TechBits 8 - Specs to Consider When Buying a Video Card

[MDCavalier]

Hi there,

Just wanted to tell you about one of your last comments.

This is my specs (not on purpose of course and not for long) that I have already for a few months:

Gigabyte 990FXA-UD7

Dual Gigabyte HD 6990 (this is not a mistake, two 6990 cards)

Corsair Force 3 SSD

Mushkin 2 x 4GB PC3 16000

And a superold Sempron 140 (Single core 2.7Ghz 45nm CPU)

And I have to say that not high end games like L4D2 or TF2, I can run on full specs with none performance problems. (But have problems browsing XD)

[kt19961996]

You are sure a robot with a huge amount of data but dont know about ur dancing as on ur shirt !!

[exoticg9]

which marc of board is better ? ASUS OR ASROCK ?

[sciguy14]

@exoticg9 They are both good brands - It's really a matter of what specs are available from each company.

[exoticg9]

@sciguy14 Tanks bro.

[gunraykilla]

should i get a faster memory clock and sacrifice the amount of stream processers? or slower clock but like 6 times the stream processers?

[sciguy14]

@gunraykilla Depends what you're doing, but I'd go for the stream processors.

[gunraykilla]

@sciguy14 i already bought the card the card i was going for but bassicly, its GTS 450 Superclocked, or HD Radeon 5770 Juniper XT

[TheHungryArtist]

Hey we got the same monitor. Thanks for the help!

[elmasraziel]

I didnt measured my mid tower case lenght and I had a sad night cutting aluminum out of my case :( i bought the XFX 6950 2GB, and when i finally got the monster installed

(drivers & other settings) I opened crysis to see a constant 25 fps ratio :(

I did som research and figured out that it was my phenom 9600 BE 2.3 GHz that was bottlenecking my videocard, now im getting money AGAIN :( for a newer CPU

[gunraykilla]

@elmasraziel i feel your pain, my Nvidia 6600 is bottlenecking the hell out of my AMD athlon2 x2 3.2ghz regor. pretty powerful cpu for a budget gaming setup, im gonna be savin up for a radeon HD 5770 :DDD

[LLOYD19851012]

Wrong with the HDCP. I used to play blu-rays on a VGA monitor, it did not support HDCP but I could still play Blu rays just fine.

[sciguy14]

@LLOYD19851012 I doubt that, unless you were using a special adapter cable that could handle the HDCP encryption.

[LLOYD19851012]

@sciguy14 I was using a DVI to VGA converter on my graphic card and used a VGA cable from my graphic card to my monitor. The picture does look alot better now I am running Mini HDMI to full HDMI.

[daviddellsperger]

@sciguy14 LLOYD is right, vga does not need HDCP support in order to play Blu-Rays or other protected content. it's an analog connection and can not encrypt digital video. The reason for this is that VGA quality is 1024 x 768 which is less than HD, which is why HDCP support was not required for a VGA connection.

[TheHungryArtist]

This vid really helped, thanks

[Davidm00sh12]

im getting one tommorow

[jdiggz24]

actually i think you may be mistaken. NVIDIA cards also support up to gddr5. i myself own the GEforce gtx 460. :)

[sciguy14]

@jdiggz24 This video was released almost two years ago, before that was the case.

[onfireace688]

That (what i guess im calling a media card) sits parallel to my graphics card in a slot that looks similar to the gpu slot.......Make sure to correct me on its name =P, *not really good with computers*

[sciguy14]

@onfireace688 Are you talking about a capture or tuner card?

[onfireace688]

@sciguy14 ahh thanks for responding! It was a card that allowed me to watch tv from my computer that i took out of a PCI slot that was jammed right next to my PCIE slot where ovbiously a big lumpy new graphics card will be sitting. So i took it out and my computer runs great as of now! I kinda have another question....if you respond or not its cool =), but that question is when turning on my computer for the first time in awhile, it *turns on* but it doesnt actualy begin start up for like 2 mins

[kkGodzilla]

What's should I consider as more important. A card that has more stream processors or a card with faster shader,Core and memory clocks speeds but less processor cores?

