Need Help: Compatable Graphics Card

Caliburn

Caliburn

Well-known member
I was gifted this motherboard:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=K10N78M PRO

I need to find a compatible graphics card and am at a total loss at to what I can safety get. I want at least 512MB but would prefer over a 1GB card. Also I can disable the integrated graphics through the bios in favor of a dedicated. They *don't* need to work in tandem, I don't think.

Any assistance in this matter is appreciated.
 
I didn't ask on the manufacturers forum. Didn't even know they had one, to be honest. My budget for a GPU is roughly $100.00. Now when you're talking about the PCI-E slot, you're talking about the "PCI Express 2.0 x16" slot correct? Or one of these?

- 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
- 2 x PCI slots

Now, I'm kinda confused. This board supports SLI but I only see one PCI-E x16 slot. Can anybody assist? Also this is the GPU I was looking at starting out with.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4111742&Sku=E145-9504
 
Caliburn said:
I didn't ask on the manufacturers forum. Didn't even know they had one, to be honest. My budget for a GPU is roughly $100.00. Now when you're talking about the PCI-E slot, you're talking about the "PCI Express 2.0 x16" slot correct? Or one of these?

- 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
- 2 x PCI slots

Now, I'm kinda confused. This board supports SLI but I only see one PCI-E x16 slot. Can anybody assist? Also this is the GPU I was looking at starting out with.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4111742&Sku=E145-9504
Click to expand...

That is a very poor card if you plan on gaming.

Something like this would be a much better choice: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6701582&CatId=2513
 
So then this would really be a good choice of a card, then?

Here's the build I'm planning to do. I'm on a budget but I can upgrade components over time. I'm not sure of the power supply I've chosen is good enough or not. If not, please let me know. =)

- - - - - - - - - - - -
Case: AZZA Solano 1000
Motherboard: ASRock MicroATX Motherboard (Gifted To Me)
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE (Gifted To Me)
CPU Cooler: MassCool 5U1082F1M4 (Gifted To Me)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Dual Channel 4GB (2x2GB)
GPU: EVGA GTX 460
Power Supply: Ultra X4 750-Watt Modular Power Supply
HDD: Hitachi 500GB
DVD R/W: Asus DVD Burner (R/W)
OS: Windows7 Home Premium
- - - - - - - - - - - -

I don't think I am missing anything. I have the monitor, keyboard, and whatnot. I need opinions. I am building this for my father and am trying to do him right.
 
Caliburn said:
I didn't ask on the manufacturers forum. Didn't even know they had one, to be honest. My budget for a GPU is roughly $100.00. Now when you're talking about the PCI-E slot, you're talking about the "PCI Express 2.0 x16" slot correct? Or one of these?

- 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
- 2 x PCI slots

Now, I'm kinda confused. This board supports SLI but I only see one PCI-E x16 slot. Can anybody assist? Also this is the GPU I was looking at starting out with.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4111742&Sku=E145-9504
Click to expand...

I run two graphics cards in SLi mode here, both are 512mb giving 1gig of gaming power between them both. A word of warning though, don't buy 2 cards that are 1 gig memory each if you use SLi. Not only do they require a good quality powerful PSU to cope, but they will also give a lot of heat off inside your case. I had two and ended-up downgraded back to 2x512mb cards instead. The heat was just too much and I have a stainless steel high-end tower case and about 8-10 fans in total, and they are all good ones too. Really you need to be using a water cooling system for your CPU with SLI, or at least a top-end case with many fans that specifically designed for running it.

If your into gaming though, I would run SLi with two cards. The Nvidia driver lets you then enable SLi after detecting it. You also have to buy two matching identical cards, keep that in mind. Also, your motherboard should have two slots pretty close together for running SLi, both cards sit in the slots and a bridge is used that clips on top linking them together. If you can only see one slot, I can't see how it supports SLi?
 
Performance, heat and power consumption have nothing whatsoever almost nothing to do with the amount of video memory.
 
Darkimmortal said:
Performance, heat and power consumption have nothing whatsoever to do with the amount of video memory.
Click to expand...

Well, generally the ones with more memory are the higher end models which generally in turn draw more power and put out more heat :D

Though i get what you are trying to say ;)
 
Slavik said:
Well, generally the ones with more memory are the higher end models which generally in turn draw more power and put out more heat :D

Though i get what you are trying to say ;)
Click to expand...
Most cards are just remastered older ones, some with a memory upgrade.

If you're considering ATI as well, the 5670 is a fairly cheap, decent video card. You just can't play the best newer games at full settings.
 
I'd go with this PSU instead. Even 650w is overkill for your computer. I'd advise against SLI unless you want the fastest graphics processing or the performance of two cards is cheaper than buying a single. Obviously, it draws twice the power than one card. On top of that, it's way cheaper to upgrade the card every 1 1/2 years to a card twice the speed for the same price.
 
turtile said:
I'd go with this PSU instead. Even 650w is overkill for your computer. I'd advise against SLI unless you want the fastest graphics processing or the performance of two cards is cheaper than buying a single. Obviously, it draws twice the power than one card. On top of that, it's way cheaper to upgrade the card every 1 1/2 years to a card twice the speed for the same price.
Click to expand...
Why do you recommend that PSU over the Ultra?
 
It's worth investing in a top quality PSU, even if you have to pay much more for one. If your PSU kicks the bucket because it's a cheap brand (seen it happen lots of times) with people. It's no fun having to pretty much re-wire a PC again from scratch. As the PSU connects to everything on the motherboard.

As for buying a 650w PSU. What's the point really of doing that? Why not buy a 800 -850 - 900 PSU that can handle the load easy and will help reduce heat in many cases inside your case because it's not working overtime to power everything. Plus you'll have the power there if you wish to expand your PC further down the line.

A 650w PSU is nothing these days, underpowered in fact. I've dealt with a few 650w PSU packing in for people within 12 months. Mine, which is much more powerful is still going strong after 5 years daily use. It's a SilverStone one, the best PSU on market I'd say.
 
mrGTB said:
It's worth investing in a top quality PSU, even if you have to pay much more for one. If your PSU kicks the bucket because it's a cheap brand (seen it happen lots of times) with people. It's no fun having to pretty much re-wire a PC again from scratch. As the PSU connects to everything on the motherboard.
Click to expand...

This is completely true, but it's equally not worth buying a PSU way more powerful than is required for the fairly basic specs in question.
 

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