Hi all,

As you may have gathered, im a newbie to all of this, but have a knack at learning at an extreme rate so dont hold back! I would like Opinions and advice on this particular GPU>>> Palit GeForce® GTS 250 (1024MB) >> http://www.palit.biz/main/vgapro.php?id=1109#spec i know they are a discontinued product and not to fastest out there, but i like to replace the 2 budget Palit 9500gt super 1gb running in SLI i have in my system, for 2 of the GTS 250 cards (as i may be able to get them at a bargain price!).
Im not a hardcore gamer, but i do plenty of 3D CAD work using Catia V5 & Unigraphics NX5 &6.

My current budget ones have not given me any trouble and have full-filled what i have currently asked of them, but im having a strong urges to do some gaming on this machine, with full on res, even in 3D ;-)

Opinions and Advice please, My computer specs are on my signature.

Thanks :-)

Michael

im not sure what i can recommend because i do not know your budget.
i would like to add that instead of SLI'ng to slower cards. you should get one powerful card.

EDIT: for the price of two GTS250's id rather have This gtx275
or spend a little more money and get a hd5850 for $300

hey man, welcome to the forums, as you can see im a noob too in this forums but i`d be glad to give you my opinion, well first of all if ure thinking about buying a GTS250 u`d be better off getting a 9800GTX+ instead since they are practically the same just with different names, and ofc the GTX+ its cheaper, another thing, if u got an ok budget, u might want to consider the GTX 260 instead but one thing...double check your psu to see if u got enough power going trought for those kind of changes.

i Should be able to get them for £80 ($134) each so total of £160 ($268) i really dont want to spend any more than that and less if possible..... oh and PSU is 500watt....budget brand :-(

I'd get a 260/4870/5770/4890/275 if I were you, don't start with SLI from the get-go

well...now that u said that mythos, i got to agree, but on another subject, i think u might wanna start looking for another PSU as well.

pending on the brand /specs .. you might want to look at a new PSU..
can you give us some specs or a link for your PSU?

PSU is already in hand, i know of a 750watt sitting on a friends shelf that i can put good use as he's moved up to a 1000watt, dont think he'd charge e much either or even nothing :-)

that should be powerful enough right?

I would love to help there but i really cant! ive looked and there is no brand label. ill attach a pic of my insides..... the sticker on the under side has a list of wattages with the 500watt ticked...

Well i think i have all i need now, thanks all :-) but.. if there is anything else just add it


Cheers :-)

It depends if the 750w psu its generic or not...generics can suck badly for gaming rigs, but meanwhile try to find what AMP that 750w has on the 12V rails, most of the time it says it on a sticker in the side of the psu

ok will do.... any sensible figures to look out for?

Take a picture of the sticker. it shows how many amps are available for the 12v rails.

i wont be able to find that out until tonight.... in the mean time ive seen this on ebay, what do you think?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...T#ht_2657wt_939

well, first make sure how many 12V the psu has (again, on the sticker), and for you to get an idea, lets take an ok psu, look at the rails, it has 4 each one @20AMP, if ure future psu meet around this figures u might be ok, but again, i wouldn`t be trusting a generic on running consisten with high power stuff.

this seems ample sufficient >>> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/750W-ORYXX-ULTRA-ATX...9#ht_2931wt_939


bare in mind that the ones you find in the US are heavily TAX'd here in the UK

well, i cant really be sure about that brand but according to the specs it can do the job perfectly, the thing i cant comment on is the reliability tho

Yea go with one nicer card vs. the 250's .. a 260 or a 275 imho would suit your needs more then enough. And just remember you can overclock it too, squeeze that extra ounce out of things.

cool, well ill keep an eye on this if the free one i can get is not sufficient :-) >>>> think we should deviate back to GFX cards..... :-)

Well,

If 3D is on your "must" have list you are going to have to choose an nVidia card.........

Otherwise I'd go with a ATi 4890 or 5770. Does your current motherboard support both Crossfire and SLI or SLI only?

>>>>>> http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=K10N7SLI

SLi only, has the 740a chipset

Hiya redeyez84, Another vote here for a 260/275, having one good card is much better then having 2 weaker cards i think you can pick up a decent 260 for arround 120 pounds, and a 275 for 160ish, good luck!

do you know any good places to look? i normally hunt around aria.co.uk and dabs .....


just seen this posted >>>> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gigabyte-GeForce-GTX...0#ht_500wt_1182

Nice card and a good find.

[quote name='redeyez84' date='Nov 17 2009, 08:48 AM' post='1743920']
do you know any good places to look? i normally hunt around aria.co.uk and dabs .....

If your UK and have a Debit card or Credit card use www.scan.co.uk best for price and there after sales is 2nd to none.

thanks Danny_75........ will remember them for the future, but at the moment... every pound counts.....



this is what i have seen so far.....

