GPU Suggestion - £60 budget

[timtim86]

Hi there,

Haven't done this for a while so need some help! I'd like to use the 'Which GPU for £x' thread but it seems a little outdated now.

So, as per title, which GPU would you go for for around £60?

Thanks!

[redddraggon]

Second hand HD4870?

[Ulti]

As redddraggon said: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sapphire-Radeo...item4cf194f3dd

[Zak33]

or spend a tad more and get a GTX260 if you play more OpenGL than DX

But either way, you'll get a lot of card.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The OP has a Shuttle SN27P2 which has a 400W PSU which has one PCI-E power connector. I have an SD37P2 which also originally came with the same PSU AFAIK. Even with the 450W version of the PSU I would consider an HD4870 a stretch in both size and power consumption.

This bus powered 9800GT Green Edition is around £65 delivered from Ebuyer:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169143

If the OP can stretch to around £75(including delivery) they can get this HD4850 512MB:

http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/...t=superSpecial

There is also the HD4670 GDDR3 which is slower than the previous two cards but consumes less power too and is also bus powered:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/226723

Unlike the previous cards this HD4670 DDR3 has a dual slot cooler which vents the hot air out of the case:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/177121

The other cards I mentioned do not vent the hot air they generated out of the case.

[scaryjim]

For an absolute maximum budget of £60 then a 4670 is the best brand new card you're likely to get unless scan get some of these in soon. The best option in that ballpark - by a long way - is the 9800GT that CAT linked to: it's somewhat faster than a 5670, which is the next best card in the price range but generally can't be had for less than ~ £70 (except the XFX I've linked to above at Scan, which is currently a pre-order but "due today"...)

[Zak33]

I've used a Green 9800 GT as proposed by CAT and it's pretty damn good

[timtim86]

Wow thanks for the replies everyone! There's a load of info there - you've made my life easier - thank you.

The OP has a Shuttle SN27P2 which has a 400W PSU which has one PCI-E power connector. I have an SD37P2 which also originally came with the same PSU AFAIK. Even with the 450W version of the PSU I would consider an HD4870 a stretch in both size and power consumption.

This bus powered 9800GT Green Edition is around £65 delivered from Ebuyer

With regards to this, it's not actually for me - it's for my flatmate. He has a shuttle too though, so I guess the same logic applies. I was under the impression that Shuttle PSUs were very good and could usually handle what was thrown at them?

I think I'm going to get him the 9800GT - seems to have been recommended by a number of people so is probably a solid choice!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Wow thanks for the replies everyone! There's a load of info there - you've made my life easier - thank you.



With regards to this, it's not actually for me - it's for my flatmate. He has a shuttle too though, so I guess the same logic applies. I was under the impression that Shuttle PSUs were very good and could usually handle what was thrown at them?

I think I'm going to get him the 9800GT - seems to have been recommended by a number of people so is probably a solid choice!

The Shuttle PSUs are quite decent but if the PSU is a few years old they can be a bit flaky at times. The HD4870 also needs a pair of PCI-E power connectors meaning that at least one of the molex connectors will be used. The Shuttle PSUs I have seen tend to have a limited number of molex connectors due to their size.

Also, you need to consider the amount of heat the graphics card produces as well.

[timtim86]

Are any of those suggested cards single slot? I forgot to mention that as a criteria - he has a shuttle

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If it is a Shuttle P2 like what I have then a dual slot graphics card should be fine.

I have managed to find some pictures of the Inno3D 9800GT.





It maybe able to fit in a G2 case but it looks like the cooler might be slightly taller than a single slot.

This Sapphire HD4670 GDDR3 can be had for around £50 delivered from Play.com:

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/117403...cat:Components

TopCashBack and Quidco do cashback on Play.com purchases!

However,the Sapphire HD4670 GDDR3 does come with two different coolers of which one is dual slot.

[scaryjim]

The 9800GT has a single slot backplane, but I'm not sure about the cooler itself: it doesn't look *huge* but it *could* be more like 1.5 slot (it's very hard to find any side- or end-on pictures of it, grrr!).

This ASUS 4670 looks like the cooler is single slot, and any 4670s with the reference cooler are also single slot. The 4850s / 4870s will all have 2 slot coolers (some 4850s has a single slot cooler, but were noisy and ran *very* hot - stay away from those!).

This HD5550 is slightly over budget at £62.25 but would provide similar performance to a 4670 - it's single slot *and* low profile! Or you could look on ebay for something like a 9600GT, I guess...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The problem with the HD5550 is that the GPU is clocked significantly lower than the HD4670.

Even an HD5550 GDDR5 is much slower than an HD4670:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/H...D_5550/28.html

This GT240 GDDR5 looks like it would be good single slot card:

http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/prod...NGT24512&af=50

However,I am uncertain whether the retailer is good or not.

[Ulti]

Just saw a 4770 on Ebay for £40 which should be good.

EDIT: Missed some stuff in the thread about needing a single slot, however the listing has ended anyway.

[Zak33]

the 9800 GT from PNY is DEFINATELY A SINGLE SLOT WIDTH>.>>..

definately.

I fitted one to a Shuttle with the PCI express card at the edge of the motherboard, so right up agsinst the case.