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Cheap Video Cards. My Final Two.

post #1 of 30
1/4/12 at 12:01pm
Thread Starter 
Hello AVS,

I know pretty much nothing when it comes to video cards. So I've come to here. I'm looking for a super cheap video card to replace my on board video. This card will only be used for internet browsing. YouTube vids and HD videos. I'm on the fence about picking which of these to get. So I came here.

I just want which ever one is going to give me the lesser amount of trouble and bug free experiences. I don't want my videos to end up all choppy when I'm watching them. That is my main concern.

The two card I'm considering are these.

Card1 is a card I've owned before. I like it. Does what it need to. No lag at all. I'm only considering Card2 because it seems like the better card. If it isn't. I'll stick to Card1.

This is Card2. It seems like a better card but I don't know anything about cards. So I could be wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I plan to buy one of these sometime today.

Would also be nice to know why which one is better. Just so i can understand a bit more. I know the clock speed is faster on one but the other has DDR3 etc... I'm to confused to pick!
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post #2 of 30
1/4/12 at 12:48pm
Thread Starter 
Non one?
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post #3 of 30
1/4/12 at 1:15pm
I can't really advise you, but I do think you would be better off posting this up in Home Theater Computers. HTPC gaming requires you to have a far better video card than streaming or watching video. The cards being talked about in here are running 200 or so, up to 500 (and people are often buying two or more to crossfire or sli).
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post #4 of 30
1/4/12 at 1:53pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah. I just figured people know more about what makes a good card a good card. So I posed here.
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post #5 of 30
1/4/12 at 3:05pm
Neither of those. For what you want to do, there is no reason to get a card that has a fan on it. Why add more noise to your system?

In addition, wait more than 47 minutes before coming back with the impatient "No won's gonna help meee!?!11" post. People don't like helping impatient, whining people.
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post #6 of 30
1/4/12 at 4:15pm
Actually, people in here are into great cards, although I am sure some are into htpc (I really don't know why they call it htpc gaming, instead of just pc gaming). It's kind of like comparing apples and oranges; in here you can find great advice on gaming cards, whereas if you want an expert opinion for a htpc card I would think you would have more success in a htpc forum as the requirements are totally different.
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post #7 of 30
1/4/12 at 4:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by darklordjames View Post

Neither of those. For what you want to do, there is no reason to get a card that has a fan on it. Why add more noise to your system?

In addition, wait more than 47 minutes before coming back with the impatient "No won's gonna help meee!?!11" post. People don't like helping impatient, whining people.

No one asked you to come in with a complaint. The view count was rather high for no response. And as I said. I was looking for CHEAP. Best of the cheap. I'm not asking for a crazy card I just purchased. ( you actually pointed me in that direction) as I said. I have a Pc that does what I need. This doesn't.
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post #8 of 30
1/4/12 at 5:01pm
If you like the GT520 there are plenty on newegg for around $55 that are passively cooled, which would be my vote your system.
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post #9 of 30
1/4/12 at 5:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 257Tony View Post

If you like the GT520 there are plenty on newegg for around $55 that are passively cooled, which would be my vote your system.

I know nothing about Card lol. Which is why I don't know what I like. I'm just going to go with most recommended. Or best bang for buck but under 100. Prefer cheapest as I just spent a decent amount on my other PC.
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post #10 of 30
1/4/12 at 6:07pm
I don't know anything about those cards, but I do know to never buy any PC parts from Best Buy. Go to Newegg.

That PNY card is only $24.99 after MIB plus $7.56 S/H.

That Galaxy card is the same price at Newegg, however you can get a Zotac GT 520 with the same specs for $29.99 plus $5.99 S/H.
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post #11 of 30
1/4/12 at 9:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmwatkins View Post

I don't know anything about those cards, but I do know to never buy any PC parts from Best Buy. Go to Newegg.

That PNY card is only $24.99 after MIB plus $7.56 S/H.

That Galaxy card is the same price at Newegg, however you can get a Zotac GT 520 with the same specs for $29.99 plus $5.99 S/H.

Yeah. I've changed my mind. I will not be buying from best buy now. I'll be buying online. Budget is higher as well.
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post #12 of 30
1/5/12 at 6:50am
Well, if your only use is videos and we browsing, there is no need to spend more than ~$50. Now if you want o throw in a little gaming here and there, then $100 will get you something that will work for you, although it will have a fan and not be totally silent.

There isn't really any great deals today like there was last week. I would keep looking....
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post #13 of 30
1/5/12 at 9:17am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 257Tony View Post

Well, if your only use is videos and we browsing, there is no need to spend more than ~$50. Now if you want o throw in a little gaming here and there, then $100 will get you something that will work for you, although it will have a fan and not be totally silent.

