# Need Help:Buying a Graphics Card



## pkkumarcool (Dec 15, 2011)

Hi friends,
I am a regular/casual gamer and don’t have time to play all day.I want a good graphics card under 3.5k.I have a desire to play battlefield 3 on my pc but since my tests are over and winter breaks are starting I have convinced my parents to buy graphic card as a Christmas present for me.So guys please help me to get the best deal. If u did I will always be very grateful to you.
My Pc Configuration:-

Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp.080413-2111)

System Manufacturer: INTEL_
       System Model: D945GCR_
               BIOS: Default System BIOS
          Processor: Genuine Intel(R) CPU   dual core  2140  @ 1.60GHz (2 CPUs)
             Memory: 2024MB RAM
Motherboard-: Intel(R) 82945G Express Chipset Family
Monitor-Samsung 17 inch 1024*768 resolution and refresh rate 60 htz
PSU-Tech com 460 watt


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## Tenida (Dec 15, 2011)

Look for sapphire hd6570 or sapphire hd5670.


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## theserpent (Dec 15, 2011)

Hd 6790


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## Tenida (Dec 15, 2011)

serpent16 said:


> Hd 6790



Bro. op budget is only 3.5k and you are suggesting hd6790 which costs around 8k.


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## Tachyon1986 (Dec 15, 2011)

Tenida's suggestions are nice , but don't expect to play BF3 on high settings. You get what you pay for with those cards.


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## theserpent (Dec 15, 2011)

Tenida said:


> Bro. op budget is only 3.5k and you are suggesting hd6790 which costs around 8k.



Im sorry  dint read his budget.What eva happens dont go for 5450 im suffering with it


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## roque (Dec 15, 2011)

i am not sure u can play BF3 with entry level cards...also u will need to upgrade ur OS..


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## Tenida (Dec 15, 2011)

Or if you can increase your budget slightly then you can get *MSI R6670 1GB DDR5 Twin Fan model @Rs.5k*


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## ico (Dec 16, 2011)

pkkumarcool said:


> PSU-Tech com 460 watt


hmmm

Bad bad bad PSU. You need a new PSU too.

**www.thinkdigit.com/forum/graphic-cards/149373-read-me-before-asking-question-section.html*


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## TheLetterD (Dec 16, 2011)

pkkumarcool said:


> Monitor-Samsung 17 inch 1024*768 resolution and refresh rate 60 htz


Umm yeah, and I guess You would need to change your monitor too. Is that a CRT? 
Cuz if the Max. resolution is 1024*768... Then Im sorry to say this but a good gaming experience with that resolution is not possible.


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## pkkumarcool (Dec 21, 2011)

My friend bought NVIDIA Geforce GT 210 1GB DDR2 40nm,
How is it? give some suggession guys....



TheLetterD said:


> Umm yeah, and I guess You would need to change your monitor too. Is that a CRT?
> Cuz if the Max. resolution is 1024*768... Then Im sorry to say this but a good gaming experience with that resolution is not possible.



I would change that later my friend........


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## Cilus (Dec 21, 2011)

GT 210 is not considered as Graphics card if graphics card objective is game playing. It is good for watching HD movies, that's all.

Now for Gfx card, increase your budget by 500 bucks and get the Sapphire HD 5670 512 MB GDDR5 Graphics card @ 4.1K; end of discussion. At your budget you can't find anything higher than that. At 1024X768 it can play Battlefield 3 with mid setting. If you want a future proof solution then MSI HD 6670 1GB GDDR5 @ 5K or Sapphire HD 6750 @ 6K is the best choice. But you have to get a new PSU.
2ndly, for playing BF3, you need minimum DirectX 10 whereas XP does have only DX9. SO you have to upgrade your OS to Vista or Win 7.


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## pkkumarcool (Dec 22, 2011)

Thanxx cilus i am very grateful to you.Now i have changed my OS to windows 7 and about card i dont want future proof as i will buy a laptop for gaming later.What i need is a good graphic card for gaming and u solved it 
Going to buy Sapphire Radeon HD 5670 1GB confirmed.


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## Cilus (Dec 22, 2011)

*Make sure it is the GDDR5 version.* Don't be fooled by the 1GB DDR3 version. These lower middle end cards cannot use 1GB memory efficiently and 512MB is enough for them. But if you get the DDR3 version instead of the GDDR5 version, no matter how much GB, there will be significant performance drop due to the lesser memory bandwidth of DDR3 ram.

Normally the 5670 1GB GDDR5 versions are available around 4.7K range. So by just spending .3K extra you can pick up a Radeon HD 6670 1GB GDDR5 from Sapphire or MSI which is a more powerful card.

Check mdcomputers.in for the Gfx card pricing.


