Buying a video card, need help.

[phantom478]

*Apologies if this is posted in the wrong section. First time here.*

Alright I know pretty much nothing about video cards or computers in general, but I am buying a new video card and I need some help/suggestions. I don't have the specs for my comp. right now because I am on vacation but I know the general shit; Quad core processor and 4 gigs of ram.

I am looking to get the best bang for my buck. Looking to spend $150-200 at most.

I really don't play any games that require a crazy video card or anything (L4D and TF2), but I might get the new Wolfenstein and play that competitively so yeah.

The card suggested by a few friends is EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail.

This seems like a pretty good deal. $175 after rebates, free CoD: WaW, lifetime warranty, etc.

Anyone else wanna help me?

Thanks.

[Infiniti]

The specs of that system seem like it won't be an OEM system, but if it is, most likely you'll have to upgrade the PSU too. If it's an HP system, the PSU would JUST meet that specific system's requirements, at least, from what I've seen. If you know that your PSU can support the card, then go for it, $175 for a GTX 260 216 is a good deal.

[3.0charlie]

The 260 216 is a great card - I have 2 of them. But as Infinity wrote, we need your full system specs.
Welcome to the Forum.
John

[martin_metal_88]

Welcome here friend. +1 for everything here. If you don't want to spend realy more than 200 and you have a generic system ( hp acer and more crap like that ) I sugest this.
NCIX.com - Buy Corsair VX450 450W ATX 12V 33A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan - CMPSU-450VX In Canada.
NCIX.com - Buy BFG GeForce GTS 250 OC 750MHZ 512MB 2.2GHZ DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card - BFGEGTS250512OCE In Canada.

Good PSU and a card that can make everything you want to. ( my best advice would be to spend little more on the PSU ) to get something like that
NCIX.com - Buy Corsair VX550W 550W ATX 12V 41A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan - CMPSU-550VX In Canada.

Wich will be enought for next gen PC and will be silent to the bone with your rig:) exept if you have like 5 HDD and 3 DVD player.

Ask for more

[phantom478]

Thanks John

I'm not gonna have my specs until the 27th so yeah. I am assuming I just have the basic 500w power supply which is the min. Haha a lot of this stuff is over my head. Wish I knew more about computers :(

[rjbarker]

Wish I knew more about computers :(

You'll learn a ton here on HWC :)

[saltyvinegar]

The GTX-260 in the OP post is a great deal. I'd go for that card. The 500W PSU should be enough.

[b1lk1]

HD4830 is a strong cheap card. They are going for $100 or less and mine powers my 24" LCD quite well.

[zsamz_]

personally i'd wait a n maybe the xfx 4890 on sale @ 200$ again no mir
future crossfire options are good i would not dream to sli on a crap nvidia chipset
but that 250 oc for109 after 30mir is nice too but only for a budget system
i still have my 8800gt superclocked version and its a great card i put in in a my mediacenter

[Arinoth]

Originally Posted by rjbarker

You'll learn a ton here on HWC :)

And knowing is half the battle (in getting the most bang for your buck for your computer system and not paying extra overhead for someone/company to put it all together).