new graphics card~

[JLV2k5]

512

 

[Ramodkk]

^ hehe right to the point

 

[b3atofang3l]

woah, a lotta comments, thanks so much. i'll go with the 512mb Sapphire HD3850 (thanks for the link btw).

i have a few more questions (bare with me -__-)

a) My specs are:
E6300
2GB DDR2 800mhz OCZ ram
Gigabyte 956P DS3
Arctic Freezer Pro 7 CPU fan
2xLG DVD-RW
Seagate 160GB HD
Antec Smartpower 2.0 450W PSU

I want to know if:
a) would my pc configurations bottleneck the HD3850 512mb?
b) is 450W enough for the HD3850 512mb card?

 

[Ramodkk]

Nah, I don't think you would have a bottleneck at all. I wish I had those components!

And refer to this post to get the adecuate PSU, but I'd say 450W is enough for a HD3850.

http://www.computerforum.com/90110-power-recommendations-video-card.html

 

[evil-xxx]

256mb of VRAM won't hurt the Hd 3850 as much as it did the 8800gt, but it still will hurt performance, especially in the newer games, those that are out, and those that have yet to be released.

$218 CAD 512mb 3850, if it's in your budget. If you just can't afford it, the 256mb isn't a bad choice, just a slightly bottlenecked card.

It seems that the more powerful the card is,more ram is must as you say.

 

[b3atofang3l]

woah, quick reply, and thanks for da link!

this is out of topic but what would be an adequate game to test my new card (once i get it next week)?
i have crysis already (so besides that)

thanks=D!!

 

[Ramodkk]

Call of Duty 4 is an amazing game with intense graphics that won't hurt your computer like Crysis does. Definately worth the money.

 

[evil-xxx]

yeh,crysis...that's the deal. you cant really enjoy your coming card through vegas.

 

[b3atofang3l]

lol, that just bursted my bubble
"you cant really enjoy your coming card through vegas."

to ramodkk: i have cod4 for 360, i have to agree, it has nice graphics

 

[hermeslyre]

If you're into RPG's, pick up The Witcher. Awesome game! It won't tax your system like Crysis or COD4, but it's up there at points.

It seems that the more powerful the card is,more ram is must as you say.

Yeah, exactly.

 

[b3atofang3l]

to hermeslyre: thanks dude!, my buds at school said it was an awesome game 2. will look into it... i was thinking 'bout stranglehold, any info on that?

i was just reading about the HD3850, it said that you could use a PCI-E connector from the PSU, since my PSU(Antec Smartpower 2.0 450W) has it, should i connect it to the card when i get it? because it has 15A on +12V1 and 17A on +12V2 and i heard V2 is used to run the graphic cards is it right?

 

[hermeslyre]

to hermeslyre: thanks dude!, my buds at school said it was an awesome game 2. will look into it... i was thinking 'bout stranglehold, any info on that?

John Woo game, methinks. It's was supposed to be pretty cool. Reviews were favorable.

i was just reading about the HD3850, it said that you could use a PCI-E connector from the PSU, since my PSU(Antec Smartpower 2.0 450W) has it, should i connect it to the card when i get it? because it has 15A on +12V1 and 17A on +12V2 and i heard V2 is used to run the graphic cards is it right?

Yeah, PSU connector should be connected. Both lines (V1,V2) are used to power +12V components, not just V2. To get the combined amperage, look for the total wattage output on that rail, then divide by 12. (you can't just add up the rails to get total amperes.) Wasn't a question, I know, just pointing it out.

 

[b3atofang3l]

so, the 2 +12V have a total of 32A, and 32A/12 = 2.67A...so its 2.67A? lol, sorry, i'm new to this.:S

 

[hermeslyre]

Un-uh. It'll look like this,

Divide the wattage I pointed at by 12. Your sticker may have the max wattage somewhere else, or it might not list it at all... In that case, you can't find out. You don't really need to know, your amperage is sufficient, so far as I can tell, without doing the conversion.

 

[b3atofang3l]

Ohh!!, i get it now !!

thanks so much for taking the time to put a picture!!

there's a HD3870 512mb @ futureshop for $249.99 on sepecial which is only 25$ above the price of a HD3850 512mb

is hd3870 512mb much better?

thanks! again!

 

[hermeslyre]

Oh yeah. The 3870 is about 20% better than the 3850, $25 extra bucks is SO worth it.

 

[maroon1]

I do recommend 8800GT 512MB as this video card performs around 15% better than HD3870 for the same price

You can get eVGA 8800GT 512MB for $249 from newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318

Or $225 from here
http://www.ncixus.com/products/27704/512-P3-N801-AR/eVGA/

EDIT: You live in Canada. I didn't notice that

You can get 8800GT 512MB for $259 from tigerdirect.ca
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3538922&CatId=1826

 

[b3atofang3l]

hey, thanks very much for your suggestion, i have compared the two cards using gpureview and it shows that HD3870 has better speeds, and processing bandwidth. i m not sure how to judge a good card though, if anyone else has any comments on 880GT vs HD3870, feel free to comment

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=544&card2=547

 

[Narzinor]

memory speeds and bandwith are better on the HD3870 compared to the 8800, although, apparently the GPU drivers are better and processes or somethin better on the 8800, I personally dont have either card atm, but thats what I hear from site to site. I plan on getting an HD3870 due to my mobo's crossfire ability, but if not, I believe I would have gotten an 8800.

 

[hermeslyre]

GPUreview is great for comparing specs, but specs don't necessarily mean much towards performance. In this area, look for benchmarks,

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3151&p=6

The 8800gt 512mb is about 15% better than the 3870, as maroon said, in this respect I share his sentiments towards the card, It is undoubtedly the best card per money spent. I was unsure of it's cost in Canada, didn't expect it to be priced so low, that is until google told me 1 CAD = 1 USD. I thought the currency difference was larger.