There isn't really any great deals today like there was last week. I would keep looking....

Yeah. It's purely for HD video watching. That and being able to run sound threw HDMI so I don't have to run even more cables then I'm running now.
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post #14 of 30
1/5/12 at 11:41am
What kind of power supply do u have ?
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post #15 of 30
1/5/12 at 12:50pm
"What kind of power supply do u have ?"

It does not matter. The card in question is so low power that if his system runs now, it will run with this new card.
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post #16 of 30
1/5/12 at 2:30pm
I thought modern Intel graphics chipsets had plenty of raw power in addition to acceleration to handle HD h.264/AVC decoding just fine. What exactly is your on-board video chipset? I'm assuming you've actually run into issues and thus the reason for asking, but it's not really clear to me from your initial post. A bit of googling turns up very positive results for every video permutation I can think of for both the HD2000 & HD3000 chipsets that are used in Sandy Bridge processors.
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post #17 of 30
1/5/12 at 3:47pm
Depending on the intended use, it still may be better to have an nvidia GPU. For instance, on Linux the support for HD from nvidia's PureVideo through VDPAU is much better than Intel's alternative (although Intel is working to catch up.)
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post #18 of 30
1/5/12 at 5:21pm
Thread Starter 
How about a radon HD6770?
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post #19 of 30
1/5/12 at 5:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JukeBox360 View Post

How about a radon HD6770?

Very good card. Capable performer for gaming at medium resolutions too. There were some at the $70-$80 price point last week, I wouldn't pay more than that for one.

A 5770 is the same card, in case you run across a deal on one of those.
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post #20 of 30
1/5/12 at 7:54pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 257Tony View Post

Very good card. Capable performer for gaming at medium resolutions too. There were some at the $70-$80 price point last week, I wouldn't pay more than that for one.

A 5770 is the same card, in case you run across a deal on one of those.

So someone paying $180 is an idiot I take it.
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post #21 of 30
1/6/12 at 6:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JukeBox360 View Post

So someone paying $180 is an idiot I take it.

For a 6770, yes.

Hopefully it wasn't you lol......

This card.....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814103197

will be $69.99 after MIR today between 10 am and 1 PM pacific.

If you paid $180, send it back and get that one.
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post #22 of 30
1/6/12 at 8:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 257Tony View Post


For a 6770, yes.

Hopefully it wasn't you lol......

This card.....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814103197

will be $69.99 after MIR today between 10 am and 1 PM pacific.

If you paid $180, send it back and get that one.

Yes. It was me
God I hate my store lol. Guess I'll be making a trip!

What about power supply price? I only paid $50 for a decent 600W. I thought it was a fair deal. Could be wrong though.
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post #23 of 30
1/6/12 at 10:01am
Well, wattage isn't the only important factor to keep in mind when selecting a PSU. However assuming it is a good brand, $50 ain't too bad at all.
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post #24 of 30
1/6/12 at 10:12am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeblow View Post

Well, wattage isn't the only important factor to keep in mind when selecting a PSU. However assuming it is a good brand, $50 ain't too bad at all.

It seems to have done the trick. Now my only problem is the DP. I'm using a Display Port to VGA adapter. The monitor that is using this spot is doing a fluctuation of it's picture like crazy. No idea why.
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post #25 of 30
1/6/12 at 5:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JukeBox360 View Post

It seems to have done the trick. Now my only problem is the DP. I'm using a Display Port to VGA adapter. The monitor that is using this spot is doing a fluctuation of it's picture like crazy. No idea why.

Adapter or converter? Should be an active converter.
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post #26 of 30
1/6/12 at 5:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 257Tony View Post

Adapter or converter? Should be an active converter.

Ummm. Aren't they the same? I think it's an adapter.
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post #27 of 30
1/7/12 at 8:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JukeBox360 View Post

Ummm. Aren't they the same? I think it's an adapter.

Generally speaking, and adapter is just an inactive piece of plastic/metal that lines up the pins. Converters generally have some type of circuitry in them that changes the actual signal, not just the pins.
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post #28 of 30
1/7/12 at 8:51am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 257Tony View Post

Generally speaking, and adapter is just an inactive piece of plastic/metal that lines up the pins. Converters generally have some type of circuitry in them that changes the actual signal, not just the pins.

Oh. Well it looked as if it just converted it from one signal to the next. Didn't work worth crap so I took it back. A random guy I ran into at the store said all these adapters to the flicker. Which I can't imagine being true. So instead of doing a swap out I just returned it.
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post #29 of 30
1/8/12 at 8:52am
Redding this thread has make my grammer bad.
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post #30 of 30
1/8/12 at 9:23am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by WJonathan View Post

Redding this thread has make my grammer bad.

My English isn't the best. Not my native language. Sorry. .
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