[Question] The help me pick a video card thread

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Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Rather than continue to hijack Steinman's thread, I'll post my question here. Here's my current setup:

intel core 2 duo E8400 (2x 3.oGHZ/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)
SLI Asus P5N-D Nvidia nForce 750i SLI Chipset Mobo
2x 2GB DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory
Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 PCI-Ex 16x - 896MB
650 Watt SLI-rated power supply
Various drives, cases, etc.

I've already ordered another 4G of ram to put in it, now I want to upgrade the video card. I want to stick with nvidia because of motherboard support. So far, I'm looking at this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130610

My worry here is that it may run hotter than I like, and I'm not knowledable enough to know if there's a similar card that can outperform it. I'm assuming that with my current setup, maxing out my budget and going with this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587 would be overkill and that I wouldn't see that much improvement.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thinks I should look out for?
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

If you can afford to do it, the 580 is of course your best choice. If you decide you can afford the 580 but you are worried about its heat/power requirements, there are ways to dial down the clock speed to save power/heat.

If you think you will still have concerns with power/heat/cost OR if you don't want the hassle of tuning your card, just get a 570 instead for $100 less than a 580.

Best performance analogy I can make is that if the 580 is like a V8, the 570 is a V6, and the 560Ti is like a supercharged 4cyl.

--Patrick
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

As my monitor just died, my budget has gotten tighter, so it looks like I'll be going with the 570. On the plus side, my new monitor is 120hz 3D ready, so that is an option to play with in the future.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Tom's Hardware does a best card for the price feature every month. You're sure to find the right card for your budget there.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Ok, new card will be here tomorrow. Just to make sure I know the proper process, here's what I think I should so.

Uninstall vid card drivers. Reboot into safe mode, run driver cleaner. Shut down, install new card, boot back up and install new drivers. Does this sound right?
 
strawman

strawman

Uninstall vid card drivers. Reboot into safe mode. Send new video card to me. Boot back up and install drivers.
 
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