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## pkkumarcool (Dec 23, 2011)

Thanxx again i will surely mind that and tell my friend how he was fooled by shopkeeper.....


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## Skynaveen (Dec 26, 2011)

If you are OK with overclocking the best card is XFX GT 220.
it can be overclocked from 625mhz to 815 mhz and very stable


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## pkkumarcool (Dec 27, 2011)

But xfx gt 220 is Ddr 2 and cirus said that even ddr3 dont give best performance!


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## ico (Dec 27, 2011)

Skynaveen said:


> If you are OK with overclocking the best card is XFX GT 220.
> it can be overclocked from 625mhz to 815 mhz and very stable


No, it is very slow.



pkkumarcool said:


> My friend bought NVIDIA Geforce GT 210 1GB DDR2 40nm,
> How is it? give some suggession guys....


Crap.


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## Cilus (Dec 28, 2011)

Skynaveen said:


> If you are OK with overclocking the best card is XFX GT 220.
> it can be overclocked from 625mhz to 815 mhz and very stable



LOL 

GT 220 is not considered a Graphics card IMO if game playing is the main objective of a Graphics card.


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## guru_urug (Dec 28, 2011)

Skynaveen said:


> If you are OK with overclocking the best card is XFX GT 220.
> it can be overclocked from 625mhz to 815 mhz and very stable



@Skynaveen : Saw your thread in the overclocking sub section of TDF. Please put up some benchmarks to show why you think its the best card in that budget. While I think its great that you could overclock it, I dont think you should blindly recommend a card just cause you have it, without checking the performance of the already recommended card(HD 5670) 
The HD 5670 is MUCH better...No matter how much you overclock the GT220, not to forget the HD 5670 can be overclocked too. And you are suggesting xfx as a gpu brand??

Check this review/comparison and benchmarks
ATI Radeon HD 5670 Review > Test System Specs & 3Dmark Vantage - TechSpot Reviews


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## Skynaveen (Dec 31, 2011)

XFX ATI Radeon HD 5670 Price in India: Rs. 6,500/- Indian Rupee (INR) for 512MB model and 7,500/- for 1GB DDR5 version ( source: XFX ATI Radeon HD 5670 Price in India - XFX ATI Radeon 5670 DirectX11 Graphics Card Prices    )

He asked for one around 3.5k

Thats why I suggested GT 220
And its not the ddr2 one, the ddr3 one


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## Cilus (Dec 31, 2011)

You checked in the wrong site buddy. From now on, check some online sites which actually sell product rather than listing the price. Here is the price of Sapphire HD 5670 512 MB GDDR5 from theitwares (it's 3.9k)
SAPPHIRE 100287VGAL Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card


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## mithun_mrg (Dec 31, 2011)

actually cilus allready posted

SAPPHIRE 100287VGAL Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Sapphire - HD 5670 GDDR5 [ 512MB RAM ] â€• Lynx - The Audio , Electronics And Computer Online Shopping Store In India


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## Skynaveen (Dec 31, 2011)

Oh..........I am very sorry. I didnt read that.


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## pkkumarcool (Jan 6, 2012)

Will a ddr5 graphic card work on my Intel D945GCR motherboard because some of my friends told me that there can be compatibility problems and i have to change my motherboard also! even people told me that ur ram also depends on graphic card you cannot use ddr2 ram with ddr5 graphic card.Is this true?


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## Cilus (Jan 6, 2012)

There is no relation between the supported Ram type of your motherboard and the Ram used in your Graphics card. And don't rely on "some of Your Friend's Knowledge" as one of them purchased a GT 220 as gaming card.

Better start reading the facts mentioned in the Thread **www.thinkdigit.com/forum/graphic-c...ormation-regarding-graphic-cards-newbies.html* before being confused. It will clear all your doubts.


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## ico (Jan 6, 2012)

pkkumarcool said:


> Will a ddr5 graphic card work on my Intel D945GCR motherboard because some of my friends told me that there can be compatibility problems and i have to change my motherboard also! even people told me that ur ram also depends on graphic card you cannot use ddr2 ram with ddr5 graphic card.Is this true?


Hae you read this: *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/graphic-cards/148812-basic-information-regarding-graphic-cards-newbies.html*

Before posting anything in the forum, you should read the sticky threads.


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## HRSH (Jun 18, 2012)

I have an identical config to the one posted above by the OP. Given that I have a PS3 to handle gaming - the only use of a graphics card would be to enhance the movie viewing experience on my 22" monitor. Would a graphics card be of any use for this - or is overkill? Which range would you guys recommend? No gaming whatsoever, just movies etc.

Also, do I have to worry about my dual core 1.6 processor bottlenecking any  GPU?


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