graphics card which one ?

am planning to build a multimedia pc, with so many GPUs in the mkit, am confused with what graphics card to buy? Bascially i will be playing games( dx 10) and HD 1080p x264 and vc1 vidoes, hooked to SAmsung 2493HM monitor(supports VGA, DVI-D, and HDMI) Also does the current PCIX cards need additional power ?, in that case what shd be the SMPS wattage ? Am looking at nvidia 8800, dont really undertsand those GTX, GT stuff :( looking for a mid rage GPU. any inputs apperciated. cjaar

Buy the best graphics card you can afford, performance wise usually steps like this for nvidia video cards GS, GT, GTX, GTX Ultra, then of course you could go SLI, which is 2 cards working with each other. PCIE cards can still require additional power, but it depends on the model, a 8800gs shouldn't require extra power (but it depends on brand) where as a 8800GTX requires 2 additional molex conenctors. I suggest you head over to toms hardware and start reading some reviews, also look at the vga chart's you will get a good idea of what you should be purchasing.

Here's a second for Toms, I've found them a decent resource over the years especially with their monthly "Best Graphics Cards For The Money" articles. Here's the latest:

check out the 4850. it runs a little hot, but just pick up an accelero S1 for it. Puts the 8800 and 9800 series to shame for a (much) lower price.

ATI 4850 is the actual "best bang for the buck"... if you want to spend a bit more then look at the 4870 or the 4850 X2. the "it runs hot" was fixed with the new catalyst 8.7. use google to find 4850/4879 reviews, comparisons and benchmarks. basically it (the 4850) has the games performance of a nvidia 9800GTX or GTX+ (the fastest 9800), sometimes even more, a teraflop processor and fits in a single slot while it costs much less.

have a look here: and/or here: i cant hear the fan until i set it over 40%. at 100% it sounds like a jet... but 35/40% is enough too cool it down to acceptable levels. what videocard brand you have? maybe they put a noisy fan on it. if "automatic" doesnt work for you AND you have a noisy fan, you're doomed. you have to wait for a 3rd party cooler... always buy quality stuff. cheap manufactured crap costs less but there's always a reason... btw, the cat8.7 fixed the "automatic" for me (ASUS vifdeocard).

40% is the maximum acceptable level while playing a game(for me anyway). Of course it lowers temperatures, but when I have three yate loon fans volt modded @ 5v, even 30% with the stock cooler is loud. at 40% (~4700rpm) I can hear the little thing annoyingly whirling away from 15ft away. ~4700rpm will be loud with ANY fan. And its the stock reference cooler from ATI. They are the same on all 4850s (save for the new ones with 3rd party cooling)at the moment. It doesnt matter what manufacturer you chose. with all due respect, i dont choose cheap parts. And the accelero S1 is just about the best vga heatsink you can buy. ^good quality parts, although in the picture still using coolermaster fans powered by the board. HDDs are now suspended with elastic bands. Edit: at 45% fanspeed, its idling at 59c If you dont think the stock cooler has issues... well then I would have to question your ability to feel heat.

well, i actually have serious problems feeling the temps (multiple sclerosis does that too... ) but as i said when the fan is @40% i start to hear it. my PC is also stuffed into a (made by myself) noise absorbing box. so it's difficult i can hear anything :) however, from the reviews i saw, the fan (under load) of some cards (they seem to have different fans) is well below the 35db which is good: so you can set it to the same level at idle to keep it cool. my suggeston is to get a quiet and cool 4850 (like the powercolor branded) if you want silence. if you care about the performance, choose one of the factory overclocked 4850 or higher models.

Or I can pickup an accelero S1 for $29.99 and stick a 120mm yate loon ~500rpm, and keep it at 40-50c. Im certainly not going to buy a new card :/ 35db is very loud, by the way.

yep, that's a excellent choice. however the noise depends on the computer case too.