but nothing worth paying the extra £200+ . There's a bloke at work who spent £1,200 on two 4GB HD 6990 and I just think why?! Besides which he had to wait about two months for them to get imported and when they did turn up one over heated and had to be returned. Bloke is a nasty piece of shite and a total brown nose to those above him, you can imagine how he became a manager.. but I degrees.


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## Aelthal (Nov 18, 2011)

Picadilly Commando said:


> But at the end of the day it is like Canon and Nikon, they both make the best dSLR cameras and each has it's strengths over the other; in the end it comes down to personal preference.



Hope I don't get the quoting thing wrong or i'm going to appear like the forum noob that I am. You're right though, their both very close to each other these cards and I understand what your saying, but the power consumption is a bit lower on the 6850 and a few other factors seem to be better, take a look here: http://www.hwcompare.com/8241/geforce-gtx-460-1gb-vs-radeon-hd-6850/

I'm also pretty sure that the 6850 will be fine inside my rig, I'm just going to do a last minute check with compatability; since I think my dad has given in


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## Jackobi (Nov 18, 2011)

Aelthal said:


> I'm also pretty sure that the 6850 will be fine inside my rig, I'm just going to do a last minute check with compatability; since I think my dad has given in



You are obviously technically proficient, as everything you have said is spot-on. £450-500 overall is average for a decent gaming base, so it isn't an excessive purchase per-se. Which PSU are you getting?

You'll have a nice machine to hopefully last you a few years.


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## Picadilly Commando (Nov 18, 2011)

Aelthal said:


> Hope I don't get the quoting thing wrong or i'm going to appear like the forum noob that I am. You're right though, their both very close to each other these cards and I understand what your saying, but the power consumption is a bit lower on the 6850 and a few other factors seem to be better, take a look here: http://www.hwcompare.com/8241/geforce-gtx-460-1gb-vs-radeon-hd-6850/
> 
> I'm also pretty sure that the 6850 will be fine inside my rig, I'm just going to do a last minute check with compatability; since I think my dad has given in  http://www.hwcompare.com/8241/geforce-gtx-460-1gb-vs-radeon-hd-6850/



Yep, go for hte 6850 if you like. I personally just favour the nVidia card, it does run hotter than other cards I've owned but that'll be the power you mention. I never knew what the drain was TBH as I'm OK on that front, infact my PSU is totally overkill for my rig.

Take it you've built your own rig before? It's so easy more people should do it, the hardest part is choosing the equipiment 

Enjoy your card 8)


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## TremulousTetra (Nov 18, 2011)

resistance tries to remember the combination number, and where he has put the key to his wallet.


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