WillC

Hey, I was wondering what a good ATI would be good for gaming mostly. The most I can spend right now on this is about $120 CAD. Basically I've been looking at www.newegg.ca and www.directcanada.com but I have no idea what type to get. The current card is a X1650 PRO and it can barely run some newer games he plays (I think that is his PCs problem).

I'm more used to the nVidia GPUs, but I think one that is a PCIe x16 or whatever would be good. He's running an AMD AM2 x64 and his mobo supports PCIe cards. I'd assume that one of the HD 2-3000 series would be excess, but that's always good in this case. Basically I was looking for a good ATI card that's a good deal now for around $120 CAD and that can run sourcegames and some of the newer games at least on minimum settings without crashing.

Thanks again guys!

BlueMak

Without knowing the rest specs exactly, with the info you have given, I would go with this
Newegg.ca - SAPPHIRE 100256L Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Chaos

The Radeon 4830 is just a bit more and may be more future proof

Newegg.ca - SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

BlueMak

Yes but the 4830 requires extra power and we don't know if his/hers PC/PSU has one available or even if it does, if it the PSU is powerful enough to handle the extra power. The 4670 you just need the power from the bus. Also, I have my doubts as to if the 4830 won't be waste of extra speed since if the rest of the machine was bought together with the x1650, it might simply become the bottleneck and the extra speed of the 4830 will become useless.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

WillC

It probably does have the necessary PSU... For some reason he bought one of those little cases with a mini ATX mobo or whatever, I think its called barebone?
The CPU that came with it was fine but the GPU that was bought with it is really below standards for gaming. I don't know if the PSU was bought with the mobo/case, if it was then it's probably fine. I'll likely go with the first single-slot card considering I don't know his PSU (If I can somehow figure out his PSU without giving it away then I will try to tell you guys what it is to see if it can support the GPU).
...Eventually he will be buying his own mobo in a few months. So if you guys have any ideas about a cheaper (> $100~) mobo that supports an AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Processor ADV6000DOBOX - 3.0GHz, 1MB Cache, 1000MHz (2000 MTs), Dual-Core, Retail, Socket AM2, Processor with Fan in Canada at TigerDirect.ca) and that Radeon HD 4670 (or the HD 4830) I could tell him to look at them next time.

Thanks again

blibbax

PSUs that come with barebones don't tend to be too hot. Can we have the number of 12v rails and the amps per 12v rail please?

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OldBuzzard

THAT could be a problem. The 4xxx series cards are long rascals, and there may not be enough room in the case for it to fit. You might want to take a few measurements to make sure.

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When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Judas

the 4670's are excellent performers..... pretty excellent considering they don't require external or additional power other then what the pci-ex is able to supply....


anyone i've setup with one has been quite happy.... i mean they are top end performers obviously... but damn good.

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WillC

Well I found out he's actually using my old PSU, which is a themaltake... I think its a 450W, no clue on the rails sorry (probably 1).
I'm thinking he needs a new one for a new vid card because I doubt it has one of those power cords that connects to the GPU (it's a 6-slot cable that comes from the PSU). He is also now in a normal case, so space isn't a problem and the motherboard doesn't need to be mini if you happen to find one.

I've been looking at a few cheaper (~$40) PSUs but I don't think they are all that good. If you guys know of a rather cheap but good deal PSU I could tell him about that too.
Here is one I found Apevia Java 500-Watt Power Supply - SATA-Ready, 120mm Fan (Black) WIN-500XSPX at TigerDirect.com I think it was 3 12V rails and its 500W. Any good, anything of better value or better deal?

Thanks

blibbax

If you want a low cost PSU with enough power on usable rails I would reccomend a Corsair 450W.

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WillC

Is this a good one, that other one was on the american site and the CAD site is chargin $20 more...link: Newegg.ca - COOLMAX V-600 600W ATX12V Power Supply - Power Supplies

swimtech

This supply looks to be of much better quality, and should power your system well - for a few dollars more, but has a big promo discount in Canada.

Antec Earthwatts EA500 500W 80Plus

In the US, it's 49.99 - 61.53 in Canada.

And I'd agree with the choice of a 4670 - decent gaming card and fits your budget perfectly - but the extra money spent on a 4830 will be worth it - it's an even better value, and that PSU above should be able to drive it just fine.

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It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

WillC

That PSU looks good thanks for the find swimtech.

If I end up buying the HD 4830, I'll have to get someone else to buy him the PSU considering it's kind of a crappy gift if you can't use it.

Thanks again guys.

A Desire to Game

What size monitor are we talking about here? If we are considering anything above 1280x1024 then you definitely wanna go 4830. But if you are staying at or below 1280x1024 and want to play the latest games/older games at medium settings then you are safe and can save some money with the 4670.

Follow the link for some benchmarks.

AnandTech: AMD Radeon HD 4670: Ruling from Top to Bottom

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Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

BlueMak

EDIT: Just ignore this post.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

WillC

He says it's 1440 x 900 in game, he is using an LCD monitor.

WillC

So which card is better for his res? It is greater, but also less than 1280 x 1040 (1440 > 1280, 900 < 1040).

Edit: woops double post

Chaos

I would go with 4830....1440x900 is usually a 19" widescreen LCD and is a decent resolution