Video Cards.....

[roweder]

I'm looking to play games in HD, and i'm wondering what video card to get.

there are so many options out there, i'm Baffled

I like this monitor alot:

Dell SX2210 Full HD 21.5 inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor Details

and i'm looking for a video card that will compliment that monitor, and play games very nicely in HD. I've heard that BFG is the best manufacturer, but i really have no idea. I'm willing to spend as much as $400, but I'm kind of hoping that I won't have too, and i'm hoping that someone has some experience they would like to share with me

Thanks in advance,

-Derek



Edit: I've also heard that I should stay away from anything ATI, please let me know if this is true or not

 

[Hefemeister]

ATI currently has the best cards for your dollar at the moment.

No reason to avoid ATI. If you really want a nvidia card then that is fine. Just let us know.

XFX is my favorite brand but BFG makes great cards as well.

What motherboard do you have?
what power supply do you have?
Also cpu?

 

[roweder]

ASUS P5N-D W/ 8G RAM

I am using a 550 watt power supply, but I have a 1600 watt power supply in my basement that i could switch to, but i'm not sure if it would fit in my case, I have a Speedo full tower case in my basement as well that i could switch to if I need to, but then my gaming rig would have to go in the basement cuz it doesn't fit under my desk, i could just build another gaming rig, why don't i just do that, this one isn't that great, and I've already got some of the stuff i would need for a new one, that was my original plan, but the motherboard I had picked out was $400 and the processor $1200, so i put it on hold, then i found out that the video card is what really makes the difference

and the cpu i am using is a core duo 2 @2.4GHz

Edit: and, if I build a gaming rig in the basement, I can get internet over an ethernet connection instead of wifi

 

[Hefemeister]

This would be plenty:
Newegg.com - XFX HD-585A-ZNBC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB Black Edition 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

You could save some cash and still get a great card with this. The specs are real close to my card which plays almost everything on high at 1920x1200:
Newegg.com - XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

 

[roweder]

I really like the first one you suggested

do you think it will be fine with the 550 watt power supply? or should i use the 1600 power supply?

-thanks too

 

[james.wired]

What brand/model PSU is the 550? You should be fine..

 

[Hefemeister]

Yeah 500 is recommended. As long as you have a quality 550 you will be fine.

 

[roweder]

ok cool

great! thanks!