Need a new Graphics Card

The graphics card in my Compaq died on me on Wednesday last. Since then I’ve been using my Dell to research new graphics cards. It hasn’t been as straight forward as I was hoping it would be. With so many different choices, it been difficult making a decision.

  • ATI vs Nvidia
  • PCI-Express 2.0 vs PCI-Express
  • DVI vs Dual DVI
  • HDMI, HDTV, HDCP, Tv-Out
  • GDDR3 vs GDDR4
  • Overclocked vs Superclocked vs Default

I’ve had to read up on what each feature meant to get a better understanding of what each card is capable of. And then there’s the choice of manufacturer.

  • ASUS
  • BFG
  • Club3D
  • EVGA
  • Gainward
  • Gigabyte
  • HIS
  • MSI
  • Point of View
  • PowerColor
  • Sapphire
  • XFX

I still haven’t come to my final decision yet. It has to be soon though, because the longer I delay, the longer my PC is out of action.

From reading reviews, it seems the best on the current market in my price range are the Radeon XD3870, the GeForce 8800GT or the GeForce 8800GTS.

Choices…. so many choices!

Update

After lots of research, I eventually decided on the EVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB. I also ended up buying a Corsair Memory 620Watt HX Series Modular PSU, because the current PSU isn’t powerful enough for the new card.

I just hope the delivery is faster this time than it was with my last purchase from the same online store.

Quick Rant about Computer Ads on TV

I just have to vent a bit about this. Bear with me ;)

Everytime an ad comes on television for Dell or another computer retail store they always start the ad by saying “Powered by an Intel Pentium IV Processor”.

Why? Argh! What good is that to me? It doesn’t tell me the actual speed of the processor. For all I know it could be a 2.4Ghz PC or maybe it’s a top of the range 3.7Ghz PC. But there’s no way for me to tell for sure.

Please stop trying to impress people with high-tech mumbo jumbo and give the full processor details!

Ok, rant over for another while ;)