Graphics cards

[minestrone]

I have a radeon HD 5670.

God knows if it is good or bad, it seems to work.

[doodab]

Why? The cards start at about £55.

The £130 ones seem to be the best value and would get reused in a new PC later on. On the other hand it would mean I'd need a new PSU now, and I can't be arsed with that level of faffing, I want to whip the old one out and stick the new one in and be done with it.

So I think I'm going to go with one of these:

Scan.co.uk: Sapphire HD 5670 Graphics Card 512Mb - 11168-02-20R

[amcdonald]

The £130 ones seem to be the best value and would get reused in a new PC later on. On the other hand it would mean I'd need a new PSU now, and I can't be arsed with that level of faffing, I want to whip the old one out and stick the new one and be done with it.

So I think I'm going to go with one of these:

Scan.co.uk: Sapphire HD 5670 Graphics Card 512Mb - 11168-02-20R

Ideally you'd want a gig of memory though, a lot of games need it now

[doodab]

Ideally you'd want a gig of memory though, a lot of games need it now

Well yes but if I'm looking at modern games I'm looking at a whole new PC anyway.

[amcdonald]

Well yes but if I'm looking at modern games I'm looking at a whole new PC anyway.

Maybe, if you're lucky your motherboard might support newer processors

I upgraded my AMD one like that, it's got a processor that in theory it doesn't support but comparing from the same stepping I know in theory 'should' work. So I just get a warning message from the BIOS every boot saying this CPU is unsupported!, but it works fine

I updgraded the CPU, and increasded the memory, oh and the graphics card because like you it just stopped working eventually. But still cheaper than a new mobo, case etc

[doodab]

Maybe, if you're lucky your motherboard might support newer processors

I upgraded my AMD one like that, it's got a processor that in theory it doesn't support but comparing from the same stepping I know in theory 'should' work. So I just get a warning message from the BIOS every boot saying this CPU is unsupported!, but it works fine

I updgraded the CPU, and increasded the memory, oh and the graphics card because like you it just stopped working eventually. But still cheaper than a new mobo, case etc

It will, but a 3GHz quad core is £250 and for £350 I could upgrade to a modern system with a faster CPU, 3x the memory bandwidth, PCIe Gen 2, lower power consumption etc, so it doesn't seem like very good value.

[minestrone]

The £130 ones seem to be the best value and would get reused in a new PC later on. On the other hand it would mean I'd need a new PSU now, and I can't be arsed with that level of faffing, I want to whip the old one out and stick the new one in and be done with it.

So I think I'm going to go with one of these:

Scan.co.uk: Sapphire HD 5670 Graphics Card 512Mb - 11168-02-20R

I have the 1 gig version of that one, as I say I am not too sure how good it is as I do not play games on the PC.

The system you quoted is pretty similar to mine, i5 2500k (going to overclock) , 8 gig DDR3, with a 1T HD it came in at 660 or something and that includes a 90 quid sound card. It is a fast bugger.

[tranceporter]

just get a gtx 260 from entertainment exchange (cex.co.uk) or ebay. they are pretty decent and you can get them cheap. just check if your motherboard has a 16x PCI-e 2.0 slot. that should more than sufficient till you get the next contract. and stick with Nvidia.. you can switch to ATI if you build a new computer later.. keep the compatibility like someone else said..
I have a spare GTX 470 lying around somewhere, but that wont be cheap..lol.

[tranceporter]

there you go:

CeX (UK) Computing, Graphics & Sounds, PCI-Express Graphics Cards, Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 896MB DX10

I think the one in Norwich where I am currently has a GTX 280 in stock.. waltz into one of the shops and see whats being displayed.. good stuff at decent price.

GTX 260 ebay.. £70ish:

BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC Maxcore 896MB PCI-E 2.0 Graphic | eBay UK

GTX 280.. £90ish:

Nvidia gtx280+thermalright HR-03+Silenx 120mm Fan | eBay UK

now go and buy one!

[doodab]

A GTX260 is going to need a PSU upgrade as well.

Good point about CEX though I might pop to TCR at the weekend.