Graphics card

[deaarm]

Hi all! I am new to PCS, but up to now am very impressed. I could do with some advice though, I have speced an AMD PHENOM II X6 1100T (3.30GHz/9MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION on a ASUS® M5A99X EVO:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, Quad CrossFireX™/SLI™ with 16GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 4GB), but I don't know wher eto go with the graphics card.

I am a very occasional gamer, but I do use some 3D rendering software, other that that just normal PC use.

Any advice will help, thank you.

[Teaz]

Welcome to the forums

i recommend a GTX560Ti. its an all strong graphics card or the AMD 6870. But i would go for nvidias line up for their cuda technology which could help you in your rendering performances.

[Petchi b]

Whats your budget? And will you be using a multi-monitor setup?

[deaarm]

Many thanks, I assume I should go for the 2GB over the 1GB, I appreciate your response as I need a good machine, but had no idea on the graphic card this will help.

[deaarm]

Thank you, Budget is middle of the road, but I will be using 2 screens

[Frenchy]

yeah 2GB ofver 1GB if your budget allows if your going to be using 2 screens, GTX 5XX are all good cards tbh, even the 4XX are good, but 5XX are more efficient and quieter. I cant vouche for the ati's simply because I havent read enough about them, but if your looking for something decent both ati and nvidia will do the job tbh. Youll hear alot of people slating one or the other but tbh most of that is just personal choice. I would say at the very top end though Nvidia are currently a bit ahead, but then at mid range both are good, ati are generally better value though.

[Tracker]

High video memory is more important when running at higher resolutions, so with two screens you want to go for a 2gb card or so as the others have said.

Depending on the exact app's you're going to be using, performance of the graphics cards can vary, a Nvidia GTX570 will run some things better than an ATi 6970 will, and some things the 6970 will be better at, depending on the way the apps coded. As far as games go anyway, you may need to look up the specific software you want to run to see if either poses any particular advantage. Something that supports CUDA will obviously be better on a NVidia card, if it's got streaming in, then ATi may be a better choice.

On a personal basis, the Nvidia cards seem like a much stronger option than the Ati counterparts from a gaming perspective, but again, each has pros and cons and theres no "winner" when you compare the two.

[deaarm]

Thank you all for the help, I have placed my order with the Nvidia 2GB GTX560Ti. I can't wait to get it home now and start playing.