Best Graphics Card... ever?

[Star Cannon]

I'm thinking about upgrading my computers graphics card...
And suggestions?
I've already got a decent processor (pentium 4 at a few gigs.)
Enough hard drive space to last the next 10 years or so...
Decent RAM.
But... me graphics cards is one of those old Inteli740's... Ugh.

So... any helpful suggestions?

[Architectonic]

There is no 'Best' - the 'best' is a waste of money. What is 'best' right now, will not be all that great in two years time and will no longer be worth anything.

You are better off stating what pc components you currently have and secondly state your application and expectations - ie, if you want to play games, which games, what level of graphic enhancements/resolution/fps do you require. If its for professional graphic design or whatever, again try to state the application/expectations in detail.

Using the multitude of information available on pc components (including benchmarks of many different combinations...), we should then be able to get an idea of what would be most suitable for your application. IMO it is much better to get a $200 card (or whatever) now, and getting another $200 in 2-3 years or whatever, than to get a $1000 card now that will end up being slower than that second $200 card in 2-3 years time.

edit - note the $ amounts are just pulled out of thin air - But going for the current 'best' - an overclockable geforce 7800gtx sli setup will cost a fortune and be worth next to nothing in a few years.

Here is the latest THG benchmark, which also shows how the current high end compares to the mid-level 6600gt http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/09/seven_of_nvidia/index.html

[Claverhouse]

*cries with joy* *well, faint smile, at any rate*

Coupla days back I got a Gainward Ultra/780 TV/DVI Geforce FX5600 256mb DDR card off eBay for the computer I'm building, and I've been downloading new drivers in advance for all conceivable OSes. And it had the original 'cute girl' on the box. I'm gonna frame her. A year or so back it would have been £319 odd. I paid £37 inc pp.

Look at the Gainward site (http://www.gainward.de/new/main.html)

Then get an older one cheaply, unless you can afford 929 euros...

http://www.intpcentral.com/uploads/box.jpg

[ The use of this picture in no way invalidates my right to post the same or other pictures of this girl at any time. ]



Claverhouse http://intpcentral.com/forums/images/smilies/ninja.gif

[Sue Denim]

Buying behind the curve pays off, big time.

A friend of mine gave me a 2.0GB machine with 512MB ram the other day, because it was too out of date for them. It's now my fastest computer.