# Thinking of getting a new graphics card.



## xcliber (Aug 21, 2011)

It's pretty much the only bottleneck in my system right now. Currently, I've got a GeForce 9800GTX+. It's an ok card, but is starting to show its age. It has the power to play any game on the market right now, but more and more often I have to disable AA/AF, drop the textures down, lower resolution, etc. to get consistently high frame rates.

The rest of the system is well up to spec:
Core i7 920 (2.66ghz)
6 GB DDR3
60 GB OCZ Vertex II SSD (OS drive)
750 GB WD Black (storage)
SB X-Fi xtreme gamer (slightly outdated/unnecessary i know)
37" 1080p TV
Windows 7 x64
650 Watt Rosewill PSU

I've been an nVidia fan for a long time but I was curious to see what AMD/ATI had to offer and found the HD6950 to my liking. Lots of power for only $250.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

I have 3 main concerns:
1.) Size - How big is the card in comparison to the 9800GTX+? Space is a bit tight in my current mid-tower. (I have a little less than an inch to spare, but may be able to remove the extra HDD bays in my case.

2.) PSU - The minimum recommended for the card is 500 Watts. Now I know that the card itself only uses maybe 200 to 300 Watts, but will my current 650Watt PSU be enough for the whole system or should I bump up to a 750 or 800 Watt PSU? (it does have the required 2x 6-pin connectors)

3.) Drivers - ATI has had a history of poor/buggy drivers. Has that changed? 

Any other card recommendations? nvidia alternative? Best brand for ATI cards?


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 21, 2011)

I have a friend running an Intel Quad Core with an  HD 6950 on a 650w system I built for her.  So I can safely say that 650w would be more than enough.  For the sake of being sure however, the 6950 requires two 6pin PCI-E power connectors, make sure you have two of those available.


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## Onnes (Aug 21, 2011)

The card specs on NewEgg usually give the exact sizes for the card, so you can have some idea if it will fit and you can compare it to other cards. As consumer video cards go, the 6950 is as big as they get so you will want to do measurements and make sure you can clear the necessary space. 

The PSU is certainly sufficient, but it would give you an excuse to upgrade to a higher quality 750 Watt model.

Driver quality tends to go in cycles. I've been fairly happy with ATI drivers in recent years, but it only takes one bad release to screw everything up. At the moment I don't know why they would be any worse than nVidia's offerings.

The best brand for ATI cards is almost always XFX. They have a remarkable reputation for both quality and lifetime warranty support.


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## xcliber (Aug 21, 2011)

Good to know the PSU is up to par for now. I plan to replace it in the future.

I'm  pretty sure my old 8800GTS was an XFX and it's still running in my  brother's hand-me-down pc. It was a real space heater though, but I  guess my EVGA 9800 is too. That's to be expected I guess.

Nvidia's  website says that the standard 9800GTX+ is 10.5 inches. All the XFX  HD6950s on newegg show 10 to 10.2 inches. But upon investigating  further, my EVGA 9800GTX+ is a newer model and is shorter than the  standard 10.5 inch card. Supposedly, the version I have, which only has 1  6-pin power plug is only 9 inches. GTS250 in disguise or something like  that (they're basically the same card).

Gotta double check and make sure the bottom HDD rack in my case is removable, otherwise I'm gonna have to buy a new case too. No big deal really. Been meaning to step up to a Full Tower.


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## Onnes (Aug 21, 2011)

Don't forget to consider airflow when fitting the card. If it ends up effectively dividing your case in half then you might run into cooling problems, depending on your fan arrangement. I jammed a 6950 into an original Antec P180 case, and that was a goddamn nightmare in terms of spacing, airflow, and cable routing.


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## xcliber (Aug 21, 2011)

I just double checked my case. The HDD bay that I thought I might remove, apparently, I already removed it. The other drive bays are still in the way. And you're right, airflow will be a major issue even if I do manage to squeeze the card in. I'm gonna have to get a new case either way. That said, I remember now why I didn't upgrade sooner.


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## Obtuse tail (Aug 21, 2011)

This thread makes me feel poor. D:


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 21, 2011)

Obtuse tail said:


> This thread makes me feel poor. D:



http://ncix.com/products/?sku=59513&vpn=HD699AENF9&manufacture=XFX

Radeon 6990, $749, now we can all feel poor.


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## Runefox (Aug 22, 2011)

I don't know where ATi's history of poor/buggy drivers comes from, but I suspect it's from the Win9x/2k/XP transition days. I recall the ATi drivers back then being rather lackluster, but a lot has changed since then. The Catalyst Control Center is actually in my opinion a lot easier to use and a lot more feature-rich than nVidia's, which is just passable nowadays. Both companies exhibit graphical glitches and slowdowns in certain games, and both companies end up paying developers to favour one side's hardware over another.


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## Lobar (Aug 22, 2011)

My card's starting to artifact so I'm looking into a new card too, but I've decided to wait for the next generation unless I have a catastrophic failure.  Both the Radeon 7xxx and nVidia GTS 6xx series are supposed to be released before the end of the year.


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## xcliber (Aug 22, 2011)

Lobar said:


> My card's starting to artifact so I'm looking into a new card too, but I've decided to wait for the next generation unless I have a catastrophic failure.  Both the Radeon 7xxx and nVidia GTS 6xx series are supposed to be released before the end of the year.



Yeah, I thought of waiting for the next line, but that's pretty much what I've said for every generation up till now. "Oh, the new series will come out in a few months and my old card is holding on so I might as well wait." I said it about every GTX card since the 200s. I have to put my foot down somewhere.


