New Graphics Card Help

[MrManhattan]

So I have a Gateway dx4300-03 (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2352692,00.asp) Idk what the motherboard in it is, but everything is stock besides a 700w Corsair power supply. So I want to get a new graphics card and would like a mid-range priced (~$200) card that I can do pretty good gaming and 3d modeling on.

I am planning on getting a new motherboard but would like to get a card that I can use before I upgrade the motherboard. However I do believe I have 2 open pci-e slots, I know one of them are pci-e, the other one may not be.

I found 3 cards that looked good, but I'm new to this process so some of these may be completely out of my machine's range.

http://stores.tomshardware.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=902585187/st=product_tab
-This is the one I'm favoring, but don't know if I can use it due to the "dual slot" requirement. Also, what exactly does the extra gig of memory get me?

http://stores.tomshardware.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=843118105/st=product_tab
-This one is appealing due to the functionality and compatibility it has compared to the other cards I saw, and the reviews I saw for it were quite positive.

http://stores.tomshardware.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=835340410/st=product_tab
-I like this one, not much to say about it other than Idk what the real difference between it and the sapphire other than 40MHz core clock speed, 400MHz of memory clock speed, and the functionality list.

Thank You

-MrManhattan

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

It looks from your system info that you only have 300W PSU so you can't run these cards without upgrading your psu.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Right, or you read the thread before you answer, you can run them ; you have got 700W.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

They are all dual slots. This means it takes up the room of two slots because of the casing, but it uses only one pcie slot on the mobo. If there is enough room i can't tell without knowing mobo. But looking at the 4650 ; it also takes two slots i believe. It's only not that long so not sure if the longer cards will fit.
I don't think you will use 2 gb with a 6870 so prob. no need for that. ( playing at 1920x1080 that is, going higher res. and 2Gb will be better.)
Sapphire is better than xfx, but xfx has lifetime warrenty don't know about sapphire. The higher clock you can do yourself.

 

[MrManhattan]

Here's a picture of the motherboard/what is necessary to look at.

So one of them is a pci-e slot, the other, idk. But if i just need the pci-e slot I should have room, otherwise, there may be a problem lol.

-MrManhattan

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

I don't see a direct problem according to the room, you have a pcie slot and you have the space available for two slots, also there's nothing behind the pcie slot so there is enough room for the 6870. It just might touch your sata cables but not much i think. Only thing is the used pci slot beneath it, it might interfere with the airflow of the fans. I do not think much because it are small cards and there is some free space for air inlet. It could be a bit more noisy though.
But for $ 180,- you also can have this ( better ) one ; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446&cm_sp=Pers_StoreAlsoViewMore-_-14-121-446_2_sCB_-_-1_38_14-121-435__

 

[MrManhattan]

Ok, well that's definitely a good deal. I will be using VERY high res in photoshop, not necessarily for the monitor, but I'm getting the idea that the extra gig will help a lot when dealing with ~5680x3200 sized images.

Also, is the "functionality" that much of a difference? Can I not use the other ones (than the sapphire) with those programs?

 

[ilysaml]

Ok, well that's definitely a good deal. I will be using VERY high res in photoshop, not necessarily for the monitor, but I'm getting the idea that the extra gig will help a lot when dealing with ~5680x3200 sized images.

Also, is the "functionality" that much of a difference? Can I not use the other ones (than the sapphire) with those programs?

i don't understand the case and size scenario but i will reply you in that question, the extra gig will help if your going to be gaming, gaming above 1080P require more VRAM in this case a 2 Gb GPU will help. but if you're only viewing high resolution pictures a single HD 6850 or 6870 will handle it easily as one of these cards support up to 4 monitors with a resolution above that
also i would suggest getting a high cached CPU to handle your heavy work

another thing away from the thread, if you're working with animation, 3d, rendering, autodesk applications and that too much graphics intensive programs i would suggest you to get a workstation with nVidia Quadro or ATI Firepro GPUs, there are designed to best help with such works

 

[MrManhattan]

Ok, thanks.

I am planning on upgrading (really just getting a new rig) my motherboard/processor/ram. But I don't have the money to do that all at once. I did put up a thread about this too:http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/297729-30-ddr3-9750-compatible-motherboard