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View Full Version : Cheap but decent graphics card


akiratheoni
October 5th, 2008, 07:36 PM
I've never been a gamer really but I think it's time I get a decent video card. My computer currently has an Intel GMA 950 integrated so it's not the best.

I do have several games that I play every so often. The graphics card is the only portion of my computer that is really bad, I have 2GB of RAM and an Intel Core 2 Duo so the only thing stopping me from playing the games without too much lag is the graphics card. Perhaps I can get some of the better Compiz-Fusion plugins working, too.

Of course that means that I am currently dual booting with Windows Vista. But I'm certain almost every graphics card will support it so I don't need to worry about Vista. It's Ubuntu that I need to worry about.

Since nVidia support is pretty good on Linux (at least better than ATI) I think I'll go for an nVidia card. But I'm not really into the whole gaming scene so I know absolutely nothing about graphics cards and the models and everything.

The games that I play on my computer would be:


Halo (just the first one, not the second or third)
Counterstrike (1.6 and Source)
Morrowind
Postal 2


So I need a card that would at least play those games fine. The card should also be compatible with Ubuntu without a lot of trouble.

Also if I do get a card, can anyone explain the standard procedure for installing drivers for nVidia cards? Since I have an Intel GMA 950, there wasn't a whole lot of things to do nor did I have to install third party drivers... it just worked.

As for money, I just turned 18 so I'm getting some money from my relatives and my birthday party is this week. I'll be buying a 1TB hard drive so that would run me about $200... would a budget of around $120 or less be good for a graphics card? I don't know what constitutes a 'cheap' graphics card or anything of that sort. I've never had anything more than an Intel integrated card in all of my computers.

Remember, I don't need anything top of the line... just something that works. To summarize, it should:

Play the games I listed above
Be easy to work with on Ubuntu
Price range: Cheap as possible, but probably $120 or less would be good
Would be nice if it was quiet and doesn't require me to get a new power supply


Thanks everyone. If this isn't in the right section, feel free to move it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130085 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130085)
^^ This card looks good, it has a decent review on Newegg and is quite cheap, does anyone have any experience with it?
elmer_42
October 5th, 2008, 07:57 PM
When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought 8600GT. I'd go with the one you linked if you know for a fact that you will be filling out the rebate, but if you aren't or are iffy, go with this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130292) one. The memory clock is higher on the 265MB version, but with twice the memory you won't need a clock speed as high.

And about the 1TB hard drive, you can get a Seagate 1TB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148274) for $130. So if you wanted, you could get an HD4850 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770)!
mips
October 5th, 2008, 08:01 PM
I would not buy a 8600 gfx card. rather get a 8800GT if available in your price.

I recently got myself a XFX 9600GT. It's good value for money and overclocks a lot if that is your thing.

See my thread here, http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=908091

Review:http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1243&pageID=4567

What wattage is your psu?
akiratheoni
October 5th, 2008, 08:02 PM
Thanks for the suggestions. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't even have noticed the rebate, that makes that card look even better. I was just going to buy a Western Digital MyBook 1TB external hard drive (I have several computers so external hard drives work better for me) and I have had good experiences with WD... the last internal Seagate drive I bought was dead on arrival. Maybe it was just a fluke but all of my WD drives have worked. Thanks, though. $80 was pretty good but with the rebate it looks even sweeter.


I would not buy a 8600 gfx card. rather get a 8800GT if available in your price.

Is there any reason for that? Just curious, I don't know the differences between 8600 and 880 lol.
eragon100
October 5th, 2008, 08:21 PM
When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought 8600GT. I'd go with the one you linked if you know for a fact that you will be filling out the rebate, but if you aren't or are iffy, go with this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130292) one. The memory clock is higher on the 265MB version, but with twice the memory you won't need a clock speed as high.

And about the 1TB hard drive, you can get a Seagate 1TB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148274) for $130. So if you wanted, you could get an HD4850 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770)!

That 512 MB is my card exactly (manufacerer, mem and model), and it's great!
jespdj
October 5th, 2008, 08:34 PM
I would not buy a 8600 gfx card. rather get a 8800GT if available in your price.
Why not?