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## xcliber (Aug 25, 2011)

Bump for a related question that doesn't merit it's own thread:
I got my new case today (CoolerMaster HAF 912) and was rewiring everything and looked at the PSU to find that it's not a 650 Watt like I had originally thought, but a mere 600Watt (like 585 Watt total power). Will it still be enough to power everything?


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## Onnes (Aug 25, 2011)

I'd still assume the power supply would be sufficient if it does have the two 6-pin connectors.


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## Lobar (Aug 25, 2011)

This online calculator does a pretty good job at estimating your PSU needs.  Really, though, what is actually important in this situation is how much amperage the +12V rail on the PSU is rated for.


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## xcliber (Aug 25, 2011)

@Lobar: That PSU calculator says I only need 404 Watts even with the new card. Maybe I'm just paranoid afterall. Better safe than sorry though, especially when dealing with hundreds of dollars worth of computer hardware.

If it makes any difference, I did some digging in my order history and found my current PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182088
It'll be 4 years old in November, but I think it's more or less the brand that I don't trust. I went ahead and bought a new one anyway. A 750 Watt Corsair: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

Edit:
The PSU is oldest piece of hardware in my system. Come to think of it, a faulty or just low quality PSU would explain why I can't run my system memory at it's rated 1600mhz. I have it toned down to 1066 right now cause the system will BSOD otherwise. I can't help but wonder if my old PSU is to blame.


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## Lobar (Aug 25, 2011)

Your current PSU seems to have dual +12V rails rated at 22A each, but that doesn't mean it can handle 22A on each rail at the same time.  Based on some power consumption benchmarks I looked at quick, I'm guessing the 6950 may draw 25A at peak on its own.  Other stuff uses the +12V rail too, so it's probably time to upgrade.  That Corsair PSU is rated at 60A, which should be plenty.


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## Commiecomrade (Aug 26, 2011)

xcliber said:


> Yeah, I thought of waiting for the next line, but that's pretty much what I've said for every generation up till now. "Oh, the new series will come out in a few months and my old card is holding on so I might as well wait." I said it about every GTX card since the 200s. I have to put my foot down somewhere.



Wait for the 600, then take the 500 series as the prices drop sharply.

Just a little reminder, if you're looking for GeForce cards; the hundreds are generations, and the tens are price versus performance ranges. 80's and 90's are for serious gaming rigs, 30's, 40's, 50's are for budget systems. You'll get more power out of a 470 than a 560. Graph for proof.



AshleyAshes said:


> http://ncix.com/products/?sku=59513&vpn=HD699AENF9&manufacture=XFX
> 
> Radeon 6990, $749, now we can all feel poor. :smile:



One word. TESLA!


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## Lobar (Aug 26, 2011)

Commiecomrade said:


> Wait for the 600, then take the 500 series as the prices drop sharply.
> 
> Just a little reminder, if you're looking for GeForce cards; the hundreds are generations, and the tens are price versus performance ranges. 80's and 90's are for serious gaming rigs, 30's, 40's, 50's are for budget systems. You'll get more power out of a 470 than a 560. Graph for proof.



Since my last post about them, I've since heard that the 6xx cards have been delayed until Q1 2012.  The Radeon 7xxxs are still on schedule for this year, and a few rumors that they may launch next month.

Also worth posting for reference's sake that Radeon cards follow a similar numbering scheme: first digit is the generation, second is the performance "tier", and then smaller performance "steps" within that tier get labeled 30, 50, 70 or 90.


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## xcliber (Aug 26, 2011)

Yeah, I'm familiar with the numbering systems that both companies use. I'm not usually an early adopter of computer tech. I like to wait for revisions and make sure they got all the bugs out of it first. 

In any case, I already bought the HD 6950. It should arrive today, but I still have to wait for the new PSU now.


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## Commiecomrade (Sep 1, 2011)

xcliber said:


> Yeah, I'm familiar with the numbering systems that both companies use. I'm not usually an early adopter of computer tech. I like to wait for revisions and make sure they got all the bugs out of it first.
> 
> In any case, I already bought the HD 6950. It should arrive today, but I still have to wait for the new PSU now.



Very nice card. I remember when it was like $550.


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## xcliber (Sep 1, 2011)

Commiecomrade said:


> Very nice card. I remember when it was like $550.



It's serving me well so far. 
I haven't run any real benchmarks on it yet, but I can get consistently high fps in the Unigine Heaven test at max settings at 1600 x 900 resolution with 8x AA. Drops to about 15 to 30 at 1080p. But that's still worlds above my old card. (no pun intended)


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## iTails (Sep 1, 2011)

Unless you plan on overclocking, the PSU is fine.


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## TheGatekeeper (Sep 6, 2011)

Your 650W power supply should be alright, but be carefull when you start to get close to the limit of it. It is always better to have a power supply that has some overhead, so the PS never has to be maxed out. I like the corsair 80+ series. I have the 1000W modular, and with corsair, have never had a problem with stability on their power supplies. Having run ATI and nvidia, I like the nvidia cards better since it seems that I have had less driver problems with them, also the nvidia sortware GUI is easy to use. If you have the money, the GTX 570, or 580 cards are very nice. And your old card can still be worth money that you can apply to the purchase of that new card. I am still looking for the hard to find EVGA 9800GTX+ 01G-P3-N880-AR (need a 3rd one to get tripple SLI in my rig). You can usually get arround $50-60 on Ebay for the 9800GTX+ cards.


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