1>>> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...T#ht_500wt_1182

2>>> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...T#ht_500wt_1182

3>>> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...T#ht_555wt_1165


ok.... so.... the 1st one looks to have the best clock speeds but that i assume is due to the factory overclocking and its new, where as 2 and 3 are used-hence the price.... that aside which would be the best brand there, and what are the overclocking potential for the OC'd and stocks listed above???

Michael

Ok best brands you have listed are:
Gigabyte
Zotac
Gainward.
Factory overclocking has very little to do with a cards maximum over clock, usually no more than a few mhz, that being said I would go with the best brand. Gigabyte I have heard good things about, I haven't heard anything against Zotac. I haven't heard anything about Gainward ever so I would shy away from them.

Edit: Ok am I the only one who isn't ok with the Gainward card's name? They named it the "Golden Sample" it sounds like they urine tested the card. I get that they are referring to overclocking but seriously.

HOW have you not heared of gainward? They have been arround for Yonks! i even had a 7800gs+ Golden sample card from them and it was awesome (developed a memory fault later on due to my reckless oc'ing though )

Id say just buy whichever card ends the first because your safe with all of them (i havent heared anything against zotac either but im not sure of them) and always check the sellers feedback!

Also Scan is great because for only 1 extra pound you can insure your purchase for any accidental damage caused when installing your component (this even includes water damage )

ok.... well the 1st i mentioned is to be sold to someone else.... next is my second listed the Zotac, this seems to have slower clock speed than the others..... am i right in assuming these can be brought upto the gigabyte spec? also, what is the OC potential of these cards.... max stable settings??

Two things.

1. I have a Gainward GTX260 1792mb GS. It's solid as hell. I have it heavily OC'd and it's cool aswell, thanks to their cooler (which is also used on Zotac cards IIRC)

2. I have a BFG GTX 260 OC Maxcore that I'm trying to get rid of. 5 months old, never OC'd. Got it from a mate who was a traitor and went console only, so sold his rig in bits. Luckily He knew I had a GTX260 and though he'd donate it to my folding rig. Never used it though as my PSU in that rig recently died.

I'll gladly sell it to you for £120 with free P & P. Paypal Ofcourse

what are your OC specs?

redeyez,

he indicates the card wasn't ever overclocked - so the factory clocks on that card are;

core = 590MHz
memory = 1998MHz

keep in mind that this card will require two 6-pin PCI express plugs

sorry i should have put it another way.... what is the max OC potential of the 260 cards...

core = ?
memory = ?

thanks

Dude, they aren't a big company here in the states, I can't even find a US sight that has them available for sale. I honestly didn't know.

it's all luck with any component, my friends 260 wouldn't OC far at all and my old 260 overclocked like crazy so just cross your fingers and hope you get a good one.

Get an HD5850. I bought it a few weeks ago and I'm loving it

redeyez, I can give it a whirl this weekend if you like.

If it's as good as my Gainward, it'll easily be stable at 700 core.

My Gainward is ATItool artefact clear for 2 hours straight at 720/1500 and mem @ 1175mhz.

I play Crysis and STALKER Clear Sky at those clocks and get not problems. Temps don't usually go over 65°c with fans at 70%. Although I have a pretty beastly air cooled case.


mizzl. I am jealous. I'm trying to get my hands on a 5870 from anywhere ATM.

I've now decided to sell both my GTX260's.

So if anyone wants either let me know. Free P&P for both in the UK/IRE. anywhere else, I'm willing to work something out. Offers welcome for the Gainward. only OC'd it for about 3 months now. before, It was stock as it played Crysis smooth as butter at 1680. it's only now i have my new Sammy 2494HM that it's struggling (1080p).

correct me if im wrong , but my mobo doesnt accept ATi cards (specs in my signature)............ also regarding your cards, what £££ are we talking about here

it will accept them, just not crossfire them

The BFG I'll let go for £120 Free P&P. New these things, if found, go for almost £160 from what I've seen.

I've already had 1 offer from a guy, but he needs to sell his laptop first lol. So the BFG is still available.

The Gainward I'd like to see it go for £130.

Gainward is a 1792mb
BFG is an 896mb

Paypal only (y)

Will be sent Royal Mail Signed for Recorded 48hr (UK)

this in another novice question from me, but, can 2 non identical brand and mem spec nvidia cards run in SLi?

Yeah they can they just have to have the same chipset, althougt two from the same brand looks sooo much better inside a case

However,

Keep in mind that in SLi total RAM capacity of the cards does not stack - so you may be bottlenecking yourself just a little bit with the 896mb card. With that being said I only run two HD4850's in Crossfire and they only have 512mb RAM and I play all of my games at 1920X1200 without issue.

Yeah I knew that full well when I got that BFG. I wasn't gaming with SLI, I was folding as two separate GTX 260s.