1st Build Graphics Card Suggestions

[littledigger]

Hi all, I'm a newbie to this so be gentle.

I am assembling a new build PC, list of what I have so far below:

Mobo – Gigabyte M52L – S3P
CPU – AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane 2.5GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core
2 x 2 gb – 240pin DDR2 PC2 – 6400 RAM (with view to doubling this to 4 x 2gb)
HD 1 - Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB - SATAII 32MB Cache 7200RPM – OEM
HD 2 - Western Digital Caviar 500GB - SATA II 32MB Cache Dual Processor  - OEM
Case - Elite 330 Mid Tower Chassis
Monitor - Samsung B2430L/24 inch Widescreen LCD 1080p DVI
Running Windows 7 Ultimate

What I'm after are suggestions for a graphics card and decent PSU for the above specs.

I'm not a gamer, but usually have lot's of apps open at one time. WWW surfing, Photoshop, music etc.

So much info out there - really confusing for newbie.

Any help will be most appreciated

[Dark Mantis]

Well if you are not into playing games, unless you are planning to do a lot of rendering or graphics or video then there really is no need to go for a powerful card. Probably the AMD cards would be best for your setup something like a 4870 should be more than enough. It depends on your budget as well as what you need it for.

I certainly would go for the extra memory but make sure that you get the same make and model as you already have. Otherwise sell them  and get a couple of 4 GB sticks. The more memory the better for Photoshop etc.

[littledigger]

Hey DM,

Was not planning to do much rendering or video. I mainly www surf, do lots of Photoshop N' Arty Farty stuff, play music and video etc.

The 4870 is a bit pricier than I expected to go, was trying to keep it below the £90.00 mark.

Was looking on Amazon.co.uk at ATI cards beforehand, Saphires and stuff. Came across one that I liked the look of but without knowing why - VTX3D ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB DDR2 PCI DVI HDMI Silent Low Profile.

If you are using DDR2 memory on MOBO, do you stick with DDR2 graphics cards and not mix with DDR3 or GDDR5 (whatever that is) cards? 

Also, although my mobo has max of 16gb RAM, 4x4gb, but I found very very little info on compatible 4gb sticks of memory for my board, certainly not on Crucial site, so stuck with 2x2gb to start me off.

Thanks

[Dark Mantis]

The memory on your motherboard has no bearing on the memory you use on the graphics card so no worries there.

No I quite agree there is no point paying for more than you are going to use. To be fair any of the four series upwards will do for what you want.

I am surprised that you can't pick up a 4870 under the £90 mark now though. The Sapphire cards are the ones I tend to go for mainly because of the noise levels. The Vapor-X is almost silent. Gigabyte do some nice cards as well and they generally have a well designed cooling system on them which is very efficient.

[littledigger]

Have looked again for a 4870, have seen nothing under £120 in Uk. Seen one from the States under £70, but thinking of returns service.

Have found a few Sapphire HD 5670 512MB GDDR5 VGA HDMI DVI PCI-E Low Profile Graphics Cards, just over £60 from UK.

Or

GIGABYTE ATI HD4650 OC 1GB 128BIT DDR2 FAN PCI-E GRAPHICS CARD DVI/HDMI/VGA

Think any of these would be adequate?

I think that is the sheer amount of choice that does me in.

[Dark Mantis]

I can understand that! Sometimes it just seems to be so confusing trying to weigh up the pros and cons of each. The thing is I am sure that either woulkd do for surfing and watchiing video etc. I would just decide on your budget and go for the best you can buy for that price. Generally as they go up in series they are more powerful.

[littledigger]

I think that I Will go for the Gigabyte card.

Also, I've found 4gb memory units for my mobo. Will plump for 2 of those to start with and add more when I can warrent them.

Just one more thing.... I put all my stuff into a 'Power Supply Calculator' and it went just over the 400 watt recommendation for a PSU.

Would it be wise to go for a 550w or even a 650w PSU, if so have you any recommendations on brands... Coolermaster, CIT, Corsair?

I did read that buying cheaper brands can impact on performance (same as everything I suppose).

Many Thanks DM
 

[bytheway_r]

I'd go for the HD 5670. Runs cool and requires little power. It seems it even overclocks rather alright for ATI/AMD if you ever wanted to.

As for a PSU, 300-350W should cover your needs just fine. As for a particular model, I'd look for something certified to be 80%+ efficient and it should be perfect.