The 8800 is more powerful, but more expensive and also uses more power. I have a passively cooled 8600 GT in my desktop computer. I bought it because I wanted a reasonably powerful graphics card (I'm not a gamer) and I want a quiet computer.

I'm not sure, but the 8800 probably uses too much power to be passively cooled. My 8600 GT card does have a massive cooling block.
Amorphous_Snake
October 5th, 2008, 08:48 PM
There is no need to pay a lot if that's the only stuff you are going to play.

ATI drivers are no longer bad.

I think you can get a 4670 or 4830 for a really great price.
akiratheoni
October 5th, 2008, 09:32 PM
Why not?

The 8800 is more powerful, but more expensive and also uses more power. I have a passively cooled 8600 GT in my desktop computer. I bought it because I wanted a reasonably powerful graphics card (I'm not a gamer) and I want a quiet computer.

I'm not sure, but the 8800 probably uses too much power to be passively cooled. My 8600 GT card does have a massive cooling block.

Yeah I don't want to deal with a card that uses more power, I don't want to get a new power supply. How is your 8600 GT working out for you?
akiratheoni
October 6th, 2008, 03:40 AM
Bumpity bump, I found this card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130378

And it's cheaper than the one I posted in my OP, but it's a 9500, not 8600 or 8800. Is it good?
mips
October 6th, 2008, 10:23 AM
And it's cheaper than the one I posted in my OP, but it's a 9500, not 8600 or 8800. Is it good?

Comparison:
http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=513&card2=574
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/graphics-cards/3dmark06-v1-0-2-hdr-sm3-0-score,538.html

On specs alone it looks slightly better.
sloggerkhan
October 6th, 2008, 10:28 AM
I would say get an ati 4670. I have an 8600gt, on linux it's fine for games at 1680x1050, though it can struggle with 3-d if it's got a lot of fancy realtime lighting and reflections. Videoplayback with the 8600gt is also a little iffy depending on upscaling.
Calmatory
October 6th, 2008, 10:36 AM
There are absolutely only two to choose from.

Either you get GeForce 9600 GT/GSO
or a Radeon HD4670

Everything else is a ripoff. They stand the best price/performance right now, and can play about any game with max. settings as long as the resolution remains below 1680x1080. They both should cost less than $120.

I'd go with 9600 GT for the fact that it is Nvidia, has better driver support.
But HD4670 does not have external power connector, thus it might be much more compatible with your computer and power supply unit. (There are external power cable converters available to circumvent this.).

9600GT has the suggested price of $99.
9600GSO has the suggested price of $79
HD4670 has the suggested price of $79.

If you want reviews, google for Radeon HD 3850 reviews, the HD4670 has the same performance as HD 3850.

Obviously the GeForce 9600GT is slightly faster than HD4670 or GeForce 9600GSO, but this is unnoticeable in practice.

All are around 10-20 % slower than 8800GT, but they consume less power and thus produce less heat. They are quieter and cheaper and easier to get.

I'd go with 9600 GT for Linux, but if I used Windows, I'd go for HD4670. And I will, getting one for the desktop machine. ;)


Why not?



There are a lot better alternatives. 8600 was never considered good product really, and getting one could be justified in early 2007, not late 2008. ;) The industry can change in weeks, or days. One slipped marketing slide can change the whole tables for different products and companies. :|
meho_r
October 7th, 2008, 08:34 AM
I'm considering to replace my old Ati Radeon X1650 Pro with a new one. Is it worth to go with HD4670? How is it behaving on Linux?

BTW, I'm not impressed with nVidia 8600GT. With Compiz on, there are some kind of delays that don't exist even with my X1650 Pro. Those "lags" are pretty noticable and very annoying when playing, for example, Teeworlds.
rajeev1204
October 7th, 2008, 10:13 AM
Bumpity bump, I found this card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130378




And it's cheaper than the one I posted in my OP, but it's a 9500, not 8600 or 8800. Is it good?


Stay away from the 7500 , 8500 or the 9500 , its slower than my 7600 GT.

Comes with dd2 ram much slower compared to ddr3.

8600 gt or 9600 gt should be fine for you.




The 9000 series seems to overclock well but if it doesnt fit ur budget 8600 GT is pretty nice.