I am in the market for a new video card and have a couple of questions.?

Question

I read several reviews and may have decided on an ATI X1800XT. I want to be able to play some games (I really want to be able to play Oblivion), but don't have a very big wallet. Anyway, I was told by someone I might have to upgrade my power supply. I have a fairly new HP computer that has a 300W supply. Is this true? Also, I usually shop on Newegg for this type of thing. I searched for the model and it brought up two different brands, Sapphire and ASUS, one of which costs $150 less. Here's a link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=X1800XT

Is there really any difference in the two?
If anyone has any suggestions for a better card for $150-200, I would like those too (let me know why you think it's better, though).

Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

1. You will need to upgrade your PS. Modern cards are very power hungry. Add in all the other components and you'll probably come up short. You PS is probably only 70- 80% efficient, so even if it draws 300w, you'll only get about 210 - 240 out the other end.

2. Avoid Sapphire. In my experience - their quality is low, and their warranty support is atrocious. ASUS is a good brand. You are going to find few vendors making X1800 cards because that product line is outdated. It's replaced by the X1900 family. If you look at X1900/X1950 cards, or nVidia cards (like the 7600gt, in that price range) you'll find a lot more vendors making them.

3. Here's a good review of best video cards, depending on your budget:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/04/09/the_best_gaming_video_cards_for_the_money/

In your price range, you're looking at an X1950 pro, or a Geforce 7900GS. Those are for PCI-e cards. AGP cards will run you a little more these days, so in the same price range, you'll have to drop down a step. Check the guide. It's pretty thorough.

4. The ASUS card is more expensive because it has twice the memory of the sapphire card.

Answer 2

The X1800XT is one of those power hungry cards. It consumes about 105 watts at full load.

PSU upgrade is a must. 400W could be minimum, but if I were you, I'd get a 500 watter especially if you spend long hours on gaming. If you load a PSU to its max rating, it runs hot. Load it at less than 80% and it will run cool all day long.

Answer 3

That is a good card for that price. The difference between brands is mostly about the size of the heatsink and loudness of fans. and how much you can overclock them. You might need a bigger powersupply probably 450 at least, depends how much power the rest of your system sucks up