[sciguy14]

@kkGodzilla It really depends on what your doing. I generally look at the number of stream processors first.

[mastermihir]

um....

[TANTHONYable]

hello please help i am building a video editing pc i have two gtx 470 is that as good as one nvidia quado fx 5800

thank you

[sciguy14]

@BigBadLejin Both are important. A fast core clock is needed to do complex calculations. The RAM is needed to store values used by these computations.

[sciguy14]

@BigBadLejin Both are important. A fast core clock is needed to do complex calculations. The RAM is needed to store values used by these computations.

[Layouts4Facebook]

satisfactory video

[Miguelb772]

would an amd phenom II X4 925 2.8Mhz (thinking of overclocking it up to 3.5Ghz) , 4 Gb of ram 1333Mhz and a GTX 460 a good combination of components?

Awsome videos ;) Thanks

[valleystylez]

this white devil does say um a lot

[tytrev1]

@valleystylez So...?

[LLOYD19851012]

what is the difference between GDDR3 and GDDR5

[sciguy14]

@LLOYD19851012 Just a newer technology.

[JppComputers]

@LLOYD19851012 its like next generation, faster, better, less power, runs cooler

[bigblackmamb]

will an ATI 9600XT RADEON XT GRAPHICS CARD & VISION TEK X1300 be good for a dell inspiron 530? im thinking about getting that card but i want some advice :)

[sephuroth1]

I almost stopped watching this video because of how many um's were said.

[sciguy14]

..sorry, I'm workin on it

[dabamie]

@sciguy14 what is specs? how does it work? what is core duo,celeron centrino? what is windows? sorry i really dont have any idea about these things. you can help me by answering my questions.. tnx a lot!

[D081]

@sephuroth1

lol yah. i thought u were jus bein an ass at first but true xD

i guess we all do something without noticing it

[suchAnoob]

sciguy14..do you think an athlon II X3 425 and radeon hd 4670 combo is good?

..and just another question...is triple core good for gaming or should i get a phenom II equivalent?

[sciguy14]

It's not exactly cutting edge. Might not be enough for new games

[hiphopapotomas]

sounds like your low on cash money dollars but if you can go with the i7 920 1366 socket and the 5870. that will basically future proof you

[nikosyv]

if thats ur budget go for a phenom II 550 and unlock it to a b50 (quad core) and buy the 5670.

[moonshiry]

Or just get a phenom II 955. or 965. that would be better

[TheRomanCandle790]

phenom II x2 - ATI HD 5750 work??? i will be overclocking my CPU if they makes a difference im kinda new so idk much

[moonshiry]

should be fine. im getting a phenom II 955 OC to 3.8ghz and a HD 5870

[ChristyTV]

You just wanted to announce the fact that you have a girlfriend! :P

[zeinbrug]

skrew ddr i want to see tdr triple data rate

GTDR4+3 /TDR4+3

[DarthKazi]

I just can't wait until they begin using high bandwidth, poly-core chips that handle graphics and processing, instead of the CPU and GPU being separate.

Having to bus data from one to the other, etc... just seems to backwards. Most of what we do on a computer is graphical and some consoles have innovated integrated chipsets in this way.

I know ATI/AMD have been working on such a chip and nVidia has been "in talks" with Intel in designing one.

[sciguy14]

Actually, I think Intel and Nvidia are starting to compete over this...

[DarthKazi]

That's good! That means better stuff and lower prices.

I'm a huge fan of M.A.M.E. and the only way some of the more recent 3D-based arcade hardware can be emulated, would be a chip like the one I mentioned. The bottlenecks of current CPUs bussing data to a GPU and/or the CPU doing all the rendering and emulating, is why lots of late 90's and beyond arcade games are still unplayable.

[moonshiry]

FYI amd has just released a beta version of that thing that u are talking about. its called the L.. something haha forgot. anyway i hear that amd should be releasing it out in end of 2010 if im not wrong

[Amathos]

1. Stop saying "UM" so much.

2. LUV THE VID effects!

3. GREAT info.

4. Have a list on screen of the topics? Since you are pulling in the video graphics so well. :D

5. Dude you rock!

I have a question. You said at the end about gaming card, vs the work style cards.

