Which graphics card would you choose.

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by uncanny, Jul 30, 2008.

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  1. uncanny

    uncanny Member

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    Basically im in a jam. I dont know wether to buy the Nvidia geforce 9800 GTX or the ATI radeon hd 4850. I will be buying two of whichever card i chose. So i will be using either crossfire or sli. I will be running windows vista 64bit. I will be playing games like crysis, unreal tournament 3, warhammer online(once that is realeased). Any help will be greatly appreciated.
     
    uncanny, Jul 30, 2008
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  2. uncanny

    uncanny Member

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    srry its the geforce 9800 GTX+
     
    uncanny, Jul 30, 2008
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  3. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    what motherboard do you have?
     
    ddp, Jul 30, 2008
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  4. uncanny

    uncanny Member

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    im building a pc but origionally i was going to buy the 780i. Until i started hearing things about the 4850 now im debating between the cards and from their ill decide which motherboard.
     
    uncanny, Jul 30, 2008
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  5. dragnandy

    dragnandy Regular member

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    id go for the HD4850..
     
    dragnandy, Jul 30, 2008
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  6. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Don't buy a 780i board if you haven't already. Use an intel chipset board, P35, X38, P45 or X48 or similar, preferably from Gigabyte or DFI.
    Also use the HD4850s - if you want two of them, run an X38 or X48 chipset, not the Ps.
     
    sammorris, Jul 30, 2008
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  7. uncanny

    uncanny Member

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    can you explain why i shouldnt get the 780i?
     
    uncanny, Jul 30, 2008
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  8. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    They go wrong, have random compatibility issues, and all sorts of grief.
     
    sammorris, Jul 30, 2008
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  9. uncanny

    uncanny Member

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    both boards say memory standard ddr2 800. Would i still be able to get RAM that is ddr2 1000 or do i have to get ddr2 800?
     
    uncanny, Jul 30, 2008
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  10. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Unless overclocking, you've no real need for 1Ghz RAM, 800mhz is fine.
     
    sammorris, Jul 30, 2008
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  11. uncanny

    uncanny Member

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    so then i could use 1Ghz RAM
     
    uncanny, Jul 30, 2008
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  12. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    1Ghz RAM works with pretty much any board, but as I previously stated, you will see no benefit unless overclocking.
     
    sammorris, Jul 30, 2008
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  13. uncanny

    uncanny Member

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    which board would you go with the x48 or x38?
     
    uncanny, Jul 30, 2008
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  14. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    I use the Gigabyte X38-DS4, and it's fabulous. The X48-DS4 merely takes the concept further.
     
    sammorris, Jul 30, 2008
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  15. uncanny

    uncanny Member

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    btw thx alot for the help.
     
    uncanny, Jul 30, 2008
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  16. uncanny

    uncanny Member

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    any idea how the on board audio is on the x48 also whats a pci-e x4 slot for?
     
    uncanny, Jul 30, 2008
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  17. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    very little at the moment. Typically S-ATA cards.

    As for onboard audio, it's fine for multimedia (video, music etc) but for games I usually recommend a cheap PCI sound card like an Audigy SE. They work fine and lack the buffer overflows that plague even the best onboard sound chipsets when gaming.
     
    sammorris, Jul 30, 2008
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  18. uncanny

    uncanny Member

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    Then i am assuming that you think the radeon hd 4850 is the better card in crossfire over the 9800 gtx in sli?
     
    uncanny, Jul 30, 2008
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  19. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    it's certainly more reliable. On the whole 4850 crossfire is also faster.
     
    sammorris, Jul 30, 2008
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  20. uncanny

    uncanny Member

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    is there a psu u might recommend or how much wattage
     
    uncanny, Jul 30, 2008
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