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.