What would you suggest is a good compromise, for both games(Rappelz/3d/mmorpg styled games and such); and work, such as 3d-rendering(Adobe software,video processing)? In other words for the multitasker/Jack of all trades.

[sciguy14]

Go for a gaming-type card, like a GTX280. It will do both well, but a workstation card will epic fail at games.

[pc4gamers]

HEY MAN i got a msi r4850 crossfire and my friends geforce gtx 260 get less fps on games then mine what do you think

[1eriku]

how much can i expect to spend on a decent gaming computer. i want to play runes of magic (wow clone) and FPS.

[sciguy14]

2 grand

[1eriku]

thats alot for halo 2, cod 4, and ROM. know that i think about it ill just invest in an xbox or 6 LOL

[moonshiry]

2 grand is for really high end games and future proof like crysis. playing games like halo 2 cod 4 and wow and stuff dont take much hardware. probably 800 should secure u a good PC. excluding monitor i think

[XxKrazyPwnageXx]

How much should I spend on my very first build? I want something for WoW to play decent FPS :d

[RuNiTzSpAnKy]

if i got a 700w power supply would it over power my components and fry

i have a 2.80 ghz dual core cpu a 9800gtx g card 4 gigs of ram 320gig hardrive and a asus p5n-d mobo... also does my graphics card have a good enough cpu please respond somone ill give u a sub

[sciguy14]

You can't over-power components. PSUs only supply as much power as you need. Your GPU is fine.

[RuNiTzSpAnKy]

ok one more question is 600w enough for a radeon 4670 4 gigs of ram and a 3.0 ghz athlon II please reply and i did sub ty

[sciguy14]

Should be fine, unless you plan to add another video card in the future.

[RuNiTzSpAnKy]

well i mean is it plenty for what i have?

[sciguy14]

yes

[RoMMeL1337ak47]

hum that talk abut not skimping on the processor got me wondering if i did that.

was i stupid of me to get a INTEL CORE2 QUAD Q9650 3.00GHz 1333/12MB FSB S775 and a Asus Striker II Formula 780i Socket 775 Motherboard and then get a XFX GTX285 black edition?

i probably should have bought a i7 920 processor and a Asus P6T motherboard instead. btw how does a top end core2 fair against the "low end" i7 920?

[sciguy14]

i7 is better

[fungi1994]

windows 7 ftw

[llpjlau]

XFX has poor warranty. ASUS is good but one of the more expensive brands here in Australia. personally prefer Gigabyte.

[classofoeight]

you are amazing and answer all of my questions, thank you

[kasalal]

Robot....nice.

[dale456654]

I still use AGP... NVIDIA GeForce 6200...

[killamonkey]

Lol, so did I up until about a year and half ago.

[Speedster159]

mine is a TurboCache

[animationman45]

He he he... I have integrated...

ATI Radeon Xpress 200 (so crappp!!)

[gschreiber94]

lol that sucks :(

[dale456654]

I have upgraded now, i use pci-e

[illmaticways]

In the beginning, you mention you have triple boot? Exactly how would you set that up with a raid 0 at the same time? If you can make a vlog, it would be really helpful.

[sciguy14]

Do want all the operating systems on the RAID 0 array, or are the other two on separate hard drives.

[illmaticways]

i want everything on the RAID 0 setup. Unless you recommend something else otherwise.

[sciguy14]

That should be fine. What OSes do you want to boot, and what is already installed?

[illmaticways]

I have vista right now, but i want to have xp pro as well because its more reliable.

[sciguy14]

I suggest you check out the dual boot guide at apc dawt comm

[brianpmcg]

great tutorials!

[everybodykillerz]

Can you repeat what you say: htcp support or something like that??? cause I want to be sure I can play blue ray disks

Thnx,

[sciguy14]

To be able to play blu-ray discs, both your video card and your monitor need to have HDCP support.

