Graphics Card

[JigglyJam]

It sounds like my graphics card is squeaking/clicking/zipping. Problem didn't clear up when I shot some air around it so I'm assuming I need a new one.

What's a good card nowadays? Have Windows 7 machine with 8GB RAM and a Q9450 CPU if compatibility might be an issue.

[Agito]

Your budget and if your motherboard supports either Crossfire, SLI or both is a factor but i'm thinking you'll upgrade to the latest socket when you'd actually want to go with dual graphics cards.

The HIS 5870 is a great GPU, it's a little on the more expensive side but high quality and high performance is what you get. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-301-_-Product

[shidobu]

great card. I have it too, well the XFX version. But fair warning, If you pick that card. MAke damn sure it will fit in ur case. Shits massive, Its like 11 inches.

[JigglyJam]

Since I've got an SLI board I think I'll be picking two of these up:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130514

Never done SLI so I think I will this time around.

[Celeras]

nVidias new cards are coming out in 4 days, which will lead to everything else being cheaper. If you bought now, you're a sucker.

[JigglyJam]

Dammit.

[Don Katsu]

Since I've got an SLI board I think I'll be picking two of these up:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130514

Never done SLI so I think I will this time around.

I'd recommend one 5850 over that. At least you would get Direct X 11 and can possibly crossfire later if you buy another

[JigglyJam]

Well I just might, but later in the future. Card I have now is working like it should and no noises or anything.

[Khamsin]

Is a GeForce 400 series guaranteed to run anything an 8xxx/9xxx series can run, or will that depend on driver support and the specific app/game, since the 8xxx/9xxx is more popular/prevalent, and therefore more likely to be catered to?

[Celeras]

You're asking about backwards compatibility? Of course they'd run any of the older games.. o.O?

[Don Katsu]

nVidia's cards are out but based on their dismal price/power/performance I wouldn't expect ATI's prices to drop anytime soon.

[Pikarya]

nVidia's cards are out but based on their dismal price/power/performance I wouldn't expect ATI's prices to drop anytime soon.

This is correct. Unless some great act of god can sway in Nvidias favor. ATi won't be doing price drops anytime soon.

[Celeras]

nVidia's cards are out but based on their dismal price/power/performance I wouldn't expect ATI's prices to drop anytime soon.

http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/im.../GTX480-91.jpg

http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/im.../GTX480-90.jpg

Little research would prevent such foot-in-mouth consequences ;p nVidia now has the fastest single GPU(480), and best price/performance GPU (470)

ATI probably still won't drop prices though, but that due tot he fact that they can't keep up with their supply. nVidias older cards should see decent drops away from the 470 tag of 349$

[Kurp]

Hardware Canucks huh.

Reviews and benchmarks have been mixed from the half dozen or so I've read, but generally it seems that the 480 is about 10% faster than the 5870 and about the same with the 470 and 5850.

I don't think that the new Nvidia cards are good enough to force any price drops from ATI, since the Nvidia cards are more expensive. They are rumored to be in short supply which may drive real prices above MSRP. Even Nvidia's 200 series probably won't drop much since that's going to have to serve as their mainstream line.

I want to get a DX11 card and was waiting for this launch, but I'll probably hold off a while longer.

[Celeras]

They're the only ones who made a purdy graph, since anandtech decided not to put the 470 on theirs for whatever reason. Good collection of reputable reviews if you'd care to browse: http://www.overclock.net/hardware-ne...i-reviews.html

10% is close enough for the 470/5850 comparison, 480/5870 is probably better served at 15.

[Kurp]

Maybe 15%, I don't know. It's hard to say because it differs so much game-to-game and resolution-to-resolution. I think most reviews are showing that the ATI cards close the gap more as resolution increases.

The Nvidia cards seem to perform better with DX11, especially with minimum framerates and higher anti-aliasing. That's probably the most hopeful result, I've seen. The power consumption and heat generation suck though. They're also louder.

ATI will release their 5870 2GB in a few weeks, maybe around the same time that Nvidia actually gets their cards out the door. Who knows how much that will change things.

[Don Katsu]

I didn't do foot in mouth. 6 months late for a hot/power hungry card that runs 10% faster?

The expectation was that these would kill ATI cards, they don't.

I was also hoping for a price drop with this release

[Deadgye]

480 is barely better than the 5870, consumes a shitload more power and runs hotter. 470 is on par with 5850, except it consumes more power and runs hotter.

Factor the release gap.. he didn't foot in mouth anything. I don't except ATI prices to drop at all.

[Celeras]

It's 15% faster. With 6 months of driver maturity.. the 5870 is only NOW 17% faster than the 285, which it was released nine months after. These are both typical launches, I don't know why you would expect otherwise.

And yes, the 470 has a TDP 27W higher than its competitor and will put out more heat. If that concerns you with a poorly ventilated tower, then don't buy it. If you want the performance increase, nVidia has the faster card. You really can't go wrong with either decision.

[Deadgye]

And yes, the 470 has a TDP 27W higher than its competitor and will put out more heat. If that concerns you with a poorly ventilated tower, then don't buy it. If you want the performance increase, nVidia has the faster card. You really can't go wrong with either decision.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/...0_sli_review/7

The wattage differences are fucking huge. Temperature wise I think only the 5850vs470 is worth mentioning.

5850 is better than the 470, hands down. 480 is exactly what I expected it to be, a normal expensive video card. It's a mild increase over the 5870, which is why we get to laugh at the fanboys who said it was going to murder the 5000 series.