Help with Building a PC

[watercooled]

You can choose any really - how much are you looking to spend/what games do you play?

[postdaemon]

Well I wanted a graphics card that would play 1080p videos and also play modern games on low settings, something under 50 quid.
Thanks again

EDIT
This graphics card for instance (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140617...roduct_reviews) seems to have glowing reviews (Sapphire HD 3650 512MB DDR2 Dual DVI TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card) and claims that it can run games on the highest settings (including crysis, which I don't believe). Would this one be a good choice?

[watercooled]

That card wouldn't be bad but if you can spare the extra money I'd say go for the 4670.

[postdaemon]

What part of the computer is most important for playing high quality videos? Do you think that this card will be able to play 1080p videos without a problem?

[shadowmaster]

What part of the computer is most important for playing high quality videos? Do you think that this card will be able to play 1080p videos without a problem?

Yes, the 3650 or the 4670 should have no trouble playing 1080p videos.

[watercooled]

For HD videos, most newer sysems do it just fine with integrated graphics but with a high load on the CPU. Most modern cards are more than capable of decoding HD video, including the one I suggested.

[postdaemon]

If I get this graphics card, what PSU should I get? Should I get one that can support a high end GPU, in case I upgrade?

[watercooled]

A quality 400w PSU should be fine for your hardware or if you plan to upgrade to a high-end GPU a 500w PSU would give you plenty of headroom.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The cheapest decent 500w unit is this Silverpower:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500w-...2V-6Serial-ATA

I would make sure the OP goes for an HD4670 GDDR3 and not the slower DDR3 version:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169039

The 9600GT does have slightly better performance than an HD4670 though for a similar price:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167474

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/170256

If the OP does not mind high power consumption the HD4730 has decent performance for the price and is faster than an HD4670 and 9600GT:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166840

[watercooled]

Oh yeah I forgot about the (G)DDR3 thing with that card - thanks for pointing that out! Also I thought the 9600 was more expensive than that.

[rushholme]

Go with a Nvidia GPU for media centre usage and gaming.

I have had issues with overscan and dual screen with ATI, but never with Nvidia.

The drivers are generally superior, IMHO.

For £60 go for a 9600GSO 768mb or for £70 9800GT 1GB from ebuyer.

If you want to game at native 1080p and higher, go for over 512mb RAM on the card.

[postdaemon]

I'm looking for a graphics card in the 30 - 40 pound range, which ones would you suggest? I don't want to spend too much on my first graphics card, I just want it to work, and then I'll probably buy a higher end one later.

Also will it be possible to have two of these graphics card running concurrently?
Thanks again
postdaemon

[watercooled]

I can run dual monitors etc fine with ATI - how long ago did you last try? But if you're using Linux then Nvidia drivers are generally better. In the 30-40 price range you probably won't get much in the way of gaming. For a HTPC a ATI 4550 would be good and has a low power consumption. And yeah, two will work fine together provided you have two PCI-E 16x slots on your motherboard.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I have had BOTH Nvidia and ATI cards over the last 5 years and rarely had any issues with drivers TBH. I have had the ATI X1900GT,HD3870 and HD4830 and the drivers have been excellent under Vista and XP. In the same time period I had the 7600GT,7900GS,8500GT and 8800GTS 512mb and they worked fine too.

The HD4650 GDDR2 is the best graphics card for under £40 IMHO:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150350

Also Scan have had the HD3850 256mb for under £40 quite a few times recently on the Today Only webpage too which is better than an HD4650 GDDR2.

There is also the 9600GSO 384mb GDDR3 which trades blows with the HD3850 256mb in games:

http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...562&tid=frooct

Basically the HD3850 256mb and 9600GSO 384mb will be able to most new games at low to medium settings fine.

[rushholme]

Also will it be possible to have two of these graphics card running concurrently?
Thanks again
postdaemon

Do you want to be able to surf the web on a monitor, whilst watching video on a TV?

If so, any graphics card will do this and you only need one.

For £35 HDTV try the HD 4650 or 9500GT cards.

You will need software that utilises the GPU for video.

"Media Player Classic Home Cinema" is free and will be perfect for this.

[postdaemon]

No, it's just that I know some computers can have two graphics cards, and I was wondering how this is done.