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New GPU and Mobo

L

Linkz

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 30, 2008
Messages
362
I wanted to know what would be the best GPU (Nvidia) and Motherboard I could get for gaming in a budget.

Motherboard no more then $150-200

GPU no more then $200

Also I need a GPU that is well cooled because my current EVGA 980 GX2 is a VERY hot card.

I have this RAM And this CASE

So space isn't an issue. Also i have an I7 Processor. Ideas? Thanks guys!

P.S. I'll delete my post in the other section this one is more to topic.
 
Which i7 CPU do you have? The i7 line actually uses two very different and incompatible sockets. So please tell us the exact model CPU you have. Also, despite your bolding of the letters RAM and CASE, that doesn't tell us ANYTHING about what RAM and case you have now. In addition, please answer the following questions (you've answered some of them partially)

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
3) Where do you live?
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
6) Will you be overclocking?
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?

but right off the bat, you're not gonna find a very cost effective Nvidia GPU for $200. You're gonna have to increase your GPU budget to $350 minimum if you want a cost-effective Nvidia card.
 
Danny Bui said:
...right off the bat, you're not gonna find a very cost effective Nvidia GPU for $200. You're gonna have to increase your GPU budget to $350 minimum if you want a cost-effective Nvidia card.
Click to expand...

I agree with this statement. Going with any of the NVIDIA GPUs for $200 or less would have been at best a lateral move from the OP's 9800 GX2. And don't expect anything noteworthy from NVIDIA in that price range anytime soon: Due to the repeated delays in the Fermi-derivative GPUs in the just-above-$200 price range, all we're going to see for under $300 (at least for now) are rehashes (or more specifically, die shrinks with narrower memory bus widths) of old, outdated GPUs (some of which whose architecture goes back more than three years).
 
I7-860 LGA1156

1. Gaming
2. Orlando, Fl
3. I have 8 gigs of Ram I'm only looking for the GPU and Mobo to complete the build
4. Ram -- G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

PSU -- Corsair HW620W Modular

5. No overclocking
6. I have 2 24" Monitors
7. I plan on buying these 2 part in the next month or 2 months
8. No spefic features in the motherboard, i don't use firewire, just one that has the least issues, and is for gaming, I have never done SLI so thats not an issue.
9. I have a legit Windows 7 64bit.

I did look at this card, thoughts?
MSI N480GTX-M2D15-B GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 link
 
Linkz said:
I did look at this card, thoughts?
MSI N480GTX-M2D15-B GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 link
Click to expand...

Your power supply does not have enough power for that video card. Minimum I'd recommend for a GTX 480 is a 750W PSU with at least 60A on the +12V rail. In addition, it exceeds your GPU budget by about $200.

Go with this mobo and you should be set for the long run:
$130 - Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 Intel P55 ATX Motherboard

GPU wise, is that $200 budget still strict and do you still want a Nvidia card? Cuz technically, we freed up $70 from your mobo budget and can apply it to the GPU budget.
 
Well i see that the card will be an issue on money. So I'll up the budget to $300 for the card. And if you could recommend a power supply, modular preferably.

I have this mobo now, Intel DP55WG, and i'm not a fan of it so if the gigabyte is better I'll get that one.

In addition I've just always thought Nvidia worked better with an intel processor then and ATI but if that's not true I don't mind getting an ATI the 2 requirements are

1. Very cool temperature
2. Gaming and can handle 2 monitors
 
Last edited:
Up your budget another $50 as the most cost effecitive Nvidia card is this:
$350 - EVGA 012-P3-1470-AR GeForce GTX 470 1280MB PCI-E Video Card

However the best bang for the buck card for a 24" monitor is this:
$310 - XFX HD-585X-ZNFV Radeon HD 5850 1GB PCI-E Video Card

Intel works just fine with ATI cards. Nvidia cards don't work "better" with Intel than ATI/AMD. In fact, due to your cool temperatures requirements, that pertty much means the HD 5850 since the GTX 470 runs significantly hotter and uses more power.

Do note that you do not need a new PSU for either the HD 5850 or GTX 470.
 
Should I buy now or is something newer and better right around the corner? And also what do you like of the Ram and Processor i have now? Just an general opinon as to if they are good or not.

Also thoughts on this card? MSI R5850 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
 
Linkz said:
Should I buy now or is something newer and better right around the corner? And also what do you like of the Ram and Processor i have now? Just an general opinon as to if they are good or not.

Also thoughts on this card? MSI R5850 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
Click to expand...

There's ALWAYS something newer and better around the corner. So just buy now. Otherwise you're gonna wait several years :)

The RAM and CPU you have now are pretty good.

AS for the MSI card, should have pretty decent cooling.
 
Alright thanks again! Very good info, I'll do a post later after i buy the card and the mobo and tell ya how it works.
 
Oh here is an issue. "It says it does not support 1600 DDR3 but you just need to tinker with CPU ratio and raise the bus speeds. Chipset runs cool aswell, and raid performance is great." On an review, thoughts?
 
Linkz said:
Oh here is an issue. "It says it does not support 1600 DDR3 but you just need to tinker with CPU ratio and raise the bus speeds. Chipset runs cool aswell, and raid performance is great." On an review, thoughts?
Click to expand...

You can always run DDR3 1600 RAM at DDR3 1333 or even DDR3 800 speeds. Won't matter too much.
 
Linkz said:
Last thing Danny, What heatsink would ya recommend? I have this one now. I think it might be too big.
Click to expand...

Actually, it is not a good cooler - especially at that price. Round coolers of similar design have never been as effective as the square-shaped tower coolers for these hot-running modern CPUs: The SpinQ and its ilk have been noisy and/or ineffective both at the same time when used with these CPUs.

And yes, you do need a huge heatsink and fan to do an effective job, especially when overclocked. A smaller heatsink might end up being extremely noisy while keeping the CPU core temperature very close to the thermal throttle-down point most of the time even at idle.
 
E4g1e said:
Actually, it is not a good cooler - especially at that price. Round coolers of similar design have never been as effective as the square-shaped tower coolers for these hot-running modern CPUs: The SpinQ and its ilk have been noisy and/or ineffective both at the same time when used with these CPUs.

And yes, you do need a huge heatsink and fan to do an effective job, especially when overclocked. A smaller heatsink might end up being extremely noisy while keeping the CPU core temperature very close to the thermal throttle-down point most of the time even at idle.
Click to expand...

So could you recommend one that would fit in my case and mobo?

I was thinking either Thermaltake Frio Or the Prolimatech Megahalems

Thoughts?
 
Last edited:
Enginurd if you would look up like 4 posts and give your opinion on the heaksinks.
 
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