Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti Video Card Question

[Sonic 295]

Would it be worthwhile for me to purchase this Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2GB DDR5 - http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Gigabyte-GeForce-GTX-650-Ti-2GB-DDR5/20960260/ and use in my current system?

• Core2 Duo 3.0GHZ
• 4 GB Ram
• 9600GT

Replacing the very old 9600GT of course. I only ask because I really know nothing about the video card market these days. I just have this funny feeling that using that new card with my current setup won't make any difference performance wise.

 

I downloaded the PDF manual (http://download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Manual/vga_manual_nvidia_e.pdf) and it says these are the minimum system requirements...

• Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD AthlonTM XP class
• 2GB system memory (4GB recommended)

[Guest Stevie_K]

I have a GTX 680. It runs like a kitten. High and stable fps in every game out there pretty much. It's not nearly as noisy as my previous graphics card, which is a plus.

 

I don't know about the specific card you have, (I'm not a gfx card enthusiast or anything) but I can warmly recommend a GTX 680.

[PurpleGaga27 40]

I bet you do not want to pay for a high-end card these days, Sonic.

 

The average cost of a GeForce GTX 650 Ti card with 2 GB GDDR5 (that I know of) is over $170 USD. If you wait a year later, the cost of that card will drop a bit. You could also go for a GeForce GTX 660 Ti with the same amount of VRAM but the cost to buy is about doubled from a GeForce GTX 650 Ti card.

 

As for me, I am currently using a PNY GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1 GB GDDR5 video card (which I bought for under $90 USD but that was a sale price and it took 3 years for that former $150 video card to drop its cost).

Edited March 24, 2013 by zocom7

[Luk3us 63]

Mightyape might sell software at good prices but I've always found their hardware to be overpriced. Seems it takes a 25% sale to put them in line with other online retailers.

 

Don't forget that video card will need two 6pin power points in the back to function, make sure your PSU has the necessary points. I assume you're PSU is as old as the rest of the system and might not have it.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

Your limiting factor will actually be your motherboard. If your mobo only supports PCI-e 1.0, you will see no difference at all since the data transfer capacity will cap out at 250 MB/sec per lane but if you have PCI Express 2.0, you will gain performance. If you have a 1.0 board, don't bother with a GTX650. You'd be wasting your money. At that point, I'd get something in the GTX200 series... or a GTS450. Something cheaper that won't be wasted on a bottleneck.

[Sonic 295]

Mightyape might sell software at good prices but I've always found their hardware to be overpriced. Seems it takes a 25% sale to put them in line with other online retailers.

 

Don't forget that video card will need two 6pin power points in the back to function, make sure your PSU has the necessary points. I assume you're PSU is as old as the rest of the system and might not have it.

 

Was just using Mighty Ape for reference. Can always source it from somewhere else. Will check on PSU though.

 

Your limiting factor will actually be your motherboard. If your mobo only supports PCI-e 1.0, you will see no difference at all since the data transfer capacity will cap out at 250 MB/sec per lane but if you have PCI Express 2.0, you will gain performance. If you have a 1.0 board, don't bother with a GTX650. You'd be wasting your money. At that point, I'd get something in the GTX200 series... or a GTS450. Something cheaper that won't be wasted on a bottleneck.

 

Motherboard is an ASUS P5QL-E. According to http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5QLE/#specifications it supports PCIe 2.0

[Doctor Destiny 41]

Since you have PCI-e 2.0, you'll be fine with a GTX650 then. If you don't want to spend a lot, a GTX550 will probably work if you don't game much but if you do that, get a 560.

[Sonic 295]

Well after much thought, and looking at other cards, I settled on the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti I originally I had my eye on. $257.30 ordered from http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=409795

 

[PurpleGaga27 40]

Hmmm. Good choice with large cooling fans and a monster heatsink.

[Sonic 295]

Well its installed now, up and running with zero problems. Also running the very latest NVIDIA drivers downloaded from their site. I never bother the drivers and software that are supplied on the CD in the box. The system sounds even quieter as well. It was never that loud or noisy before but it appears that the fan on the old 9600GT was the loudest inside the case. The new one is so silent

 

Hmmm. Good choice with large cooling fans and a monster heatsink.

 

Yes its big and chunky the heatsink is actually bigger than the card's PCB.

 

 

I was under the impression the new GTX 650 would require 2 of the PCI-E power connectors, it only needed one, but my Silverstone 500w PSU has 2 of them anyway. However due to the heatsink design its located in the middle at the top of the card, as seen in this pic....

 

 

I'm happy so far. Hopefully it rids me of the problems I've been battling with for awhile now. I'm convinced the old 9600GT was starting to malfunction or something.