Buying a video card? no idea how to choose

[anxietyjnky]

After talking it over with my husband, we are going to buy a video card for the pc I am building rather than use the one I already have. I have no idea how to choose one myself. I got talked into the ATI Radeon HD5450 by a guy at the local shop, but I seem to have been overcharged? I think they are cheaper on newegg. He charged me almost $80.

I plan on returning it and am going to order a card on newegg.com.

It will be for running World of Warcraft Cataclysm mostly. I have a list of supported cards from their tech pages.

My build is as follows:

HD- Seagate Barracuda 7200
Processor- AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz
MB- BIOSTAR A770E3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD
in a
Antec New Solution VSK2450 Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply

I know its very low-end. For my first build and really just a starter until I have more funds (like after tax returns come out).

How do I choose a video card?
Will any card work in this build or is there something I need to look for?

Any recommendations?

thanks in advance.

 

[EastCoasthandle]

Your build so far is "fine". As it's based on your needs. I believe that you already understand that Wow is CPU limited so having a beefer CPU (Overclocked) would be ideal if you want to max out IQ settings (as some of the IQ settings are CPU dependent).

However, as for the video card. I must say, it's just too low. A 5450 is not targeted at games IMO. I would suggest either a 5770 or 6850 depending on your budget.

As for your motherboard, I really don't know what to say. As long as you can overclock your CPU (if you choose to do so at a later time) then I say go for it. But if not you might want to venture for something else (again that depends on your budget).

Again, for your CPU that should be fine for now but I would suggest that you overclock it. My main opinion would be something a little better but again, that really depends on your current budget for a PC.

Having said all this I have to ask (if you haven't noticed already) what kind of budget are you looking to spend right now? Once you provide that bit of information I'm sure plenty would make some suggestions.

 

[boise49ers]

You can get a 5570 for the same price. I had one with almost the same CPU and it screamed. It played every game out there. You just need to tone done done the graphic settings. Best low budget card I ever had.

 

[anxietyjnky]

I really need to go very cheap right now and still be able to play my mmorpg to save my sanity. (I have kids...lol)

I am looking at under $100.
I want to get the best I can for the lowest price, but I don't know what my limitations are when searching. I don't want to buy a card that won't run anything, or one that dies within a month either.
I am very new to this.

I have always bought prebuilt before even though I have been online since 1998.
I am done with that nightmare. My latest one wouldn't even turn on half the time.(sent it back for a refund)

 

[anxietyjnky]

Also,
XFX, EVGA, Palit, etc.???
Does it really matter the brand name?

 

[El_Mayo]

XFX HD-567X-ZNF3 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR5 P...

"$69.99 with Rebate" o m g

 

[Red_Machine]

Not when they're reference cards, no. The only thing that differs there is pack-ins and warranty. Later on, once they start making their own, manufacturing quality comes into it along with connectors, cooler, etc.

I would suggest at looking for a good 200 series card if you want cheap, as prices are falling these days. A GTS 250 would be more than enough to suit your needs, though I would suggest a 1GB model as 512MB just isn't enough these days.

 

[anxietyjnky]

like this one?
EVGA 01G-P3-1145-TR GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit DD...

Or am I not following you?

 

[anxietyjnky]

Must keep in mind my PSU is 450w...
Would this card even work?
How do I see what psu level is needed for a card?

 

[EastCoasthandle]

Must keep in mind my PSU is 450w...
Would this card even work?
How do I see what psu level is needed for a card?

A 5670 (along with your PC) would only need 400Watts. And you can find one from the egg below $100. So your good to go.

Later...

 

[Lionheart]

I was gonna suggest a cheap quad core AMD Athlon II X4 640 @ 3ghz but I know your on a very tight budget, I don't play WOW so Im not sure if it takes advantage of 4 core cpu's but with the constant updates that the game gets, Im pretty sure it does

About the video card, I was thinking of maybe a GTS 450 1GB, but I only found 1 on Newegg which is $109, and that does exceed your budget abit so Im not sure if you could squeeze in a few extra bucks and if not, I would go with El_Mayo's solution and grab a HD5670 1GB, it should do the job

 

[timta2]

I know a lot of people here hate Tom's Hardware but their monthly "Best Graphics Cards For The Money" articles can be helpful, especially to (new) non-power users/builders. Keep in mind that the picks can be controversial at times too. It did help me pick out my first video card and I was quite happy with it.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-radeon-hd-6870-geforce-gtx-570,2834.html

 

[anxietyjnky]

How about this HIS IceQ H567Q1GD Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

HIS IceQ H567Q1GD Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5...


According to feedback, it runs very quiet, which would be preferrable.

Or is there a reason I should stick with the XFX HD-567X-ZNF3 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

XFX HD-567X-ZNF3 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR5 P...

What else is different besides the fan noise?
Is HIS a reliable company?

 

[Red_Machine]

like this one?
EVGA 01G-P3-1145-TR GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit DD...

Or am I not following you?

Yup, that's the one. Palit is the cheapest brand I've found, so I'd recommend shopping around for one of them. With regards to the power supply, you should be fine. A GTS 250 only consumes 170w at full load usually.

 

[Black Haru]

personally I'd go with XFX over HIS. also, after rebate it's cheaper.

 

[Peter1986C]

The HIS card you referred to is quieter according to a test in a Dutch computer magazine a few months ago. And both of them cost the same (69.99) after a mail-in rebate. And the IceQ model in the first of the two links also has the advantage of blowing the warmth of the card immediately out of the case.

 

[Dent1]

Just to add my $2

The HD5450 isnt a gaming video card, I would return it and get your money back ASAP if you haven't already. Although lesser video cards like the 5670 and 5770 could run World of Warcraft Cataclysm they're not video cards I would buy if given the opportunity even for the midrange segment. You should be shooting for the GTX 460 768MB minimum. Ideally the GTX 460 1GB, ATI 5850, or 6850.

I would only settle for the 5670, 5770, or GTS 250 if I was 100% sure that no other game apart from WOW Cataclysm would be played wthin the next couple of years

 

[Zen_]

There's a HIS 5770 on newegg for $100 after rebate. If you want to play games, even older ones like WoW I think it's worth the extra few bucks over the 5670 for sure. The 450 is another option but cost about the same after rebate and doesn't perform as well on the whole.

 

[anxietyjnky]

the GTX 460 is just too far above my budget ATM.

This is just a temp build for now. Currently I have NO computer, and am working with a very small budget. I really just need something that runs right now.

I plan to add to it in a few months, and I will take your advice into account then. Thanks.