Graphics Card

Dani85

Hi, was wondering if I could get some advice.

My husband is wanting to update the graphics card on his computer. We have a budget of around £100 as he plays a lot of games so we want one thats pretty much up to date.

The one he has seen is

Product Description: XFX GeForce 8800 GT Alpha Dog Edition - graphics adapter - GF 8800 GT - 512 MB

And the specs are:
Device Type: Graphics adapter
Enclosure Type: Plug-in card
Interface Type: PCI Express 2.0 x16
Graphics Processor / Vendor: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
Core Clock Speed: 600 MHz
RAMDAC Clock Speed: 400 MHz
API Supported: OpenGL 2.0, DirectX 10
Video Memory Installed ( Max ): 512 MB - GDDR3 SDRAM
Video Output: 2560 x 1600
Max Resolution Details: DVI: 2560 x 1600 / VGA: 2048 x 1536 at 85Hz
Max Monitors Supported: 2
TV Interface: HDTV out
Compliant Standards: RoHS

What I'm wanting to know is, is this good for £87? Or does anyone know of or can recommend one? We're totally stumped when it comes to graphics cards!!!

Thanks in advance

Hungerdunger

Can't advise on whether that's good value; but if your computer is more than about 4 years old, don't make my mistake and buy a PCI express card without checking that the motherboard has a PCIe slot for it. If you're not sure you need to do a bit of research on it; this article may help.

aliEnRIK

Thats a VERY good graphics card ~ money well spent
Though check ebay first, its AMAZING what you can get (new) on there!
Just make sure its the right connection (AGP or PCIE)

chopperharris

suggest more info , no use shoehorinng in a good grafic card if you dont have a uptodate processor and enough memmory.

Assuming a processor and pc in the last couple of years then most possibly , last twelve months definately.You may not have enough enough power in the psu to power that card , or even a slot that works that gpu is powerhungry as are most good gfx cards.

Todays games can be notched down , ie turn off some eyecandy , but if your processor and ram arent up to scratch then its a waste im afraid its wont make much difference what card goes in it.

Price wise its good , aria has some cheap cards , msi or unbranded 8800gts on the budget they are really good.These cards run very hot so dont be overly worried if you think they are hot , and make sure your have airlfow through the pc and clear exit for the exhaust plate.

Cat695

you need to know if your motherboard can take

GDDR3 and PCIE 2.0 X16

because if it can't then it won't be a very good graphics card because it will be throttled by the motherboard

Go onto your motherboard Manu. website and it will give you the specs annd whether it can handle it........

weegie.geek

Cat695 wrote: »

you need to know if your motherboard can take

GDDR3 and PCIE 2.0 X16

because if it can't then it won't be a very good graphics card because it will be throttled by the motherboard

Go onto your motherboard Manu. website and it will give you the specs annd whether it can handle it........

The GDDR3 part is irrelevant.

Cat695

weegie.geek wrote: »

The GDDR3 part is irrelevant.

Not if you want it to run at full potential!!

Running GDDR3 in a DDR2 motherboard will slow it down (especially if the power supply cannot handle GDDR3)....so pointless buying a faster graphics card

it IS relevant or they wouldn't bother adding that bit of info

BillScarab

The GDDR3 is pretty much irrelevant as that is just the memory on the graphics card. The motherboard just 'talks' to the card and doesn't care what memory is fitted to it. Likewise the overall power consumption of the card is all that matters.

To give any really useful advice we need to know the spec of the machine the card is going in. It's a while since I looked at Grpahics cards but £87 for a 8800GT sounds good to me. they were a lot more than that when I got my 9600GT.

[Deleted User]

If you want a better card for not much more then you can't go wrong with the ATI HD 4850 for £102.95 with free delivery.

It's a better performing card than the 8800GT/S and is pretty much universally recommended as the best card in it's class.

Post the details of your motherboard and PSU so it can be verified the cards will work though..

weegie.geek

Cat695 wrote: »

Not if you want it to run at full potential!!

Running GDDR3 in a DDR2 motherboard will slow it down (especially if the power supply cannot handle GDDR3)....so pointless buying a faster graphics card

it IS relevant or they wouldn't bother adding that bit of info

UTTER nonsense.

superscaper

weegie.geek wrote: »

UTTER nonsense.

I think Cat695 has just misunderstood the concept of graphics card onboard RAM. Unfortunately by him expanding his explanation it just merely compounds the error.

As for compatibility issues that are relevant, i.e. the slot type we'll have to wait for the OP to return (if they do).