[stemmer]

At present I have an AMD Phenom II X3 710 (2.6) cpu with 8 gigs of DDR2 memory and I'm thinking of replacing my GeForce 8500 GT 512 mb card with either a

1) Geforce GT 430
2) GeForce GT 240
3) Geforce 9800 GT

... My power supply is a Corsair 550 so I really don't want a video card that uses a power cable led from the powersupply...

I prefer Nvidia over ATI as I also use 3DCoat with utilizes Nvidia's CUDA technology...

Any thoughts on these cards? I mostly use my computer for digital painting, photo editing and 3D modeling/rendering...

Thanks kindly...


Ken

[BartSimpson]

Hmm. I just last night got my new computer with a Radeon 2GB card and it is awesome. I totally see why you want to do this.

On the issue of a card powered by a direct link to the power supply - it's really a good idea because that reduces the load (and heat) on your motherboard.

[sandorski]

stemmer stemmer:

At present I have an AMD Phenom II X3 710 (2.6) cpu with 8 gigs of DDR2 memory and I'm thinking of replacing my GeForce 8500 GT 512 mb card with either a

1) Geforce GT 430
2) GeForce GT 240
3) Geforce 9800 GT

... My power supply is a Corsair 550 so I really don't want a video card that uses a power cable led from the powersupply...

I prefer Nvidia over ATI as I also use 3DCoat with utilizes Nvidia's CUDA technology...

Any thoughts on these cards? I mostly use my computer for digital painting, photo editing and 3D modeling/rendering...

Thanks kindly...


Ken

Why? I'm running a Radeon 4850(known power hog of it's generation) on a Seasonic 500watt Power Supply. Mine and your Power Supply should have no problems powering any single GPU Video Card on the Market. If you can get beyond that, a 460 would be a great card.

All that said, it appears(quick skimming on my part) that the GT 9800 would be the better performing card from your list(approx 50% better with 512mb, 80% better with 1gb...GT240GDDR5 vs GT9800). The GT 430 is considered a disappointment, not even adequate for its' claimed market segment(HTPC). The GT 240 is considered only adequate with GDDR 5 memory, but from its' release was aimed at a lower Performance segment than the GT 9800.

Again I just skimmed and was looking exclusively on Performance. GT 9800 seems to be the best choice though.

[Tricks]

I have the 460, it's excellent. Probably best bang for buck right now.

[stemmer]

Problem is I have 5 hard drives, 1 dvd burner, 4 x 2gb ddr2 memory sticks, an external usb card reader & a Canon flat bed scanner (model LIDE 200) which is pwoered vis usb (has no external power supply) & 2 case fans...

Do you think the Corsair 550 has enough juice for all of that plus a Geforce GTX 460 or GeForce GTS 450?

I priced a nice Seasonic 850W, 80 Silver certified for about $130.00 but not sure if I want to speed all of that money...

[Elvis]

Hey I have a EVEA
9800GT 1Gb that is sitting on my desk right now make me an offer

Fair shipping

If you need a nice Quality power supply this will do plenty
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku= ... Technology

[Elvis]

To answer your question more precisely about your power supply use this tool

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

[Regina]

I have a 850W Corsair which handles my gaming machine well. I think you want too much in yours for the 550W to take. Although if you smoke the 550W.......you can always buy a new one......if there's anything left after the fire.

[herbie]

Friend of mine built one a couple years ago with twin 8800 SLIs and a 1200w PSU.
Jeez you guys, they're computers not toasters! You could use it to make a grilled cheese on top in the dorms...

[PostFactum]

My radeon x600/x550 seies works for me for 4,5 years

[Regina]

herbie herbie:

Friend of mine built one a couple years ago with twin 8800 SLIs and a 1200w PSU.
Jeez you guys, they're computers not toasters! You could use it to make a grilled cheese on top in the dorms...

When I have mine fired up and playing a game I can raise the temperature in my office over 5 degrees.......and I have a big office.

[Tricks]

I'm running either a corsair 650 or 750

[sandorski]

stemmer stemmer:

Problem is I have 5 hard drives, 1 dvd burner, 4 x 2gb ddr2 memory sticks, an external usb card reader & a Canon flat bed scanner (model LIDE 200) which is pwoered vis usb (has no external power supply) & 2 case fans...

Do you think the Corsair 550 has enough juice for all of that plus a Geforce GTX 460 or GeForce GTS 450?

I priced a nice Seasonic 850W, 80 Silver certified for about $130.00 but not sure if I want to speed all of that money...

Use the Calc Elvis linked to. My 500watt Power Supply is running:

1055T Phenom 2 X6
2x2gb DDR3 1600 ram
5 Case fans
2 HDs
1 DVD burner
Radeon 512mb 4850
Corsair HS1 USB powered headphones

Best that I can tell, the 460 uses about as much power as my 4850. I really don't think you'll have an issue, ut use that calc first.

[sandorski]

Regina Regina:

herbie herbie:

Friend of mine built one a couple years ago with twin 8800 SLIs and a 1200w PSU.
Jeez you guys, they're computers not toasters! You could use it to make a grilled cheese on top in the dorms...

When I have mine fired up and playing a game I can raise the temperature in my office over 5 degrees.......and I have a big office.

If I ever need to warm my hands, there's a nice steady flow of warm air out the back of my case.

[stemmer]

Ordered a new Corsair 750ps from Newegg and a Geforce GTS 250 from NCIX...Both were on sale and both have rebates... The graphics apps I use both prefer Nvidia 98xx series cards & the GTS 250 is based on the 9800 GX2 card...