Video Card Decision

[celia]

Well took the plunge got a Phenom 2 x4 955 and 32GB SSD as well as 8GB DR3 1600. Last item is the video card had a sweet deal on a gts 250 for $90 but didnt pull the trigger fast enough. :(

1. So now my budget is between $100-200 and I really want a card that can 5box one machine no problems however I do not want to overbuy since WoW is all I play.

2. Another other question I have is ATI with Win7 64bit and WoW are the drivers still unstable therby forcing me to get an Nvidia?

3. I think I want a single card solution (I am running one 26" monitor) but I am willing to go backwards such as 9800 or 4000 series Radeon if it is a strong choice. In other words not real hardover on needing DirectX11, etc.

[moosejaw]

I have used ATI 4870 (replaced by 4890) and 4890 (both 1gb) on win7 64 with no issues. This is 5 instances on one machine with 2 monitors from one card.

[suicidesspyder]

Ill let u know when i get windows 7 on mine. I got 12 gb and the gts 250 card.

[Sam DeathWalker]

Lol they deleted the post above me I was replying to .....

[Fizzler]

Asians?

[Bovidae]

ATI drivers unstable ???? Unheard of!

A 250 may still be your best option, considering your budget. I might wait until after Christmas and hope for a sale.

[Sajuuk]

GTS 250 = 9800 = 8800.

Well, not exactly. I believe the 250 takes slightly less power than the 9800, but they really are extremely similar cards.

Welcome to card rebranding!

Don't be afraid to look at the new 5XXX series from ATI. the 5770/5750 are pretty reasonably priced, and in some cases are cheaper than a GTS 250 (Depending on manufacturer)

[Fizzler]

I have never had ATI driver problems *knock on wood*

[heffner]

Although I never used one, I was looking into a video card in that price range recently and concluded the ATI 4870 or 4890 was the best value. However, I did see the GTX260 on sale for a similar price and was considering that as well since I am an Nvidia fan.

The problem I had was actually finding one of these cards. Most of the stores around me only have GTS250's and HD5770's which cost more and offer only slight improvements (mostly directx support etc). I'd actually grab a 9800GT or 9800GTX if I could find one.

[Ualaa]

Asians?

It was some spam bot.

The wording sounded almost like it applied to the topic.
But 3-4 times in their message, they linked to an asian escort service.

So it read something like:
I would recommend at least a <insert link> processor. And I've found this <insert link> type of video card to be reliable.

[yaki]

I have never had ATI driver problems *knock on wood*

They used to be horrible, they've gotten better since ~ a year after the takeover by AMD.

[Shodokan]

Is a GTX 275 good enough?

[yaki]

Is a GTX 275 good enough?

More than.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I'm using an 8800GTX with no complaints. I FPS-limit the slaves when they're not focused, but even if I had infinite GPU power I would do that to save stress/power, and I haven't tested it without. During an RMA, I've also used a 7800GTX and an 8800GT.

Anything midrange or better ---> probably fine. GTX 275 = very powerful --> easily more than enough.

[Ualaa]

I was using a 2GB (Sapphire) Radeon 4870X2.
Pretty happy with it, up until I upgraded to the i7 920, 12GB ram etc.
Otherwise same system.
But then slave windows started to freeze on me.

Going to the 275 GTX, none of the slaves are freezing.
It is basically the same power as a 1GB 4870.
DDR3 instead of DDR5, but plays wow as smoothly on the same settings.

Now that they're not freezing, I've upped the view distance on slaves to maximum.
And spell details maximum across the board too.
More then I was getting, on the 4870X2 (with settings down for less freezing).
Same smoothness as I had before on the other card, with settings the same.




Or short version.

Yes, it's overkill for wow.

[Shodokan]

I was using a 2GB (Sapphire) Radeon 4870X2.
Pretty happy with it, up until I upgraded to the i7 920, 12GB ram etc.
Otherwise same system.
But then slave windows started to freeze on me.

Going to the 275 GTX, none of the slaves are freezing.
It is basically the same power as a 1GB 4870.
DDR3 instead of DDR5, but plays wow as smoothly on the same settings.

Now that they're not freezing, I've upped the view distance on slaves to maximum.
And spell details maximum across the board too.
More then I was getting, on the 4870X2 (with settings down for less freezing).
Same smoothness as I had before on the other card, with settings the same.




Or short version.

Yes, it's overkill for wow.


i like the TLDR version