Best graphic card for non-gaming needs with no bottleneck

[tonydj]

Hi everyone. i'm "googled out" and have given up on what graphics card to get. I dont play games but i do a lot of video encoding and also some advertising DVD's for work using Cyberlink Powerdirector where i use pics only to make slideshows. Obviously good memory and video card make a difference.

I just changed my rig and purchased the XFX 9800GT 512MB because nothing else would fit in the tower, so i went and purchased the Coolermaster in my specs, changed power supply AGAIN, so im ready for ANY card. The 9800Gt is doing fine but i want better.

I know MOST of you play games, but I run only 1680 by 1050. Im currently getting help for my ram settings, and i will o/clock my Q9550 just a bit to say 3Ghz and I know how to do that.

I just dont want overkill in a card and although i had my heart set originally on a few of the 4870 1GB cards, all i read on reviews is that they get way too hot and some are noisy.

I hope to get some direction from all the much smarter guys in these forums.

Thanks in advance people!

P.S. I DIDNT REALISE I HADNT PUT MY SYSTEM SPECS UP AS THE FIRST FEW PEOPLE HAVE SUGGESTED VERY CHEAP CARDS (NOTHING TO THE CALIBRE OF THE 9800GT) SO SORRY I DIDNT HAVE ENOUGH INFO.

 

[zithe]

I'd go with this. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131133

Wait for some other suggestions though. XD

 

[ShadowFold]

Got this in my HTPC:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121281
and its great. My family and I watch blu ray movies on it all the time.

 

[Fastmix]

4870 is a good choice, they get too hot because the fan profile on the original bios is not that good but once you mod the bios the temperature @ idle is around 50c and it's very quite, the ones with aftermarket coolers, tend to be a littlebit louder.

However if money is not a problem I personally would go for the 4850x2, ddr3 is more powerplay friendly.

 

[DonInKansas]

I just dont want overkill in a card and although i had my heart set originally on a few of the 4870 1GB cards, all i read on reviews is that they get way too hot and some are noisy.

I hope to get some direction from all the much smarter guys in these forums.

Thanks in advance people!

Put an accelero s1 rev2 on it and that'll kill your heat problem.

 

[tonydj]

Cooler

Wow Thanks Don , The Cooler Looks Fantastic With Excellent Reviews.

I Just Hope Its Not Brain Surgery Required To Remove Stock Cooler And Put This One On. I Have Built 100's Of Computers In My Time, But Like Anything - Its Always Hard Unless You Know.

This Certainly Looks Like I Could Go The 4870 1gb- As Long As Im Not Wasting My Money On Buying Something Thats Only Good For Gamers And Not For My Stated Purposes.

Thanks Heaps Don Its A Great Start!

 

[tonydj]

Thanks for the info Fastmix, with your input and dons input already, looks like i can go for the 4870 unless other people say its overkill for what i need it for - NOT for games like most people.

I have also read about bios changes as well , but im sure it would void warranty as ive really had BAD luck with this system from day one so i want to play it safe.

Still, i can research it more, and thanks!

 

[xu^]

tbh i cant see anything faster than wat you have making a blind bit of difference if all you do is video encoding.

in my humble opinion what you already have is overkill.

fast memory and cpu yes ,fast gfx card ,no

just my opinion tho for what its worth.

 

[Binge]

The 4870 has great video encoding abilities, but I can't recommend it for such a utility purpose. There is an ATi series called the All in Wonder HD. I'm not sure if they've made a newer model, but I own one for video encoding and TV/HDTV capture.

 

[mullered07]

Wow Thanks Don , The Cooler Looks Fantastic With Excellent Reviews.

I Just Hope Its Not Brain Surgery Required To Remove Stock Cooler And Put This One On. I Have Built 100's Of Computers In My Time, But Like Anything - Its Always Hard Unless You Know.

This Certainly Looks Like I Could Go The 4870 1gb- As Long As Im Not Wasting My Money On Buying Something Thats Only Good For Gamers And Not For My Stated Purposes.

Thanks Heaps Don Its A Great Start!

well imo its overkill, the 4870 is primarily a gaming card, and for someone who doesnt game theres absolutley no reason to have one, video encoding unless im mistaken is all done by the cpu and not the gpu, as far as cyberlink power director it is cuda optimised and imo you would be a lot better off with an nvidia card to take advantage of this, id reccomend somthing along the lines of THIS 9600GT 1gb, its got plenty enough memory, will do what you want it to better than the 4870 due to cuda, and isnt overkill.

a 4870 and gtx280 etc etc are high end gaming cards, you can get what you need for less that will also do the job just as good or better with regards to an ati card

 

[Binge]

Mullered is even more correct. It looks like you have a 9800 so why not use that? CUDA allows for great video encoding.

 

[tonydj]

hi mullerred07,

I was was worried about my thoughts and appreciate what you have said. I was just thinking going DDR5 was the "ants pants". I do believe that going to Vista will optimise the graphics anyway as i hate that XP has to read all the thumbnails first when you open up "my pics" whereas vista will bring them all up instantly.

Great heads up on the "cuda optimised" info as i knew nothing of this. I will certainly take this info on board as you seem right. I was looking at the 9800GT 1Gb also but only wanted to go the 4870's or GTX 2260/280 for speed but i was wrong.

Many thanks and i appreciate the post VERY much.