Graphics card for Intel DH55TC

[AznRice]

Hello there , I am looking for a Nvidia graphic card that is compatible with my mobo. I am kinda tired of running my desktop with integrated graphics because it doesn't load good with some of my games. My budget would be around 60-75 dollars. Please suggest some graphics cards and I will research it whether it fits me or not. Thanks guys.

 

[king smp]

This a good deal for the money
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133391

that is an PNY NVidia GT240 with GDDR5
if you are looking at GT 240s then look for GDDR5 version not the DDR3

that IMHO is the best budget Nvidia
equal roughly in performance to a ATI HD 5670


that is a 1156 mobo so you shouldnt have to worry about bottlenecking

what powersupply do you have?

The GT 240 is a low wattage card so most PSUs can handle it
but just want to make sure

 

[AznRice]

Thanks for your quick reply. My power supply is an Antec Earthwatts EA-500D Green. That card seems good for my system. Are the Nvidia GT240 and the ATI HD 5670 the same price or not?

 

[king smp]

No the HD 5670 runs about $70-80

It is a little stronger card than the GT 240 in reviews and benchmarks I have seen
but not by a large amount

If money is tight stick with the GT 240 GDDR5
but if you can raise the budget a little than consider the HD 5670 or HD 6670
if you dont mind ATI cards

 

[king smp]

btw you have a good PSU so you have a good choice of cards to pick from that the PSU can handle

 

[AznRice]

Thanks for your suggestions. However, I am not a fan of ATI graphics card. Are there any alternatives for any Nvidia graphics card, besides the GT 220, that you can recommend to me please? My case is a Antec Mini P180 Micro ATX, just to let you know. My motherboard supports PCI Express 2.0X 16 graphics. The worst case that can happen is that I buy an oversized graphic card and it won't fit in my graphic card slot. Thanks man.

 

[king smp]

you would need to look for a low profile card
in that situation I picked the HD 5670 low pro myself
your best bet with Nvidia is to look for a GT 450 or 240 low profile
I will check into it later

 

[AznRice]

I couldn't find a GT 450 card online, but I was able to find a GTS 450, which totally blew off my budget. I guess that there aren't that many Nvidia card within the $70-$80 range besides the one that you recommended to me. Hopefully, more people will take a look at my post and give me more suggestions. Are the Geforce 9xxx series compatible with my mobo? Just asking. Many people say that the GT 2xx-4xx cards are better and newer. Thanks

 

[king smp]

the equal in Nvidia would be the 9600 GT and also a 9500GT
make sure it is low profile to fit the case
9800 series needs more power and dont think they are low profile models

the GDDR5 240 is a great card for the money and will be a huge improvement
over your integrated graphics

 

[AznRice]

I found a Asus GT440 1GB DDR5 on Frys.com for $79.99 after rebates. I know that it should be better than the GT 240, but can it fit my mobo? Thanks.

-AznRice

 

[king smp]

If you look at Toms Chart
the 440 is two levels below the 240
you are better off with the 240 for pure gaming performance

link to source
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997-7.html

 

[AznRice]

How ironic can that be. I thought that the higher the numbers are in the Geforces, the better the performance. I saw that the GT440 has a higher core and memory than the 240. What are the big difference between those two?

 

[king smp]

gt 240 specs
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gt_240_us.html

gt 440 specs
http://www.geforce.com/Hardware/GPUs/geforce-gt-440-channel/specifications

that is really a good question
since they both have 96 cores
the 240 is slower clock and memory speed
they both use a 128bit interface for memory


usually I look for cores or stream processors (AMD)
and clock rate
plus memory interface

but do also know that there is more to it than that
is also other factors like shaders and rastering and geometric instancing

which I am still learning about

A very good question that I cant really answer at this point LOL

 

[AznRice]

Today is a bad day for me. I am planning to buy a graphic card from Frys and guess what? They ran out of GT 240 near my area. I have to drive all the way to Woodland Hills to buy that one particular card. They sold the GT 440 for $75, which is too expensive for me. Since I am not a heavy gamer, I'll choose the one that fits for me. I have a question, what does Interface: PCI-E 2.0 16x mean? Is that the compatibility of the graphic card for the mobo? Since I can't buy those two, I have an option of 3 graphics card that I found on Frys.com that should be compatible for my system.


1a) EVGA GT520 1GB DDR3
http://www.frys.com/product/6588363?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

1b) PNY GT 520 1GB DDR3
http://www.frys.com/product/6588393?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

2) EVGA GT430 1GB DDR3
http://www.frys.com/product/6427592?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

3) ZOTAC 9500 GT 1GB
http://www.frys.com/product/6230580?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Please take your time to research them and tell me the differences between all of them. The GT 520s are different price, so I want to find the difference. These 4 cards fit in my budget and is perfect for my needs. Thanks a lot again.

-AznRice

 

[AznRice]

UPDATE: The GT 240 ran out completely in Frys. The only place left to buy it is Newegg. Darn it.