A nice tool I use to have an idea about my system's PSU requirements: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

I'm not really sure how you got over 400W? Adding a few things to what you listed gave me about 275W recommended. If anything, I'd consider 400W a maximum reasonable value for this system.

Put another way, I have a 4870x2 on the way and it'll run on a 650W PSU. Keep in mind that this card eats over 200W during gaming ( peak close to 300W ).

[Dark Mantis]

I'm afraid I will have to disagree with bytheway_r on this one, although I am sure that his figures are correct. He's also right about getting a 80+ certified and I would also recommend a single 12v rail if possible. Size wise is where we disagree because although the figures might add up it is always better to have some headroom for future upgrades and also because PSUs do degrade a little over time and use. If it was me I would be looking at something around the 550W mark.

Make wise it doesn't really matter as long as the quality is good. Gigabyte do some nice ones but they tend to be a bit scarse over here. Corsair is what I am using now and I am very pleased with that. It also comes with a seven year warranty, shouts about the confidence the manufacturer has in it. Seasonic, Enermax, etc there are too many to name.

[littledigger]

How's about I comprimise between you guys.

Bytheways "runs cool and requires little power" has swung it for me, so am looking at the HD 5670 and because I generally err on the side of caution, I'll go with DM on the PSU. Was looking at 550w PSU's on-line and checking brands out. You get good reports about CoolerMaster and Corsair, so will look more closely at these.

I used the NewEgg.com power supply calculator and cocked up 1st time around, entered wrongly. Second time around got 365w. Tried bytheway's eXtreme power calc and got 350w. Although have probs still put in wrong data (been a long day guys).

Many thanks guys, will keep you updated.

[Dark Mantis]

With a power supply it doesn't make any difference to be using one that is too big for your needs anyway as it only draws the power it needs to work. So you could be running a 1000W monster for your system and it would still only use the same electricty asa much smaller PSU.

I would say your compromise sounds good though.

[Wonderwrench]

With a power supply it doesn't make any difference to be using one that is too big for your needs anyway as it only draws the power it needs to work. So you could be running a 1000W monster for your system and it would still only use the same electricty asa much smaller PSU.

I would say your compromise sounds good though.

Sorry Dark Mantis but I'm calling you out on this one. PSU's are only efficient when loaded between 20% and 80% of their capacity so a over sized PSU will use more electricity guaranteed. Does a over sized PSU waste a lot of power, not really. More than the cost of the PSU over its life time I'm sure. I say a 400 watt PSU is all he will need even if he adds two more ram modules and two more hard drives. I'm running a Q6600 at 3 ghz, 8 gigs of DDR2 (4x2), HD 5670 1 gig, Two 7200 RPM HD's, a DVDRW/ Blu-ray combo drive and 3 120 mm case fans off a Corsair CMPSU-400CX no problem. I'd say a 400 watt PSU would be way overkill for the system he is building but since very few quality supplies exist that are smaller a PSU around 400 watts  is the sweat spot. A Seasonic S12II 430 looks like a great choice to me. Or a similar sized supply as long as its build by Seasonic or CWT. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151074

Oh I vote for the HD 5670 BTW. Nice low cost card. Very efficient and cool running while still having the nuts to run HD video in hardware and play most video games if needed.

Bill

[Dark Mantis]

OK Bill I was propbably a bit over the top in my saying a 1000W PSU wouldn't be any more power hungry but I was just trying to make a point. You are quite right that most PSUs work most efficiently between 20 and 80+ % of their output capability. I think we will have to agree to differ on what is the best size to buy though. We all agree that whatever is purchased it should be a good quality make.

[absic]

Hi littledigger,

If I can throw my oar in here. For choice of Graphics card I would probably go for one of the ATI 5 series but only because they run DirectX 11.
For the PSU I would recommend one of at least 550 Watts. Although it might stretch your budget, investing in a good quality PSU at this stage will allow for future expansion over the next few years.

I have 8 Gig of RAM on my own system (4x2Gig sticks) and have yet to run out even when editing some very large images in Photoshop. To access more than 3.5Gig of RAM you need to be running a 64 bit OS and have 64 Bit applications. If your version of Photoshop or other editing software is not 64 bit then it won't see the extra RAM anyway, so bear that in mind when making your purchases.

[Dark Mantis]

To be honest the price difference at that end of the market is negligable anyway for the different sizes.