What is a good graphics card?

B
Posted By
bterlaan
May 22, 2007
Views
490
Replies
18
Status
Closed
I want to upgrade my PC and am looking for a good graphics card that will work well with Vista, give me good pictures with CS2 and play DVDs well, and that can be used for quite some time in the future, which may entail video editing. I am not particularly interested in games. It should offer the possibility to use two monitors and preferably have a heat sink, no fan. I have looked at the Radeon 1600 and 1900 Series, but what about the 2900? Or is that really only interesting for gamers? Is Radeon generally a better option than NVidea? Thank you for your comments!
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J
jabramsxx
May 25, 2007
Take a look at Matrox. I don’t know abt Vista, as I haven’t gone there.

But they have some nice cards for 2 d aps, without that damn fan. I won’t buy a card with it as I’m noise sensitive.

Also Matrox does a cool double monitor implementation on some cards. Love my two monitors.
DM
dave_milbut
May 25, 2007
without that damn fan.

i’ve got a whisper quiet xfx geforce 7600 gtx pci-e 16x with 256meg ddr3 ram that i love! you wouldn’t know it has a fan.

it’s run cs2 and now cs3 on dual monitors without a hitch. not only does it have dual digital outputs so you can run 2 monitors on the one card (i have 1 analog lacie 22" using an (included) digi. to analog adapter, and 1 17" digital nec lcd), it’s lightning fast for 3d apps/games (for it’s price range, which was about 160 bux about 6 mos ago. you could do better, but the cost jump to the next level is substantial). hopefully be getting some 3d usage out of it now in ps cs3 extended ed.
MV
Mathias_Vejerslev
May 25, 2007
I’m not to be outdone, so I’m getting me a 8800 GTX myself – nah-nah 🙂

Looking forward to Flight Simulator at full detail. I wonder if the 8800 can do it?
DM
dave_milbut
May 25, 2007
right mat, but what did i say about the next level of performance. there’s a big leap there. maybe the gain is worth it for a few extra fps, but maybe not. isn’t that card going for around $575 us?

the 7600 is down to about 120 now. so you could buy ~4.7 7600’s for 1 8800 XD

anywho… check tom’s hardware < http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/05/01/the_best_gaming_video _cards_for_the_money/> before you buy though. you may find a better card in the price range.
DM
dave_milbut
May 25, 2007
I wonder if the 8800 can do it?

the 7600 i have can do oblivion elder scrolls in full detail @800×600. not too shabby.
MD
Michael_D_Sullivan
May 25, 2007
I have an Asus nVidia 7600 "Silencer" with a heatpipe/heatsink and no fan. It works great in PS and also in games.

BF2142 at max settings, 1860×1050, no problems at all. Oblivion: Elder Scrolls IV nearly max settings, but max settings give me problems in outdoor scenes with lots of swaying tall grass — when an animal suddenly jumps out, frame rate goes to nothing.
FN
Fred_Nirque
May 25, 2007
Zalman (amongst others) –
< http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=138&cod e=013> make excellent fanless heat-sink adapters to replace the buzz-saw fans that seem to come with or develop into on most video cards. Been running one of my nVidia cards that way for well over two years now in mainly 2-D use with no problems at all. Best thing is you know that a fan can’t fail and leave you with a fried card.

Had a Matrox a few years ago that was nothing but trouble – driver update support was lousy and tech backup non-existent. For the money I’d buy nVidia anytime before I’d contemplate another Matrox.
MV
Mathias_Vejerslev
May 26, 2007
not too shabby.

But can it do DirectX 10? hee-hee.

The 8800 GTX is way overkill for Photoshop, but I tend to build my systems to last for a long time, and I just hate it when, at the end of a lifecycle, my graphic cards can’t keep up in new games. That’s why I’m getting the top dollar one.
D
DL
May 26, 2007
I run MSI NX7900 GTX (NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX), PCI Express w/ 512 MB on board.
Handles everything I have thrown at it.
DM
dave_milbut
May 26, 2007
But can it do DirectX 10?

I don’t do vista so… 🙂

That’s why I’m getting the top dollar one.

here’s the last "top dollar" card i bought. 475US at the time. (allinwonder 9700 pro)

<http://www.milbut.org/images/ati9700Pro-AIW-Toast.jpg>
MV
Mathias_Vejerslev
May 26, 2007
Ouch… Defective fan?
DM
dave_milbut
May 26, 2007
no. dust in the case. heat in the case. heat/dust kills.
MV
Mathias_Vejerslev
May 27, 2007
Gothcha.
I
ID._Awe
May 27, 2007
Yoooow Dave, you dirty little …… off to the showers with ye!
DM
dave_milbut
May 27, 2007
that’s the problem with having your computer room in the furnace room under the stairs.
RP
Russell_Proulx
May 27, 2007
Check out the Sapphire Radeon x1300. No fan, works great.

< http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.ph p?gpid=124&grp=3>

If you’re using an LCD monitor with a DVi connector then Matrox no longer offers any advantage over the competition for 2D. All modern video cards now work great. The problems you’re more likely to encounter are with poor video drivers and ATI makes good drivers for their cards.

Russell
I
ID._Awe
May 27, 2007
Dave: You don’t have a shower in the furnace room. How quaint.
D
deebs
May 27, 2007
Mac Pro? (It runs whisper quiet.)

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