[Teixas666]

hdcp support ( high definition compliant protocol)

if im not mistaken

[seanbenoy01]

what would be a good gaming card for under $150?

[sciguy14]

A Radeon 4850 is 150 bucks and is a very nice card.

[seanbenoy01]

is the amount of memory important? i used to have an evga 9600gt 1gb GDDR3 but the fan quit on me. would a Radeon 4850 512mb GDDR3 have better performance even with half the mem?

[sciguy14]

There are 4850's with 1GB of RAM. That's what I was suggesting. Sorry I wasn't clear. Sapphire makes one for $160.

[Mattheys]

so if for example a 9600gt is in comparison to a gtx 260 216 core we are talking about a serious upgrade in terms of stream processors and since it is the 55 nm it will just blow away in comparison so therefore stream processors and the overall gpu affect performance now and graphics memory (GDDR3-GDDR5) can affect it but only for resolutions and such correct?

[sciguy14]

The amount of RAM will be more important at higher resolutions, but so will all the specs.

[drpro01]

Question: My computer freezes at startup. and when I am using programs (video editing programs and web browsers) frequently?What should I do to fix this?

Things I have done already:

1. Defragment

2. Check for viruses, spywarem and adware.

3. Remove unnecessary startup and unused installed programs.

4. Clean registry.

5. Add 3 GB of ram.

Still no solution. My conclusion VISTA sucks what are your recommendations for this issue.

[sciguy14]

Try checking the window's error logs to see if that give you a hint.

[ajkid93]

I had a problem such as this, I thought it was the os but it wasnt. it was my psu which had 2 bad 12volt rails out of the. Replaced it and problem solved.

[glideby7]

Thanks sciguy14, this helped a lot.  After following your other videos, I have a great ultimate computer of my own on Newegg. Great video as well!

[AmazingDan96]

whats better 32 or 64-bit? when i figure out my spec can you tell me if its good or not

[sciguy14]

get 64 it you ever plan to have 4 or more GB of RAM.

[luisronaldofigo]

please answer

[luisronaldofigo]

m0ving from 9500gt to gtx 285 or 295 will the difference will be big? or depends on my cpu and ram?

[sciguy14]

Yes it will be quite big. especially with the 295 because it has two GPUs.

[luisronaldofigo]

ok thanks for your time

[ThaTyger]

Incredible how much info you can cram into 9.5 minute!!

Got a PoV 8800GT (oc edition) with a Intel Q9450 CPU, I bet it's not the best match but it still runs all the latest games without problems. In general I'm not a fan of crossfire or SLI as the cards are really close to each other and that just looks like a death trap (considering heat). I also have never found any solid data on how much it improves framerates, and considering the fact that I barely game, 2 GPU's is just very expensive..,

[sciguy14]

Most video cards are designed with a cooling system that will still work in SLI or crossfire.

[ferret6677]

Good job as always.

[smartwarlord]

Great video, i agreed on pretty much all of it, i definitely agree price to performance is ATI's advantage, and i pretty much think the 4870x2 is a good match for any quad core cpu, whereas the GTX295 almost demands to be used with the core i7.

[sciguy14]

yes, good points :)

[fpsraab]

nice video 5/5

[sciguy14]

Thanks :)

[stevekeljakob]

hdmi dose carry audio look at the ps3 how do you think you get sound!!

[sciguy14]

I know...that's why I say it can send sound at 5:18.... Did you misunderstand?

[runie360]

awesome as always!

[madfoxx]

awesome vid.....but u kinda look like napoleon dynamite though...lol. but awesome vid

[sciguy14]

hahaha...I do need a haircut... and the lighting in my dorm room is less than ideal... ;)

[RickArter]

Another great informative video keep it up 5/5

[Zayras7]

haha, nice vid & shirt

[g0dverark]

techbits PWNES everything :D

[SterkeJoep4]

w00t, I love TechBits :]

[supermanfan631]

Awesome video, love the effects. What video editing program do you use?

[sciguy14]

I use adobe premiere pro

[newellh]

high quality and useful information as always  5 stars

[sciguy14]

thanks!