Hi there, I am intending to buy a new graphics card and new power supply to improve graphics mainly on games. I currently have an 128Mb ATI Radeon X300/X550 with a psu capable of a DC outpost 350 W. I am looking to get the new gfx card and psu for around £140-180, and like the look of the nVidia 8600GT cards, from well known and trusted makes like BFG and XFX. I have PCI-E Two cards that are similar but slightly differently priced are these: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=661603 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=668014 however I do not know if there is much difference, or what power supply they require. Could you please give your opinions and advice, Thanks - Øli.
the more expensive one has slightly faster memory clock, and thats not worth the extra money. You can just overclock it by yourself to achieve the same speeds with the card that costs less. As for the PSU, a 500watt Antec should be fine.
I'm completely clueless as to finding out what psu a gfx card needs, its not in the specs, and I don't know what makes are good either. Is svp.co.uk a trustable and fairly priced site for them? Also, I haven't got the foggiest idea how to overclock things so if there is a guide or advice for that please let me know.
Dont worry about overclocking. If you wanted to do that, you would need to buy an aftermarket cooler, and its kinda complicated. As for the PSU, Antec, OCZ and Thermaltake have excellent power supplys. You should get one thats at least 450watts. This is a really good site to buy things in the UK: http://overclockers.co.uk/
I don't think I'll bother with overclocking, knowing me I'll screw it up and end up screwing things up. Last few questions on psu's: 1)How do you know that I should get at least a 500 W power supply? 2)Can you tell by the specs of the card? 3)If i got say a 600 W psu would it run the cards suggested ok? pie: what's the difference in the output of psu's]?? Thanks again
1.) If you're going to be running a higher end gfx card, you need more power, and reliable source for that power to come from. If you a cheap psu, then chances are that it will not put out the correct volts, and take your PSU out, along with other components like your hard drive, your motherboard, cpu etc. 2.) I probably could look harder, and their probably will be a "system requirements thing somewhere, but that will tell you the minimum, not the recommended. A 500 watt will do a quad core and 2 8800GTXs in sli fine, so thats why a 500 for you will be fine. 3.) Yes, although it would be overkill, a 600watt would do fine. The 8600 is rated as a mainstream card, so it wont be drawing out as much as a 8800GTX.
Actually Waymon, coming from the UK, I'll give it to you straight. Overclockers UK sucks balls, they're always late and unapologetic. Scan so far have a perfect track record with me, a much better company. Far cheaper with most stuff too, stick with scan. As for which graphics card, this one: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=673540 Cheaper, but MUCH faster. As for which power supply, this one: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=446788 Superbly made, superbly quiet. NEVER skimp on a power supply.
How can that gfx card can be MUCH faster than the cards above even though it's cheaper?! Also, are all graphics cards the same size, because there are no dimensions on scan.co.uk which worries me as it may not actually fit in my computer case? The same goes for the power supply, although some have dimensions, they may not fit in. As for connecting the psu, if i cant fit any into the case then how could i connect it to the pc, does it come with cables to connect it? If so where would it need to be connected to?
The 8000 series GPUs have a few new features, but they're not really any faster, and to a lot of people, unless you own Vista, you probably wouldn't notice the difference. As for whether or not it fits, all graphics cards except for the 8800GTX/Ultra and HD2900XT will fit any normal ATX case. If you use a small SFF or Shuttle case, I couldn't say, but with a normal size case like the NZXT APollo, they should all fit.
I have a standard Dell 8400 case! I intend to buy a very good card, within my budget, that will last several years or at least till i buy a new computer in around 2 years... I am looking at the BFG 8600GT found here: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=668014
Read my posts again, the cards I suggested are in budget and much better than the 8600GT. If you refuse to believe it then tough luck, you'll lose out.
OK, this one looks good as well, and at about 40% of the 8600GT it seems pretty good: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=635032 How about the size of the card? As I said my case is just a standard Dell, so will it fit? Sorry to repeat myself, your input is appreciated!
How much are you spending on the PSU? You need only spend £60 on the PSU, which leaves you with up to £120 for the graphics. That card's even worse than the 8600GT! Get this http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=673540 and this http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=446788 and have done with it. They should both fit.
That psu looks fine and i'm likely to get it, even though i doubt it will fit in my case, but it seems very good. As for the card you suggested, it looks good and at a good price. My only worry is the fit, which I am submitting a question about as soon as I can. So for now, thank you very much for your help!
